Scenes from Orientation 2017.

The School of Public Health welcomed new students with a week of orientation activities from August 29 to September 1.

The incoming MPH, DrPH, PhD, MA/MS, and dual-degree students toured the campus and beyond. They visited BU’s National Emerging Infectious Disease Laboratory, the School of Medicine’s anatomy lab, the Blackstone Community Center, the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department, and Boston Health Care for the Homeless. A bus tour led them through the history of Boston’s neighborhoods and the health disparities that can exist a few blocks apart. A visit to AHOPE to learn about services for people who use needle drugs even included a Narcan training to prevent opioid overdose.

A field service day brought groups of students to lend a hand at Women’s Lunch Place, the Pine Street Inn shelter, the Greater Boston Food Bank, and the Salvation Army.

New students also met and heard from faculty, staff, and alumni. They discussed this year’s SPH Reads book, participated in a workshop on taking risks, had a conversation about addressing health disparity, participated in a forum with Dean Sandro Galea on defining public health, and got to know each other over meals and at a local pub.

The school welcomed 456 incoming MPH and dual-degree students, 23 doctoral students, 42 MS students, and 18 certificate students—a total of 539 new students from 24 countries, and 40 states, plus Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico.