The UIC SPH was established in 1970 and is one of thirty-six such schools located throughout the United States. Accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health, UIC SPH is the only fully accredited school of public health in the state of Illinois. The UIC SPH is particularly recognized for its strong programs in community-based research and service, prevention research, health systems management, occupational and environmental safety and health, quantitative methods, public health informatics, and public health practice and leadership. The school offers educational programs leading to five graduate degrees. The school additionally offers CDC-funded postdoctoral training in interdisciplinary public health research that targets urban health issues.

The UIC School of Public Health is dedicated to excellence in promoting and improving the health and well-being of the people of the metropolitan Chicago area, the State of Illinois, and the nation, and of others throughout the world. The School achieves this mission by: educating scientists, professionals and the public; conducting research to develop solutions to public health problems; providing public health service; and formulating public health policy.

The School of Public Health is organized into four academic divisions and a number of specialized research, service, and training centers and programs. They are: Community Health Sciences Division (Center for Public Health Practice, Maternal and Child Health Program, Maternal and Child Health Epidemiology Program); Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Division (Education and Research Center, Great Lakes Centers for Occupational and Environmental Safety and Health, Center for Children's Environmental Health, Air Pollution Training Institute); Epidemiology and Biostatistics Division (Community Outreach Intervention Projects, Public Health and Corrections Program, Quantitative Biomedical Sciences Core); Health Policy and Administration Division (UIC AIDS International Training and Research Program, Center for Health Services Research); and several other Centers and Institutes. )