The school has more than 8,900 alumni, 267 faculty, and 227 staff; its students hail from more than 43 countries, and its total research portfolio is worth more than $180 million.

It was the brainchild of Dr. Douglas K. Decker, who designed its admission criteria (successful healthcare managers and practitioners), curriculum (practical, rather than theoretical), teaching approach (pairing academicians and accomplished practitioners in the field), and schedule (night classes only held on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday so that working medical professionals could attend).

The first dean was Dr. Norman A. Scotch, who guided the school through the accreditation process and who "developed a program that offered professionals the opportunity to continue working while they earned their degrees in Public Health.

On June 26, 1979, BUSPH became an official school of Boston University, matriculating 156 students and offering afternoon courses for the first time.

The Office of Special Projects was established in 1985 to provide education and training in international health and to conduct overseas and domestic research and service programs.

[9][10] The Talbot Building was designed by William Ralph Emerson in a Gothic Revival style and finished construction in 1876.

[11] As the Massachusetts Homeopathic Hospital expanded its academic departments and research laboratories, it built new wings designed by Francis R. Allen and Herbert P. Kenway in 1891 to teach midwifery and nursing, resulting in the Talbot Building's unique "E" shape.

Following significant renovation in January 1998, overseen by Burt Hill Kosar Rittelmann Associates, BUSPH Dean Robert Meenan relocated all administrative offices of the public health program into the Talbot Building.

[11] The renovation replaced the original boiler room with a central lobby and created outdoor walkways between the building's wings.