To carry out its mission and goals, the School of Public Health is organized by academic departments, centers, and functional units that report administratively to the dean.  Six academic departments and five centers are based in the school.  The basic academic unit in the school is the department, with each one responsible for its academic, research and service programs.  The six departments offer training in more than 20 major specialty areas. In addition, the centers and departments engage in numerous interdisciplinary training programs with the Graduate School and various health-professional and other schools at UAB, as well as with other colleges and universities.  The school's Mid-South Program for Public Health Practice is involved in a number of initiatives to strengthen the relationship between academic public health and public health practice.

UAB is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) and the School of Public Health is accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH), an independent agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education to accredit schools of public health and certain graduate programs offered in educational settings other than schools of public health.  The CEPH is located at 1015 Fifteenth Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20005, (202) 789-1050.