Zhejiang University School of Public Health has a long history and a profound heritage. Its history can be traced back to 1912, when Zhejiang Medical Specialized School offered hygiene courses and carried out teaching practice. In 1936, it formally established the Public Health Division; in 1950, the Department of Hygiene was founded, making important contributions to the development of public health in China and to the preservation of the School’s academic traditions. Related teaching and research achievements were exhibited and promoted in the Health Care Section and the Epidemic Prevention Section of the Hygiene Pavilion at the First West Lake Exposition in 1929. During the institutional reorganization in the 1950s, 178 outstanding faculty members and students of the discipline supported the construction and development of hygiene departments at Sichuan Medical College and other medical colleges and universities. In the 1980s, research on the “three causes” (carcinogenesis, teratogenesis, and mutagenesis), silicosis, bioelectromagnetics, and early tumor intervention technologies gained national renown. In recent years, Zhejiang University has actively responded to major national strategic needs, leveraged the integrated advantages of discipline clusters such as life sciences, material sciences, information sciences, and social sciences, broken down traditional boundaries between schools and departments, and mobilized the strengths of the entire university to build a high-level school of public health characterized by digital public health. It strives to “stay at the forefront,” helping Zhejiang Province build an “Important Window” and a demonstration zone for common prosperity through high-quality development, and serving the development of a modern national public health system and a global community of health for all.

In recent years, Zhejiang University has actively responded to major national strategic needs. By integrating its strengths in the life sciences, materials science, information science, and social sciences, and by breaking down traditional disciplinary boundaries, it has mobilized university-wide resources to build a high-level school of public health with a focus on digital public health. The School is committed to “striving to be at the forefront,” supporting Zhejiang Province’s efforts to build an “Important Window” and a demonstration zone for common prosperity through high-quality development, and contributing to the modernization of China’s public health system and the building of a Global Community of Health for All.

The School has developed into a distinctive, well-established, and independent institution with solid academic strength. In recent years, it has recruited outstanding public health scholars from top universities, including Harvard University, and has appointed experts from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and Hangzhou Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention as industry mentors. This has helped build a stable, high-quality faculty team with an excellent overall structure.

Guided by the university motto Seek Truth and Be Innovative, the School is dedicated to cultivating high-caliber public health innovators and leaders who are well-rounded and equipped with global competence. Its public health and preventive medicine disciplines have been designated as national first-class undergraduate programs. The School offers a new digital learning environment through the Learning at Zhejiang University and Researching at Zhejiang University initiatives, co-builds practice teaching bases with national CDC institutions, pioneers a degree program in Big Data Health Science, and collaborates with world-leading universities on joint undergraduate–master's programs. Through a comprehensive educational system integrating four classrooms and the integration of teaching and research, students have won numerous national awards, including the Grand Prize of the National Challenge Cup competition.

In recent years, the School has focused on developing research strengths in digital and intelligent health, major infectious disease prevention and emergency management of public health incidents, nutrition, environment, occupation and health, health policy, and health promotion. It operates high-level platforms such as the Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Intelligent Preventive Medicine, has led more than 300 national projects, including key projects under the National Key Research and Development Program, and has received the first national Grand Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress awarded in the education and health sectors.