WashU School of Public Health welcomed its first students in August. The class includes both first-year students and returning master’s and doctoral students transferred from the former Program in Public Health at WashU’s Brown School. WashU Public Health photographer Zachary Linhares captured the start of the school’s first semester as students attended classes, cracked the books, got to know one another and, occasionally, stole a few moments to relax in the sun.

MPH students listen as their classmates introduce themselves during the Foundations of Fieldwork class September 11, 2025. (Photo: Zachary Linhares/WashU Public Health)
Students get to work during their free moments at the Maxine Clark and Bob Fox Forum in Hillman Hall on September 11, 2025. (Photo: Zachary Linhares/WashU Public Health)
Second-year MPH student Andrea Somoza relaxes during a break from class September 11, 2025. (Photo: Zachary Linhares/WashU Public Health)
First-year MPH student Isaac Sau rests in the sun outside Hillman Hall during a break from class September 11, 2025. (Photo: Zachary Linhares/WashU Public Health)
Students walk along a path outside Hillman Hall as flowers bloom on the Danforth Campus. (Photo: Zachary Linhares/WashU Public Health)
WashU School of Public Health Dean Sandro Galea speaks to incoming students at their orientation August 21, 2025, in Hillman Hall. (Photo: Zachary Linhares/WashU Public Health)
WashU School of Public Health lecturer Bill Effah speaks to incoming public health students during their orientation August 21, 2025, at Hillman Hall. (Photo: Zachary Linhares/WashU Public Health)
While classes are conducted on the Danforth Campus, most of the school’s research teams work from a building in the Cortex Innovation District bordering WashU’s Medical Campus. When not in class, many students can be found at the Cortex site working with their research mentors. (Photo: Zachary Linhares/WashU Public Health)