Young adults are very socially active. During infectious disease outbreaks, their interpersonal interactions serve as a mode of viral transmission, especially to vulnerable populations such as the elderly and immunocompromised. A lack of compliance with recommended health behaviors among college students during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic posed a health risk to the students themselves and to public health. The goal of the study was to understand college students' motivation to comply with public health guidelines. The participants of this study (n=28) were undergraduate students enrolled in health professions education programs at a private university in South Florida. Using the constructs of Protection Motivation Theory (Threat Appraisal, Coping Appraisal, Protection Motivation, and Health Behavior), students' willingness to adopt recommended behaviors against COVID-19 and their actual adoption of these behaviors were examined. The findings indicate that female, undergraduate, health professions students had a greater level of concern for the well-being of others compared to themselves. Students' protection motivation is most informed by their perceived severity of COVID-19, their vulnerability to COVID-19, their perceived response efficacy of recommended protective behaviors, and their self-efficacy in carrying out these behaviors. Students were able to overcome social disapproval in order to adopt protective behaviors. Frequent handwashing was the most widely adopted behavior, while social distancing was the most difficult to adopt due to living circumstances. These findings could be utilized in public health education for this population that emphasizes the importance of compliance with recommendations to self and community health. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]