Major findings and trends relevant to school of public health applicants, students, and graduates during 1974-79 are summarized. These findings are placed within the context of a longer period that extends back to the early 1960s (in the case of graduates, to 1930) and forward to the year 2000. The limitations of the present data base on public health manpower for the purposes of planning are examined, and suggestions regarding future data requirements are offered. For applicants, information is presented on the following: relationships between applications, acceptances, and admissions during specific academic years; the distribution of applicants according to professional background; age, nationality, and sex of applicants; and distribution of applications according to desired area of specialization and according to degree program applied for. For students, information is presented on the following: enrollment trends, demographic characteristics, training and experience prior to entering public health studies, and aspects of current training programs. For graduates, information is presented on: numbers of masters and doctoral degrees for five-year periods beginning in 1930; and demographic characteristics: distribution of graduates by area of specialization. Appended data concern distribution of new public health students by state or country of origin; number of graduates for specific colleges from 1961 to 1979; and descriptions of areas of specialization. (SW)