Engaged Projects
Learning Through Engagement
The Cornell MPH Program is founded on learning through engagement. Through community-engaged courses and independent Applied Practice and Integrative Learning Experiences, students partner with organizations to apply what they learn in the classroom and contribute to real-world projects.
Applied Practice Experience
Project Description:
An applied practice experience (APEx) is an internship designed in partnership with an organization. Deliverables can include: outreach materials, stakeholder presentations, quantitative and qualitative data analyses, grant proposals and reports, community needs assessments, summary reports, data visualizations, literature reviews, handbooks and manuals, curricula and activities, policy briefs, logic models, and more!
- Involves individual MPH students (with mentorship from project partners)
- Can be in person or remote, paid or unpaid
- Students work part-time or full-time during the summer (May-August) or winter (December-January) or can work part-time year round
- Project recruitment: Year round
- Learn more here
Contact: Audrey Baker
Integrative Learning Experience
Project Description:
Students partner with an external organization and develop a high-quality, substantial written document that demonstrates applied competence integrated across concentration and foundational public health domains. Deliverables can include a white paper, policy analysis, grant proposal, project improvement plan, program evaluation report, scientific journal manuscript, curriculum, and more!
- Can involve individual MPH students or small groups of MPH students
- Full year-long project; project planning occurs Fall semester and writing is finalized in the Spring semester (final product due mid-May)
- Project recruitment: Year round, but especially June-September
Contact: Audrey Baker
Public Health Planning Course
Project Description:
Students will partner with an external organization and design a public health project/response to address a defined need related to prevention, treatment, and/or care. The project includes developing a grant proposal, budget, logic model, Gantt chart, and staffing and management plan.
- Involves small groups of MPH students
- Occurs during the Spring and Summer semesters
- Project recruitment: Year round
Contacts: Gen Meredith and Lorraine Francis
Public Health Monitoring & Evaluation Course
Project Description:
Students will partner with an external organization and develop a monitoring and evaluation plan and continuous quality improvement plan to implement for a public health project or intervention. Involves small groups of MPH students
- Occurs during the Fall and Winter semesters
- Project recruitment: Year round, but especially April-August
Contact: Karla Hanson and Lorraine Francis
Public Health Communication Course
Project Description:
Students will partner with an external organization and develop a communication product for a specific audience to address a public health problem using best practices from theory and design.
- Involves individual MPH students
- Occurs during the Fall semester
- Project recruitment: Year round, but especially April-August
- Work with partner begins in late August or early September and concludes mid-December
Contact: Amelia Greiner Safi
For Partners
Interested in partnering with MPH students to support your public health work?
Review the engaged project opportunities described above and reach out to the appropriate contact.
- Applied Practice Experience (independent internship) – Contact: Audrey Baker
- Integrative Learning Experience (written capstone) – Contact: Audrey Baker
- Community-engaged courses:
- Public Health Planning (Spring and Summer) – Contacts: Gen Meredith and Lorraine Francis
- Public Health Monitoring & Evaluation (Fall and Winter) – Contact: Karla Hanson and Lorraine Francis
- Public Health Communications (Fall) – Contact: Amelia Greiner Safi