The field of public health is continuing to evolve, with a broader appreciation and understanding of its importance in the wake of the public health crisis caused by the global COVID pandemic. Students interested in exploring this vital work now have an opportunity to pursue a master of public health through UNC Asheville.
The UNC Asheville-UNC Gillings Master of Public Health program, a first-of-its-kind joint MPH program hosted on the campus of the Mountain Area Health Education Center in Asheville, takes a distinctive approach to its curriculum, working to equip the next generation of public health advocates through place-based learning, community connection, justice-oriented relationships and community-driven solutions that bridge the gap between research and practice.
In small cohorts of up to 24, students learn from interdisciplinary faculty and community practitioners alike throughout the two-year program, discovering how to foster thriving, healthy and connected communities in WNC.
“Students are getting a grounding, not just in foundational concepts and the knowledge and skills you need to be successful in the field, but you're also getting an applied understanding of the conditions that influence health and wellness here in Western North Carolina,” said Emma Olson, MPH faculty member and director of partnerships and evaluation at the NC Center for Health and Wellness.
In addition to serving on the program’s stewarding group, Olson works as a preceptor for students during their practicum course, and co-teaches Developing, Implementing, and Evaluating Public Health Programs. The coursework not only involves lectures and reading material, but also discussion, group work and applied projects.
“We really try to cultivate a discourse about what students are learning, where they can bring their own perceptions, their questions, their curiosity, and their lived experiences,” Olson explained.
“In my particular course, it’s almost exclusively group projects,” Olson continued. “It’s an applied project where they're doing a community assessment, researching evidence based strategies, and developing an initiative that they would want to implement, and thinking through how to engage different stakeholders. They develop an evaluation, a budget, a dissemination plan, and a sustainability plan. The end product is a pitch that they can give to actual community partners and a report similar to a grant proposal. It’s a great learning experience.”
This community-focused, placed-based approach helps students become better public health practitioners, and sets them up for career success and finding their ideal employment situation.
“They learn a lot more about how we do the community health assessment and improvement process as a region here, and they actually dive into that data,” Olson said.
“One thing that's really unique is that they're starting to build relationships with partners. Ideally, that gives them better employment opportunities. If they do go into the field here, they will have established some trust with some key partners. That's really important to the work.”
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