Public Health in Practice: Washington, D.C. and the Twin Cities

Overview

The field of public health touches everyone and is by nature interdisciplinary, with important contributions made by sociologists, physicians, economists, statisticians, scientists, and nutritionists, among many others. The Public Health in Practice Winter Break program is a two-week field experience that will explore the many dimensions of public health both locally in Minneapolis and St. Paul and nationally in Washington, DC. You will have the opportunity to visit a wide range of public health organizations ranging from the Washington, DC branch of the Centers for Disease Control to local free clinics and community wellness organizations, and to think about how diverse cultural contexts impact a community’s health.

The fall course will provide an introduction to the principles of public health and to community based work and research. You will identify a public health-related project to work on in collaboration with a community partner during fall term that will be completed when we are back on campus winter term. 

Program Director

Professor Debby Walser-Kuntz

Debby Walser-Kuntz is a professor of Biology. She currently acts as the Broom Faculty Fellow for Public Scholarship, and as the faculty director for the Center for Community and Civic Engagement (CCCE). In addition to her work at the CCCE Dr. Walser-Kuntz is an immunologist and is interested in the role the immune system plays in the development of autoimmune disorders and the potential impact on this process of environmental contaminants. She teaches Immunology, Microbiology, part of Introductory Biology, a seminar on Topics in Virology, and Methods of Teaching Science.

Course Description

Fall term course, 3 credits  
IDSC 235 Perspectives in Public Health

This course will provide an introduction to the field of public health and community based civic engagement. In addition to readings and discussions, the fall term course will incorporate the expertise of visiting public health practitioners and may include site visits to local public health agencies.

Students will work collaboratively with a community partner on a public health-related civic engagement project that will be selected during the Fall term. The project will be continued over Winter Break and completed during the Winter term when we are back on campus. Projects may involve developing public health education materials, writing grant proposals, or analyzing data for our community partners.

Winter term course, 6 credits (includes the two week winter-break program)
IDSC 236 Public Health in Practice

Winter Break: We will spend the first part of our two weeks exploring public health in Minneapolis and St. Paul, visiting a range of non-profit public health organizations, community-initiated health partnerships, and state and county public health departments. We will also meet health policy experts and learn about the University of MN’s public health graduate program. To gain a national perspective, we will visit public health agencies in the Washington, DC area, which may include a branch of the Centers for Disease Control and/or the National Institutes of Health.

Winter Term: Back on campus winter term, students will meet once per week to complete their final public health-related civic engagement project in collaboration with a community partner, set their individual project back into the wider context of public health, and prepare to formally present their experience to a broader audience.