Health Equity and Social Justice Concentration
The Health Equity and Social Justice concentration will equip students with the skills to: • Critically evaluate public health issues based on the historical context, policies, theory, and methodological approaches • Apply qualitative and quantitative methods and interpret the data using an equity lens to advance health equity and social justice • Interpret epidemiological and policy data to identify and redress inequities • Evaluate policies, programs for their impact on health equity outcomes • Work in diverse teams to assure health equity and social justice principles and practices are adhered to • Analyze intended and unintended effects of public health programs, policies, or research across the social ecological framework • Implement equitable principles and approaches in working with communities and stakeholders
What You'll Learn
This concentration will train you to assess social determinants of health and structural inequities and to devise community-engaged solutions to address them through public health practice or research.
Specifically, you will learn to:
Critically evaluate the social determinants of health and understand how they contribute to health inequities; and
Apply a range of community-engaged strategies and methodologies to advance Health equity and social justice through mentored fieldwork in the United States or another nation.
Required Courses & Sample Plan of Study
In addition to the interdisciplinary, 14-credit Gillings MPH Core, you will take seven concentration-specific courses and complete a community-based capstone project.
Fall 2023 Cohort: Health Equity and Social Justice plan of study (PDF)
Fall 2024 Cohort: Health Equity and Social Justice plan of study (PDF)
*This concentration has a $600 field fee to cover a portion of the expenses associated with required fieldwork that are not covered by state dollars paid through tuition. For administrative purposes, this fee is tagged to HBEH 746.
You also will complete a summer practicum during your first year.
Meet our EQUITY Faculty
Our faculty have expertise in topics ranging from community-baed participatory research and environmental justice to lifecourse research and psychosocial epidemiology.
Anissa I. Vines
Alexandra Lightfoot
Core Course Instructors:
Patsy Polston
Asia Maselko
Yesenia Merino
Courtney Woods
Faculty Mentors:
Sarah Mills
Alexandra Lightfoot
Patricia Basta
Anissa Vines
Audrey Pettifor
John Staley
Minority Health Conference
Members of the Gillings School Minority Student Caucus have planned and executed the annual UNC-Chapel Hill Minority Health Conference since 1977. The conference is the country’s largest and longest-running student-led conference focused on public health issues.
Career Opportunities
99% of Gillings graduates have a job or continue their education within one year of graduating.
Learn more about the opportunities that await you with an MPH from the Gillings School.
Students fund their education through a combination of sources, including loans, fellowships and awards, assistantships and grants. Several awards and scholarships are supported by generous contributions to the School and University who value the current and future contributions of our students.
Contact: Sarah Kitchens, Funding and Awards Coordinator, sarah_kitchens@unc.edu
