About the EQUITY Concentration
The Health Equity, Social Justice and Human Rights (EQUITY) concentration is hosted by the Gillings School’s Departments of Epidemiology, Environmental Sciences and Health Behavior. This concentration will prepare you for positions in diverse areas of public health through training in quantitative, qualitative and community-engaged approaches in research and practice.

A cross-cutting and interdisciplinary concentration, EQUITY will empower you with a fundamental understanding of the history, principles, theories and frameworks of health equity, anti-racism, social justice and human rights. Addressing Systemic Racism in Schools of Public Health (PDF)

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, social justice and human rights 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. 

ENVR 784: Community-driven Research and Environmental Justice

EPID 826: Introduction to Social Epidemiology

HBEH 746: Community-led Capstone Project, Part I

HBEH 700: Foundations of Health Equity, Social Justice and Human Rights

HBEH 720: Leading for Racial Equity: Examining Structural Issues of Race and Class

PUBH 748: Leadership in Health Policy for Social Justice

HBEH 992: Community-led Capstone Project, Part II (MPH Culminating Experience)

Health Equity, Social Justice and Human Rights Degree Requirements and Study Plan (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.

Spotlight

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

Our Graduates Work As...
Public health advisor
Health policy analyst
Consultant
Outreach coordinator
Health educator
Research coordinator
Coalition coordinator
Our Graduates Work With...
Government agencies
Local and state health departments
Nonprofit organizations
Research and development firms
International health agencies
Colleges and universities

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.

Promoting health equity and social justice
Ready to apply?
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CONTACT INFORMATION
Academic Coordinator
Adia Ware
Rosenau Hall 202A

Concentration Leaders
Primary Contact: Joanna “Asia” Maselko, ScD
Co-Lead: Geni Eng, DrPH
Co-Lead: Anissa Vines, PhD
Co-Lead: Courtney Woods, PhD
Co-Lead: Joanna "Asia" Maselko, ScD

School Events

October 2
2:00 pm
3:00 pm
Workshop on Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL)
October 4
1:00 pm
2:00 pm
Resumes and Cover Letters 101
October 4
5:30 pm
6:30 pm
Alumni Spotlight: Dr. Cassandra Caldwell
October 5
9:30 am
4:00 pm
Cognitive Interviewing in Survey Research