Minnesota’s heritage of hard work and resourcefulness fuels creativity and a problem-solving mentality. As the birthplace of HMOs and home to many of the nation’s top healthcare organizations and medical device innovators, there is an inherent, underlying current of health awareness and action across the state. This, along with our close partnership with the Minnesota Department of Health, provides a rich environment for public health learning and practice.

Our work emphasizes a multidisciplinary, multidimensional approach to public health that gives our students on-the-ground experience and allows our faculty to work alongside colleagues in the field. When it comes to working with communities, we have long embraced the notion of engagement rather than outreach, knowing that we have as much to learn from communities as they have from us, and that real strength comes from true partnership.

Underlying everything is our culture of inclusivity and support. There’s a strong sense that we’re all in this together. It’s inherent in how we recognize colleagues for their success and contributions; in the outstanding student services we provide—like our Career and Professional Development offerings—and in the way our researchers partner with local and national health organizations. We take pride in our open, welcoming environment grounded in respect, and work toward making health a right for all.

At SPH, our students learn from giants in the field — people who continuously shape the way public health is practiced around the globe. Per capita, our faculty are the most productive at the University of Minnesota and collectively hold the University’s third-largest research portfolio. Our 23 research centers also contribute to innovation on local, national, and global levels.

Our ground-breaking research has led to: 

• Life-saving treatment protocols for HIV-positive people
• An association between e-cigarettes and cancer
• A method to contain “forever chemicals” to protect drinking water and the environment
• Increased attention to high rates of concussions in youth football players
• Exposing structural racism’s negative impact on birth outcomes
• The Mediterranean Diet
• The first comprehensive definition of childhood abuse and neglect
• A nationwide model to track foodborne illness outbreaks
• Legislation to cover doula care through Medicaid
• Accessible buildings for people with disabilities