Public Health Career Guide

Public Health

Past Internship Sites:

  • Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital
  • Kent County Health Department
  • Spectrum Health
  • Priority Health
  • American Red Cross
  • Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital
  • Salvation Army Social Services
  • Cherry Health
  • Michigan Public Health Association
  • Bronson Healthcare
  • West Michigan Environmental Action Council

Where Alumni Have Landed

  • Program Coordinator- National Kidney Foundation of Michigan
  • Epidemiologist- Spectrum Health
  • Clinical Application Analyst- Holland Hospital
  • Healthcare Data Analyst- MPRO Hospital and Health Care 
  • Site Facility Manager- Cherry Health
  • Response Coordinator- R3 Continuum
  • Community Outreach Coordinator- Center for Vein Restoration
  • Health and Wellness Coach- Lowell Elementary Schools
  • Development Specialist- Kid’s Food Basket
  • Sexuality and Peer Education Coordinator- University of Illinois Urbana- Champagne
  • Health Educator- Calhoun County Public Health
  • Career and Wellness Educator- Roosevelt Park Ministries
  • Self- Sufficiently Advisor- True North Community Services
  • Project Manager- MSU Institute for Health Policy
  • Toxicologist- Michigan Department of Health and Human Services
  • Medical Librarian- Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine
  • Solutions Analyst- Michigan Health Information Network
  • Senior Community Care Coordination Team Lead- Meridian Health
  • Infection Prevention Manager- Michigan Health and Hospital Association
  • Quality Improvement Specialist- HealthWest

Student Organizations to Consider

  • Graduate Public Health Society
  • Healthcare Professionals Graduate Student Alliance
  • Doctors without Borders Student Corp.

Study Abroad Programs

The MPH curriculum requires students to complete a minimum of 200 hours of practical fieldwork experience in a public health practice setting. The practicum is intended to be a mutually beneficial experience for both the student and the organization. Students may choose to complete the practicum in another country. This can be a very rewarding and life-changing experience but will require more planning and effort.


Develop some of these technical and professional competencies to be successful:

  • Research
  • Assessment
  • Analysis
  • Public Speaking
  • Teaching and Education
  • Health Advocacy
  • Empathy
  • Health Promotion
  • Communication
  • Community Outreach
  • Cultural Awareness
  • Disease Prevention

See what other Public Health Majors are doing!


Additional Resources



Page last modified October 23, 2023