Public Health Partnerships

We’re proud of the deep community connections we maintain and the active knowledge-sharing we practice to stay on the cutting edge of today’s most pressing public health issues. We invite you to learn more about our Masters of Public Health partnerships.

Community Partners

Vermont Department of Health
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A valued partner of the Master of Public Health Program is the Vermont Department of Health. Many MPH Program part-time faculty, mentors and preceptors are practicing public health officials at the Vermont Department of Health. These faculty possess a wealth of knowledge and experience in the diverse areas of public health and provide a broad range of academic and real-world expertise to students. As a former Vermont Commissioner of Health, MPH Program Director Dr. Jan K. Carney has a strong working relationship with the Vermont Department of Health. This relationship serves to facilitate discussions about professional development needs in the community and position the MPH Program as an important educational resource. These faculty provide connections to public health professionals and other colleagues who are able to assist students and alumni with networking and career advice. In addition, many of the MPH Community Advisory Board Members are from the Vermont Department of Health.

Northern New England Clinical Translational Research Network
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MPH faculty are actively engaged with the Northern New England Clinical and Translational Research (NNE-CTR), focusing on translational research to improve health outcomes, especially in rural areas of Vermont and Northern New England. The NNE-CTR network is working to enhance the health of northern New Englanders by fostering and coordinating clinical, translational and educational research. 

Maine Medical Center Research Institute and the University of Vermont are joined by partners, collaborators and affiliated Institutions to leverage and coordinate regional resources to conduct collaborative research and disseminate the findings.

Vermont Public Health Association
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Through participation on committees and at meetings, as well as contributions to newsletters, the MPH Program has a strong partnership with the Vermont Public Health Association (VTPHA). In 2018, MPH Program Director Dr. Carney was awarded the VTPH “Public Health Champion” Award in recognition of her significant and meaningful contribution to the improved health of Vermonters. This was the first recognition for this annual award.

Applied Practice Experience Partners

What is an Applied Practice Experience (APE)?

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The Applied Practice Experience (APE) is a 1-credit, brief work-based learning experience at a public health organization with the goal of preparing skilled and versatile graduates dedicated to improving public health through practice, research, education, and leadership.

The APE is conducted in person or virtually at a public health organization that the graduate student identifies (with assistance from a UVM APE coach) within the student’s commuting distance in their home state. It usually lasts an average of a few hours per week for 4 weeks, during the student’s final spring semester. 

Finding the organization and Preceptor employed by that organization is usually completed in the preceding (fall) semester. There is no payment to the student or to the public health organization.

APE Opportunities

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Applied Practice Experiences create opportunities to assess population needs, assets, and capacities that affect community health. Students apply awareness of cultural values and practices to the design or implementation of public health policies or programs, propose strategies to identify stakeholders and build coalitions and partnerships for influencing public health outcomes, select communication strategies for different audiences and sectors, and perform effectively on inter-professional teams.

APE Mentors

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Each organization supplies a mentor, called a Preceptor, to support the student’s learning. Besides overseeing the student’s introduction to the organization’s activities and colleagues, the Preceptor helps the student identify 2 small items that the student develops by the end of the spring semester. These items help meet the organization’s needs, while showcasing the student’s knowledge and skills. 

Types of organizations to host students

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  • Health departments
  • Not-for-profit agencies
  • Non-governmental organizations
  • Community-based organizations
  • Select businesses

Sample products for students to complete

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  • Background materials
  • Fact sheets/infographics for professional or lay audiences
  • Presentations (slides/scripts)
  • Literature reviews, annotated bibliographies, and internet searches
  • Policy analysis
  • Educational materials for professional or lay audiences
  • Logic models
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If you are interested in having our students support your organizations success by becoming an APE Site Partner, please email us. public.health@uvm.edu 

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Past APE Site Location Partners

Explore where previous MPH students have completed their applied practice experience.

More about Past APE Site Location Partners