Public Health Scholarly Concentration

This scholarly concentration provides foundational knowledge in public health including:

Characteristics, organization, and functioning of the U.S. health system
Trends impacting public health
Causes of death and disability
Historical contributions of public health to life expectancy and quality of life
Key terms and concepts of public and population health
How to assess and impact public and population health at the local, state, and national levels
Local and global factors that determine health at a population level
Evidence-based interventions and evaluations
Focus on low-resource and other vulnerable populations

Students are encouraged to apply to both the Public Health Scholarly Concentration and the IMPRS Summer Research Program, but ONLY if they have the same mentor (or mentoring team) and project for both. There is insufficient time in the summer between the first and second years of medical school to do two independent projects and do them well. IMPRS links students with mentors and projects. Students who don't apply to or are NOT accepted into IMPRS can work with the Public Health Scholarly Concentration co-directors to identify a mentor and project idea, if needed.

Students applying to participate in AmeriCorps’ Hoosier Public Health Corps should probably NOT apply for the Scholarly Concentration in Public Health. Many students who have done both have struggled to find sufficient time and mentoring to complete their Scholarly Concentration project while also fulfilling their AmeriCorps responsibilities.

Students who participate in the scholarly concentration may later choose to enroll in the IU School of Medicine's MD-MPH combined degree program with the IU Fairbanks School of Public Health or obtain a certificate in public health from Fairbanks. The two public health courses taken in the scholarly concentration will count towards the required coursework for the MPH or certificate, and the scholarly concentration project can be expanded to a master's thesis. Further information can be obtained from Bill Tierney, MD, director of the MD-MPH combined degree program.

It is important to note that the Scholarly Concentration in Public Health accepts students from ALL IUSM regional campuses yet strives to link students to mentors on their home campus, whenever possible. Because of its statewide scope, the Scholarly Concentration in Public Health is one of the largest Scholarly Concentrations, accepting between 15 and 30 students per class, potentially, depending on interest.

Location

Because the Scholarly Concentration in Public Health accepts students from all nine IUSM campuses, all concentration coursework is entirely online. The scholarly project work usually occurs in the student's IU School of Medicine campus city and/or region or a mutually agreed upon site. Some students have arranged to focus their project on global health and spend some time in IU's Kenya Program. Further information can be obtained from Bill Tierney

Curriculum and Timeline

Students completing the Public Health Scholarly Concentration fulfill the same core curriculum on the fundamentals of research and scholarship as students in other concentrations. The didactic components provide a strong academic and experiential foundation in public health that will be vital for completion of the core curriculum project and product.

Topic-Specific Courses

Introduction to Public Health

Population Health for Clinicians

Core Curriculum

Fundamentals of Research and Scholarship

Scholarly Concentration Project

Scholarly Concentration Product

Recommended Pathway

Phase 1 Year 1

No courses

Summer 1

Introduction to Public Health — Offered May 19-Aug. 1, 2026; online asynchronous
Population Health for Clinicians — Offered May 19-Aug. 1, 2026; online asynchronous
Fundamentals of Research and Scholarship — Offered May 21-July 31, 2026; online asynchronous
Scholarly Concentration Project — Begins in the summer and continues longitudinally until complete. Location by agreement with concentration leaders and mentor.

Phase 1 Year 2

Scholarly Concentration Project continues
Scholarly Concentration Product — Begins in Phase 1 Year 2 and continues until complete. Location by agreement with concentration leaders and mentor.

Phase 2

Scholarly Concentration Project continues
Scholarly Concentration Product continues

Phase 3

Scholarly Concentration Project continues
Scholarly Concentration Product continues

This table shows that the first three topic specific courses should be completed during the summer between first and second year of med school. The two remaining courses, project and product, are longitudinal and can begin as soon as the summer between first and second year of med school and conclude on or before the end of fourth year.

Students determine if a concentration pathway will fit in their schedule by contacting concentration co-directors.

Scholarly Project Topic Examples

Students work with faculty to complete a project in a relevant topic based on student interests. Students are welcome to come up with their own project idea. Potential project topics include:

Access to health care
Aging and geriatric health
Cancer
Cardiovascular diseases
Childhood development
Chronic disease management
Diabetes prevention and treatment
Global health
Health promotion/disease prevention: Adults
Health promotion/disease prevention: Children
Infectious diseases
Maternal and child health
Mental health
Neurologic diseases/stroke
Nutrition and obesity
Palliative care
Pandemic preparedness & response (+ vaccination)
Public health data, epidemiology, and analytics
Public safety
Social barriers to health
Substance use/misuse/addiction (opioids, alcohol, etc.)
Tobacco use/smoking cessation
Trauma
Topic of the student's choosing (with co-director approval)

Student Testimonials

Headshot of student Yannie Heng Why did you choose the Public Health Scholarly Concentration?

I've always been really interested in not just the biological basis behind illness, but the social reasons behind why people get sick. My health care goal eventually is to work on increasing health equity, especially amongst racial minorities, and to reduce barriers to care. So I thought that the Public Health Scholarly Concentration would be the most practical way to go about that. I have very little public health training, and it was just something that I've always been interested in. So I figured it would be good to just learn more about public health.

How has participating in the Public Health Scholarly Concentration shaped your medical school journey?

I think it's helped me view patients much more holistically. I think it's really easy, especially when you have a huge patient load, to just say “well, you have this disease, we're going to treat it and move on.” I think, ultimately, I just have more grace for patients when they have non-compliance issues. It’s helped me become more analytical, not just looking at the biological basis behind the disease; there are so many other things to look out for.

It's also given me a greater appreciation for primary care. I thought I was going to work at the hospital all the time, but seeing that if you have a good public health system you can have all these ways to prevent illness. Having a good public health system is so crucial to care and thinking more broadly about why patients are sick instead of just “oh, they have this disease.”

Headshot of student Melanie Schieve Why did you choose the Public Health Scholarly Concentration?

Public Health stood out as a Scholarly Concentration because of my concurrent interest in pursuing a Master of Public Health (MPH) to further my knowledge of the realm of public health. The Scholarly Concentration really served as a stepping stone for these interests of mine, particularly epidemiology, and how these different principles apply to the field I'm interested in pursuing in medicine, which is Ophthalmology.

How has participating in the Public Health Scholarly Concentration shaped your medical school journey?

It has served as a starting point for my journey within public health. It's been great that there's overlap with the MPH program as far as how credits count; it's helped me complete some of the foundational classes for the MPH that I’m pursuing in epidemiology to make this pathway more smooth.

Being in the Public Health Scholarly Concentration program has provided me with invaluable interdisciplinary education. From learning basic introduction to public health to the overview of health care systems in America, I know I will carry this knowledge forward with me to provide better care for and with my patients.

What have you learned through working on your scholarly project?

It was an opportunity to learn more about scholarship. As a person who had never been involved in academic writing, this concentration has provided me with opportunities to learn about this process so I am comfortable doing it in the future.