Rural Public Health agencies face considerable challenges in securing sustainable funding for public health positions. Meanwhile, Universities face challenges in providing real life opportunities for student learning, including placement of students in meaningful internships that grow student skillset and prepare them for careers after college.

Out of the box thinking lead to the inception of a strong partnership between local public health agencies in Southwest and South Central Minnesota and Minnesota State University, Mankato's (MSU, M) Department of Applied Health Science.

This partnership has supported MSU, M to bring public health into the classroom, modifying class work to support outcomes that will benefit local public health agencies. Now students are collecting and analyzing real data sets to identify community needs and developing findings and recommendations that support local health agencies, or researching the best communications strategies to use when reaching different community groups living within our rural communities.

Additionally, undergraduate and graduate students seeking careers in Public Health are able to apply for paid internships where they learn more about rural public health and work on projects that benefit the entire region.

Learn more about Minnesota State University, Mankato's Department of Applied Health Science.