Public and Community Health Opportunities

The Office of Diversity Programs is directly involved in the improvement of the St. Louis public’s health through an integrated public health curriculum and student-led groups.

Public health training programs

Sat-clinic

The Saturday Neighborhood Health Clinic offers medical students the opportunity to serve the community while also learning about public health through a practical, hands-on clinical experience.

View a video about the clinic from Medical Alumni and Development’s Mentors series:

Read an Outlook article about the Saturday Neighborhood Health Clinic »

  • Public Health Interest Group: A student affinity group that provides guest lecturers from national authorities in public health, networking for students interested in careers in public health and service opportunities.

Degree programs

Melvin Blanchard with residents

Washington University also offers degree programs in public health and population health.

  • MD/MPH Degree: Available exclusively to current Washington University School of Medicine students pursuing their Doctor of Medicine degree, students in this program earn a Master of Public Health degree from the Brown School in one additional year of study. Designed for medical students with an interest in population health, this program approaches improving community health from the perspective of prevention. Students gain an understanding of the social, economic, environmental and cultural determinants of health and learn to apply evidence-based approaches to community-level disease prevention, health promotion and health policy. MD/MPH Degree Program Overview »
  • MD/MPHS Degree: The Master of Population Health (MPHS) offered by the School of Medicine is a 10-month, full-time degree program for medical students, residents, fellows and attendings seeking training in clinical research methods. The curriculum emphasizes the role of clinical epidemiology and biostatistics in approaching clinical effectiveness and outcomes research for all medical fields.

Public health student groups

Casa-de-salud

Students participate in a variety of activities and groups focused on public health. These include: