UMass Boston

Unique Partnership Between UMass Boston Urban Public Health Department and Boston Public Health Commission to Launch This Fall for the First Senior Class of Students

Mayor Michelle Wu announced today a groundbreaking partnership between the University of Massachusetts Boston and Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) that will provide students with real world training and experience in urban public health, including delivering public health education in high schools across the city.

The partnership between UMass Boston’s Urban Public Health Department and BPHC will offer internships this fall to the first class of seniors in the program. It deepens the partnership between the city and its only public research university and further strengthens Boston’s longstanding commitment to ensuring all residents can live healthy, fulfilling lives.

“Boston thrives when our young people have opportunities to learn, lead, and directly shape the future of their communities,” said Mayor Michelle Wu. “By bringing together UMass Boston, Boston Public Health Commission, and our Boston schools, we are giving our young people the chance to connect with public health leaders, gain meaningful hands-on experience and share trusted information with their peers and communities. We are excited to build on this partnership and create a healthier, more connected Boston for years to come.”

“Our students know that public health begins close to home, and we are pleased to create this opportunity through our expanding partnership with the City of Boston to give our students hands-on experience improving health and fighting disease in their backyards and around the world,” said UMass Boston Chancellor Marcelo Suárez-Orozco. “UMass Boston is proud to deepen our work with Mayor Wu and the entire city to further her goals to improve life expectancy and eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities.”

UMass Boston launched the Urban Public Health Department in 2022. It currently serves 65 students entering their second, third, and fourth years and will expand to over 100 students this fall semester with the arrival of first-year students. The department prepares students for jobs in the public health field, with a focus on improving the health of diverse urban populations. Students seeking a bachelor’s degree study environmental health, epidemiology, data science, biostatistics, health care systems, urbanization, and health communications, with a focus on problem-solving while working with internationally renowned professors who challenge their assumptions about the social and cultural forces shaping modern community health. 

“Our students, particularly our seniors working in internships and their capstone, long for this kind of hands-on experiential learning, and there could be no better place to do that than with the Public Health Commission and in Boston schools,” said Patricia Janulewicz, chair of the Urban Public Health Department.

This also builds on the Boston Public Health Commission’s continued work to unite public health leadership and academia through Boston SPHERE (Strengthening Public Health-Academic Partnerships in Education, Research, and Equity), a coalition of colleges, universities, research centers, and academic medical centers working together to bridge the gap between research and on-the-ground outcomes. BPHC has long been invested in growing a diverse and culturally responsive workforce through its Boston Area Health Education Center (a partner of the statewide MassAHEC Network at the University of Massachusetts Medical School). BPHC also has a commitment to promoting adolescent health, providing evidence-based health education and other services through the Health Resource Center program and other adolescent-focused initiatives.

“This partnership with UMass Boston is an excellent example of how universities and public health organizations can come together in a shared commitment to improving the well-being of our communities,” said Dr. Bisola Ojikutu, commissioner of Public Health for the City of Boston. “I’m grateful for UMass Boston’s partnership with us as part of SPHERE, BPHC staff who are supporting this program, and the students who will be a great support in our efforts to deliver health education to Boston high school students through peer-led, evidence-based programming and mentorship.”

The full-year academic program will include a first-semester training with BPHC experts focused on adolescent health, health education delivery, and community engagement. The students will then, under BPHC supervision, deliver health education to Boston high school students during the school day. UMass Boston students applied to the department last spring and were selected by BPHC. Those students will be paired with Boston high school educational sites this fall.

UMass Boston students said they were grateful for the opportunity to work with the Boston Public Health Commission. 

Nayerie Rosario-Johnson, Public Health student, UMB UPH Department:

"My experience in the Urban Public Health program at UMass Boston has given me the knowledge, tools, and confidence to see myself as someone who can make a meaningful difference in public health. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to work with the Boston Public Health Commission for my senior capstone through a program that aligns with my values and developing career. I look forward to learning more while having an impact on the health and well-being of youth in Boston."

Balsam Mafhoum, Public Health student, UMB UPH Department:

"The Urban Public program at UMass Boston has opened both doors of knowledge and opportunity for me. Throughout the last three years, I have learned that public health is more than just an individual's choices, but rather how the systems and conditions they operate under dictate their wellbeing. As I begin my senior year, I look forward to serving as a health education intern with the Boston Public Health Commission, utilizing my knowledge of the social determinants of health and the importance of equitable access to help the younger generation make informed decisions about their bodies and lives."

Jason Song, Public Health student, UMB UPH Department:

"Working with the Urban Public Health faculty at UMass Boston has been very inspirational for me through learning about the spread of diseases and how to study them. I find this useful because it allows us to apply knowledge gained in the program to current real-world scenarios, which is something that I aspire to do in my career. During my senior year, I am looking forward to learning from public health professionals at the BPHC in an environment where I can learn directly from their experience so that I can continue to grow as a public health professional."