​To increase access to advanced study and career opportunities in public health for minorities, the Public Health Foundation (PHF) was awarded a cooperative agreement from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In years one and two of this cooperative agreement, PHF collaborated with one Historically Black College or University (HBCU) – Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) – to pilot an outreach program.

The collaboration has yielded the development and implementation of a program that specifically targets and is designed to: 1) increase the number of minority undergraduate students aware of public health as a field of study and the variance and diversity of career tracts in public health; 2) provide access to introductory public health training; and 3) provide public health internship opportunities to facilitate the target populations pursuit of public health careers. An increased number in minority undergraduate students with awareness about and access to training in public health can effectively contribute to ensuring that the public health workforce is more representative of all populations that comprise communities, especially minority communities with limited access to culturally competent public health programs.

This document has results from this pilot initiative.