What to know
- Developing a strong public health workforce begins with attracting future generations to public health career paths through STEM education.
Why it's important
Our programs and resources engage students of all ages in real-world public health issues. They are meant to enhance student understanding of how to keep communities healthy and inspires them to explore public health careers.
Strategies
We aim to foster educational excellence in STEM for K-12 students and college and graduate students of all backgrounds.
Our K–12 resources for students and teachers focus on using public health examples from everyday life. This helps students apply STEM concepts and skills. Using a variety of scenarios and characters also helps students to see themselves in public health.
For grade 6–12 students, we offer STEM-based camps, trainings, activities, and apps. For 6–12 teachers, we also offer training and resources to bring public health into their classroom. These resources can help build health literacy and essential STEM skills. They also help show different pathways to a public health career that are accessible and meaningful.
For students in college and graduate school, we offer internships and trainings, and fellowships for after they graduate.
There are also programs for students interested in minority health and eliminating health disparities. These include the CDC John R. Lewis Undergraduate Public Health Scholars Program and James A. Ferguson Emerging Infectious Diseases Graduate Fellowship
Learn more about CUPS/Ferguson programs:
- For a comprehensive list of CDC’s efforts to advance STEM in public health, download the STEM Resources at CDC