Author: Mahir Khan

What makes the UConn MPH unique?

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Navigating your path into grad school can be tough, especially when options might feel infinite. Being able to make an informed decision at this stage is crucial as it can have a profound impact on the rest of your life. In this post today, we’ll talk about seven factors that make our Master of Public Health a great choice for anyone considering a career in public health.

  1. CEPH accreditation

The MPH program at UConn Health is CEPH accredited. CEPH stands for the Council on Education for Public Health, which ensures that curricula, faculty, and resources offered in the program are rigorous enough to guarantee competent professionals for the workplace. What this means for you is that the program’s curriculum is held to a nationally recognized standard, ensuring a high-quality education that equips you for success in the real world.

  1. Interdisciplinary Research Opportunities

Collaborating on research projects with professors is one of the most rewarding experiences of grad school. This experience not only helps you build your research skills but also paves the way for additional opportunities in academia and research. The practical experiences you can gain through these experiences pay off immensely in the long run.

At UConn Health, our program has faculty from a plethora of fields who are engaged in cutting-edge research. If you enjoy research and want to hone your research skills further, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to do so. To learn more about our faculty research interests, please visit here.

  1. Applied practice

For many of us, grad school is the final stage of formal education before entering into the professional world. Therefore, it is important to choose a program that makes practical learning a part of its curriculum so that we can be better prepared for the professional world.

The MPH at UConn Health goes beyond classroom experience. It allows you to apply your learned knowledge into real-world settings through practicum, capstone, or a thesis project. From practicum, a supervised hands-on field experience with a local health organization, to capstone, you’ll have plenty of scope to gain real-life experience. The program also offers many volunteering opportunities that offer you the chance to become involved with the community and put your learned knowledge into practice in a meaningful way. Each of these experiences will bring you one step closer to becoming an efficient and resourceful public health professional.

If you’re interested in learning about practicum or our grad students’ experiences, please visit here.

  1. Customize your degree

The MPH program offers a variety of electives to choose from. In addition to the core courses, these electives give students the opportunity to tailor their degree to their own interests. Whether you are interested in statistics, occupational and environmental epidemiology, or law and ethics, there is something for everyone. This variety of electives helps students build a strong foundation in their chosen area of interest.

  1. Funding opportunities

The MPH program at UConn Health also offers many funding opportunities for students. These funding opportunities come in many forms, such as fellowship, teaching and/or research assistant, graduate assistant, and more. In addition to providing invaluable practical experiences, these opportunities often provide tuition remissions or a stipend for students. What’s more exciting than getting paid for studying?

  1. Accelerated program

The MPH program at UConn Health also offers many dual degrees and an accelerated program. Our most common accelerated program is called the FastTrack MPH program, which enables UConn undergraduates to earn a Master of Public Health in one year. In this program, eligible students take 12 graduate credits during their time in undergrad that count toward both their bachelor’s and MPH degrees, saving both time and money. If you’re interested in learning more about our FastTrack program, please visit here.

  1. Expanded networking opportunities

Our MPH program attracts students from a variety of fields, including medicine, business, psychology, and data science. Each class is designed to encourage collaboration at every step, providing ample opportunities for students to connect and build professional relationships. The connections formed in the program often result in lifelong friendships.

As mentioned in the article, graduate school is often the final stage of formal learning for most of us. So, before you choose your grad school, ensure it is equipped with resources to help you reach your goals.

If you have any questions, please reach us out at publichealth@uchc.edu.

Supporting Our Community: UConn Health MPH Partner with Hands on Hartford

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At Department of Public Health Sciences, community engagement isn’t just a value, it’s part of who we are. Recently, we had the absolute pleasure of partnering with Hands on Hartford, a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing housing and food security and improving health for individuals and families in need.

As part of this initiative, we dropped off our department’s donated goods and met with Kelly, the organization’s Community Engagement and Partnerships & Communications Coordinator. Thanks to the generosity of our community and UConn Health colleagues, we were able to donate around 260 items to support their ongoing programs.

During our visit, Kelly shared inspiring insights into Hands on Hartford’s impactful work supporting residents throughout the city and the pressing challenges they’re facing. Her stories vividly reflect the difference community partnerships can make and how vital it is to continue lending a hand.

We left feeling deeply inspired and eager to explore future collaborations, including a potential video project to showcase Hands on Hartford’s incredible impact and highlight upcoming volunteer opportunities. Stay tuned for more on that!

If you’d like to get involved or support their mission, please visit: https://handsonhartford.org/volunteer/

These are their biggest needs right now:

1) Financial Contributions
2) Nonperishable food for our Community Pantry
3) Full Size toiletries and household essentials for our Community Pantry
4) Food for our kids’ backpack nutrition program
5) Snack kits for our Homeless Outreach Team

Together, small acts of kindness add up to lasting impact.

  • PHS-HandsOnHartford

2025-2026 Segal Scholars: Mevlana Iljazi & Laura Contreras

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Mevlana Iljazi

Raised in an Albanian immigrant household in Waterbury, CT, Mevlana brings a lived understanding of health inequities to her public health work. Witnessing people in her life struggle with addiction, stigmatizing care, and limited access to services ignited her commitment to equity-focused practice. A first-generation college graduate (B.S. in Allied Health Sciences, minor in Psychological Sciences, UConn ’25), she is now pursuing an MPH at the UConn School of Medicine (expected May 2027).

Her experience spans frontline care and research. In emergency departments at Connecticut Children’s and Bristol Hospital and in laboratory client services at Hartford Hospital, she supported diverse, often underserved patients while honing culturally responsive communication and coordination skills. Academically, she contributed to an international study on youth obesity and the Mediterranean diet, a meta-analytic project on cancer survivors and caregiver wellbeing, and a Health Disparities Institute evaluation using CBPR principles. The Segal Scholars Fund will enable her to deepen this community-engaged research and training, with a career goal of leading programs that expand equitable care, reduce addiction stigma, and improve mental health access for immigrant and low-income communities.

Laura Contreras

Raised in a predominantly Spanish-speaking community in Connecticut, Laura learned early how language barriers, misinformation, and limited cultural humility can derail care. Translating medical terminology for family as a child sparked her commitment to bridge gaps in communication and trust. A recent UConn graduate (B.S. in Allied Health Sciences; concentration in Public Health & Health Promotion; minor in Culture, Health & Human Development), she is entering the UConn MPH program with a focus on epidemiology and community health.

Lauren’s experience blends research, outreach, and frontline service. She supported Spanish-speaking residents as a translator with Waterbury’s mobile vaccination clinic and advanced oral-health education during a nonprofit internship, designing bilingual outreach materials and engagement plans. As a Research Assistant in the Racial Trauma & Health Lab, she conducted literature reviews and contributed to project planning; as a Resident Assistant and staff member at the Puerto Rican/Latin American Cultural Center, she fostered inclusive, health-promoting environments. Study-abroad service in Cusco, Peru, further deepened her cultural competence. With fluency in Spanish and a passion for clear, culturally responsive health education, Laura aims to pair epidemiologic training with community-facing work—promoting healthy behaviors, building trust, and serving as a role model for other first-generation students pursuing advanced education.