Undergraduate Results

Owen Chun poses with Jedi garb and a blue lightsaber

Exploring Public Health in a galaxy not so far away...

University of Michigan senior Owen Chun earned a CDC John R. Lewis Scholarship, taught himself database coding to help communities access HIV resources, and leads 80 students in public health advocacy. Chun is the president of the Star Wars Club at the university. He credits the club with helping him make connections and build community across campus.

Undergraduate student Robert Lee, left, talks with Emily Youatt outside of the School of Public Health building.

Building tomorrow's public health leaders

Undergraduate program transforms from groundbreaking initiative to thriving academic program

Michigan Public Health’s undergraduate program, launched in 2017, prepares students for diverse careers through interdisciplinary training and hands-on research. Now expanding to 500 students, the program offers faculty mentorship, mandatory health equity coursework, and new study abroad opportunities, with 95% of graduates employed or pursuing advanced degrees within six months.

Zhariyah Laughlin, left, watches as Frederique Laubepin shows the class what to do on the whiteboard

Embracing AI in the classroom

A new frontier in public health education

A group of students in an artificial intelligence class taught by Frederique Laubepin at Michigan Public Health created WanderWell, an AI-powered app offering 24/7, stigma-free support. By utilizing GPT-4 technology, a language model developed by OpenAI, these students designed WanderWell to deliver empathetic, culturally competent care, harm reduction strategies, and access to local resources and emergency services.

Jillian McConville

Staff Q&A: Getting to know Jillian McConville

Assistant Director of Undergraduate Education

Jillian McConville has worked at Michigan Public Health since 2014 and personally has helped 451 undergraduate students earn their bachelor’s degrees since 2017. Her expertise and thoughtful guidance helped steer undergraduates through the COVID-19 pandemic so they could go out into the world and be a part of the solution.

 Michigan Public Health’s first online MPH cohort (l-r): Adam Kollipara, Elizabeth Brueggeman, Melanie Berent, Christopher Rudski (and son), Kathy Heselschwerdt, and Maelyn Bremer. University Michigan

Welcome Class of 2021: Photo Gallery

Recent graduates from the University of Michigan School of Public Health share their thoughts about distance learning, the many things they learned as students, and the personal and communal resilience that helped them navigate multiple public health crises while working toward graduate degrees.