Service at the Oregon MPH

The OMPH Program incorporates its enduring commitment to service in the program mission. The program and its members strive to provide, enhance, or support service activities to meet the public health needs of urban and rural populations in cooperation with appropriate community professionals and organizations. This commitment to service is realized in a number of ways.  

Service is an expectation of all core Oregon MPH faculty.  Faculty service includes activities undertaken outside of normal teaching and research expectations and for the benefit of the profession or society. The faculty of the OMPH Program make major contributions to their personal and professional communities through service activities.

Student Service

OMPH students are also broadly engaged in service activities that benefit the society or the profession, both as a function of the curriculum and by virtue of personal motivation. All OMPH students are expected to engage in service via the field experience required as a part of the curriculum. Several OMPH courses also emphasize service-learning and community-based placements. 

Although not limited to the non‑profit sector, service is often provided in such a setting because the needs of organizations in this sector are often the greatest.  Service may take many forms, including but not limited to:

• Volunteer service with no academic connection, such as serving as a volunteer with a local non-profit organization or health services provider.
• Volunteer service related to the academic program, such as actively working within a student organization or serving on a program committee.
• Participation in community-based service-learning experiences as part of an academic course, such as completing a requirement in which the student works in a community‑based setting and provides professional assistance to an agency using skills or competencies developed in the context of the course (e.g. evaluation or community organizing). 
• Community-based service-learning as a function of the field experience, in which placement responsibilities relate to the individual learning competencies of the student’s track.

Opportunities for students to volunteer in community agencies and organizations are regularly posted on the student listservs and on the OMPH Program website, and faculty involved in community-based projects frequently engage students in their activities. Please Volunteer Opportunities page for more information on volunteer opportunities.

The OMPH Program recognizes both faculty and students for their contributions of service activities. Awards granted by the program include: the Deans Oversight Council’s Faculty Excellence Awards and Outstanding Student Award, each of which recognize accomplishments in service.     

The three partner universities each include as a part of their respective missions an emphasis on service to the community. As example, Portland State University's community-based learning curriculum is among the best in the nation according to U.S. News & World Report (USNWR). For more information go to: http://www.pdx.edu/cae/us-news-rankings#servicelearning