Professional Groups
This is a selection of public health professional organizations. Joining a professional organization adds to your professional knowledge (most offer continuing education and development opportunities), allows you to network in the field, and shows future employers you are engaged in the professional community.
Most offer discounted student rates.
Why Get Involved?
- Expand your network: Make new connections with professionals who can hire or refer work to you. Participating in an organization should provide you with many opportunities to connect with professionals on a local, regional, national, and sometimes global level. Participating in special interest groups, sections, or discussion boards sponsored by an organization is another way to connect with people who are likeminded and/or working in the same niche you are.
- Boost your credibility and visibility: Being actively involved in your professional community can boost your credibility among your peers, your clients, and your prospects. Associations generally look to their members to share their unique expertise and their connections through their participation in the organization. Raise your hand for a leadership role to not only develop your skills as a leader but also to boost increase your visibility. Relating to other professionals who share common interests is a great way to strengthen your reputation.
- Professional development: Join a professional organization that directly aligns with your interests. Organizations often offer articles, webinars, reports, white papers, courses, workshops, seminars, conferences, and certifications to keep their members current on the latest industry research, innovations, and trends.
- Mentorship opportunities: Finding professionals—junior and senior—who can support your growth is a huge benefit in joining a professional association. There are also meaningful rewards in mentoring others, including honing your leadership abilities, learning new perspectives and insights, and feeling a sense of contribution.
- Build a support system: Making connections outside of your school who understand your circumstances and can offer guidance and insight is one of the most important reasons to join a professional organization. Strong bonds within professional organizations will improve your career opportunities, will help you garner more influence, and most importantly, will make work and life more fun.
Best practice: Don’t wait until you are in need to build your support system. Make the investment into developing authentic relationships early to build a network of advocates who want to see you succeed and are happy to help as needs arise.
- American Association of Public Health Physicians (AAPHP)Mission Statement: Promote the Public's Health. Represent Public Health Physicians. Educate the nation on the role and importance of the Public Health Physician's knowledge and skills in practicing population medicine. Foster Communication, Education and Scholarship in Public Health.
- American College of Epidemiology (ACE)ACE brings together epidemiologists and persons from other professional fields to advance the profession through education, networking, advocacy, and collaboration. We promote the practice of epidemiology across varied employment sectors, with our members representing academic institutions, consulting firms, non-profit organizations, government agencies, healthcare systems, corporations, and other sectors.
- American Public Health Association (APHA)The American Public Health Association is a Washington, D.C.-based professional membership and advocacy organization for public health professionals in the United States. Mission Statement: Improve the health of the public and achieve equity in health status.
- American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene (ASTMH)Mission Statement: The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, founded in 1903, is the largest international scientific organization of experts dedicated to reducing the worldwide burden of tropical infectious diseases and improving global health. We accomplish this through generating and sharing scientific evidence, informing health policies and practices, fostering career development, recognizing excellence, and advocating for investment in tropical medicine/global health research.
- Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL)The Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) works to strengthen laboratory systems serving the public’s health in the United States and globally. APHL represents state and local governmental health laboratories in the United States; this includes public health, agricultural, environmental and other related laboratories. Its members, known collectively as “public health laboratories,” monitor, detect and respond to health threats.
- International Epidemiological Association (IEA)The aim of the IEA is to facilitate communication amongst those engaged in research and teaching of epidemiology throughout the world, and to encourage its use in all fields of health including social, community and preventative medicine. These aims are achieved by holding scientific meetings and seminars, by publication of journals, reports, monographs, translations of books, by contact amongst members and by other activities consistent with these aims. Members are accepted without regard to race, religion, sex, political affiliation or country of origin.
- National Environmental Health Association (NEHA)Mission Statement: To build, sustain, and empower an effective environmental health workforce.
- Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE)The Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) is a nonprofit, independent professional association that represents a diverse membership of health promotion and health education professionals and students in the United States and several international countries.