Public Health Leadership
The Public Health Leadership concentration equips students with leadership skills to lead equity-focused public health interventions.
Welcome to Public Health Leadership!
Students participate in a highly curated series of workshops grounded in adult development and systems change theories. Upon completion of the concentration, students have a deeper understanding of who they are as leaders including their strengths and growth areas in leading systems level change.
What We Do
Students in the Public Health Leadership concentration are trained to become public health leaders who understand systemic problems, set new directions, lead change, and learn quickly from mistakes. They develop a deep sense of self and know how to connect and collaborate with others to address the most intractable population health challenges.
Learning in this concentration happens both inside and outside the classroom–– as a student, you may participate in retreats, experiential workshops, and peer group meetings to connect with other students and refine your collaboration skills. Students will also gain essential leadership expertise in communication, decision-making, problem-solving, and active listening through a curriculum focused on theories, models, and skills-building. The concentration is offered by the School’s Public Health Leadership Lab, which provides extracurricular opportunities for participants to learn and engage in leadership-building activities. Options are available for both residential and online students.
Info Sessions for the 2025-2026 Academic Year will take place on the following dates:
September 3, 4, 8, 9 (in-person)
September 4, 11 (virtual)
All students who register for the public health leadership lab will be expected to complete each of the following program components.
Curriculum
Students will come together in small groups for a series of leadership workshops. In these workshops, students will develop their leadership skills by engaging in experiential learning, dialogue, and reflection amongst a community of their peers.
Leadership Workshops will take place on select Wednesday and Thursday nights throughout the Fall from 5:30-7:20pm. Exact dates TBD.
All students completing the concentration in Public Health leadership must complete 10 credits of leadership coursework from this roster of approved courses.
Students who are interested in participating in all other programming but who are unable to complete the 10-credits required to fulfill the concentration, are welcomed to apply.
Students in the concentration will have opportunities to engage in coaching as part of their leadership development. This may include options like professional leadership coaching, career mentoring, or peer coaching. More details on the format and availability of each will be shared during upcoming info sessions
PHL students are expected to participate in a Experiential Learning Retreat in the Spring. This Academic year, The PHL Closing Retreat will take place on April 18, 2026.
Enrollment
All Harvard Chan students enrolled in any online or in-person degree program are eligible to participate in Public Health Leadership Lab programming. Students interested in receiving a concentration in Public Health Leadership will be required to complete 10 credits of leadership coursework, and must be enrolled in a degree program.
Once accepted to Harvard Chan School, students may complete a short PHL application for admission. The application will be available in late August.