Student Membership for Academic Programs
Give students meaningful ways to lead, contribute, publish, and engage with the field before graduation.
AHEA offers discounted student membership for academic programs seeking to extend professional development beyond the classroom. Students gain access to substantive leadership, applied experience, publication and recognition opportunities, member forums, and practical tools designed for the public health environment they are preparing to enter.
$75 per student annually · 10-student minimum
Includes 1 complimentary faculty membership ($149 value) for every 10 students
“What draws me most to AHEA is the opportunity to engage with public health professionals at an early stage of my career. As a medical student, the opportunity to serve on AHEA’s National Research and Insights Council allows me to directly shape work that supports the communities I hope to serve as a physician. This is something that could take years to access outside of an organization like AHEA. I’m grateful to be part of an organization so committed to engaging the next generation of advocates and leaders.”
— Haley Dion
Medical Student
AHEA Member
Student member benefits
AHEA was built for the public health environment students are preparing to enter now - one in which funding, roles, institutional priorities, and even the language available for discussing health equity are shifting quickly. Membership is designed not only to help students prepare for that environment, but to give them meaningful ways to lead, contribute, publish, and participate in the field before graduation.
Part of AHEA’s commitment to equity is reflected in how we structure participation within the association. We intentionally create opportunities for students to hold substantive leadership roles and contribute alongside more established professionals, rather than treating those experiences as something they must wait years to access. A student is currently serving on one of AHEA’s National Research and Insights Council, for example.
Students at other universities joining AHEA have shared positive feedback with me directly about opportunities such as serving as Campus Leads, leading real-world advocacy campaigns through the People’s Health Project, and having meaningful ways to build professional experience and visibility while they are still in school.
Taken together, AHEA membership gives students access to experiences that can otherwise be difficult to obtain early in a career - substantive leadership, real-world advocacy, publication, professional visibility, and a voice in larger conversations shaping the field - while helping them prepare for a public health environment that is changing rapidly.
Specific student benefits include:
Leadership through the AHEA Leadership Network, including the opportunity to serve as an AHEA Campus Lead as well as pursue local, state, and national leadership roles. Part of AHEA’s commitment to equity is reflected in how we structure participation within the association: we intentionally create opportunities for students to hold substantive leadership roles and contribute alongside more established professionals, rather than treating those experiences as something they must wait years to access. For example, a student currently serves on AHEA’s National Research and Insights Council.
Real-world advocacy experience through the People’s Health Project, AHEA’s community-action arm. Students work with communities to turn locally identified health priorities into advocacy campaigns, with community insight guiding the effort from the beginning. Through AHEA’s national network and the People's Health Project platform, locally identified priorities can gain national visibility and support, with people across the country able to take action through petitions, emails, phone calls, letters to the editor, and social media. Students gain meaningful experience in community-engaged advocacy while helping communities build momentum around issues that matter to them. For example, students recently led a People’s Health Project campaign focused on period poverty.
Professional recognition and visibility through Profiles in Health Equity Practice and other AHEA initiatives that create opportunities for members and their work to be recognized beyond their home institutions. These opportunities help students begin building professional visibility and a public record of their contributions while they are still in school. Eligible student members may also request an AHEA Graduation Cord to recognize their participation in AHEA.
Publication opportunities through Cases in Health Equity Practice, giving students a way to turn applied work, ideas, and real-world experience - such as practica or People's Health Project campaigns - into contributions for a broader professional audience - and begin building a body of published work early in their careers. In the near future, additional opportunities will be available through AHEA’s peer-reviewed American Journal of Health Equity.
A voice in understanding and documenting the state of the field through national pulse surveys, State of Health Equity Report, and other member input. Rather than only learning about the field, students have opportunities to contribute their own perspectives alongside professionals across the country and help document what organizations, practitioners, and communities are experiencing as the health-equity landscape changes.
Member forums and facilitated conversations designed as a trusted space where students can hear what is really happening on the ground across public health and health equity. These conversations give students access to candid perspectives, emerging challenges, and real-world decision-making that may not surface in the classroom. AHEA has built the forums with specific technology and participation protocols intended to protect privacy and support open, thoughtful discussion among members at different stages of their careers.
The Career Positioner tool, which helps students turn practica, internships, research, community work, and other experiences into a clearer story about what they can offer an employer. It helps them identify transferable strengths, frame their experience for relevant roles, and position themselves more confidently as they move from student to their first job.
The Evidence in Practice tool, which helps students find relevant PubMed evidence more efficiently and make the leap from research findings to real-world public health application - strengthening their ability to enter the workforce ready to connect evidence with programs, policies, and practice.
The Strategic Messaging tool, which helps students strengthen how they communicate public health ideas across different audiences and professional settings without losing the substance of what they want to say. It gives them practical support for navigating the kinds of complex communication environments they are likely to encounter as they enter the workforce.
Expanded member access to AHEA’s tool suite, along with new leadership, publication, recognition, and engagement opportunities introduced during the membership year.