How to Explore Public Health in High School (Beyond Pre-Med)

Author: ExtracurricularHub Editorial Team · Reviewed by Parker, Founder — editorial policy

Published · Last updated

Article Summary

Explore public health in high school: CDC Disease Detective Camp, HOSA epidemiology and public health events, AI and health programs, and your own projects.

Full Article

If you're interested in health but not sure you want to spend your life in a hospital, public health may be the field you're looking for. Medicine usually cares for one patient at a time. Public health looks at whole communities: why an illness is spreading, who is most at risk, and what a school, a city or a country can do to prevent it. It draws on biology, statistics, policy, communication and more, and many of its careers don't require medical school.

The good news for high school students is that you can start exploring public health now, because so much of it runs on data, writing and community work that doesn't need a degree. Here are five ways in, with program details checked against official pages on September 26, 2026.

What Public Health Work Looks Like

  • Epidemiology: tracking how diseases and other health problems are distributed in a population, finding their causes and risk factors, and investigating outbreaks.
  • Environmental health: air, water, food safety and how where people live affects their health.
  • Health policy: the laws, rules and programs that shape who gets care and how.
  • Health communication and education: getting accurate health information to the people who need it.
  • Global health: health problems and solutions that cross borders.
  • Health data and technology: using statistics, programming and increasingly AI to understand and improve health.

You don't need to choose one now. The activities below let you try several.

Five Ways to Explore Public Health

Way inExampleWho it suits
Learn the basics onlineCDC's Public Health 101 SeriesAnyone curious, any grade
CompeteHOSA events such as Epidemiology and Public HealthStudents with a HOSA chapter or health science program at school
Spend a week at CDCCDC Museum Disease Detective CampRising juniors and seniors who can get to Atlanta
Combine health and dataMIT Jameel Clinic AI & Health bootcampGrades 10-12 interested in coding and health
Run your own projectA community health survey or data analysisStudents who want independent work to show

1. Learn the basics

The CDC's Public Health 101 Series offers introductory courses "designed for people interested in public health" as well as professionals who want a refresher. Its Introduction to Epidemiology course covers key terms, sources of data and study design, and has learners calculate rates of disease and walk through the steps an epidemiologist takes to investigate an outbreak. It's a solid, official starting point before you commit to a program or competition.

2. Compete with HOSA

HOSA-Future Health Professionals is a student organization for health careers that has grown to more than 200,000 members since 1976. HOSA says it works best when it is part of a school's health science curriculum, so the usual way in is a chapter at your school; ask your health science teacher or counselor.

HOSA's 2026-2027 competitive event guidelines include several events that are public health at heart:

  • Epidemiology
  • Public Health
  • Environmental Health
  • World Health & Disparities
  • Extemporaneous Writing - Health Policy
  • Mental Health Promotion, Health Education and Health Informatics

Two rules to know: at the International Leadership Conference a member can enter only one regular competitive event, and HOSA says states may have different event processes and deadlines, so check with your state association. The 2027 International Leadership Conference is set for June 22-25, 2027 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia.

3. Spend a week as a disease detective

The CDC Museum Disease Detective Camp is held at CDC headquarters in Atlanta. The CDC describes it as a fast-paced, academically demanding program where campers work as a team; topics can include epidemiology, outbreaks, disease surveillance, global health, environmental health, laboratory technology and public health law.

  • Cost: free to attend, but campers must provide their own housing and transportation. Non-Atlanta residents can apply; past campers have stayed with family friends or relatives.
  • Eligibility: students who are sophomores or juniors when they apply, and at least 16 by the first day of camp. The CDC says this age rule is a federal lab safety requirement with no exceptions. Non-citizens may apply with valid documentation.
  • Format and selectivity: five-day sessions, 8:45 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.; the 2026 sessions ran June 22-26 and July 20-24. Each session has 27 slots, and the CDC says 702 students applied in 2024.
  • 2027: applications for 2026 have closed, and the CDC says to check back in January 2027 for 2027 information.

4. Combine health with data and AI

A lot of modern public health is data work. The MIT Jameel Clinic AI & Health Summer High School Bootcamp is a one-week, in-person program at MIT for grades 10-12 that introduces machine learning methods used in healthcare, with Python instruction split by skill level and a group project.

  • Dates: mid-July 2027, exact dates to be announced.
  • Deadlines: Early Action November 1, 2026; Regular February 22, 2027.
  • Cost: $2,000 tuition, with scholarships that cover tuition and need-blind admissions. It isn't residential, so families arrange housing and transportation, and financial aid isn't available to international participants.

5. Run your own project

Some of the best public health work starts close to home. You might map where your town's food pantries are compared with where families need them, analyze your county's public health data on a question you care about, or run a campaign on vaping, sleep or mental health at your school and measure whether it changed anything.

One caution if you plan to enter an ISEF-affiliated science fair: studies that collect surveys or questionnaires count as human-participants research. The rules require Institutional Review Board approval before you recruit or collect data from anyone, and written parental permission for participants who are minors. Our science fair path guide explains the process.

Skills Worth Building Now

Whatever part of public health pulls you in, a few skills pay off everywhere in the field, and you can start on all of them in high school:

  • Statistics. Rates, averages, samples and uncertainty are the everyday language of epidemiology. Take statistics if your school offers it, or AP Statistics if you can.
  • Spreadsheets and basic programming. Cleaning and charting a real dataset, even a small one, teaches more than any worksheet.
  • Clear writing. Public health runs on reports, policy briefs and messages ordinary people can act on. School newspapers, debate and HOSA's writing events all help.
  • Listening to a community. Programs fail when they're designed without the people they serve. Volunteering and interviews teach you to ask before you assume.
  • A second language. Being able to talk with more members of your community is a real advantage in health education and outreach.

Questions to Ask Before You Pick a Program

  • Will I do the work or watch it? Look for case studies, data projects or fieldwork rather than only lectures.
  • What does it really cost? A free program can still require travel and housing. The CDC camp, for example, is free but expects you to arrange your own place to stay in Atlanta.
  • What will I have at the end? A project, a presentation or a certificate you can describe specifically is worth more on an application than attendance alone.
  • Does it fit my year? A one-week program in July can sit alongside a summer job or a longer research role.

Volunteering That Connects to Public Health

Service is a natural fit for a field built around communities. Look for roles where you see health up close: health education events, food access programs, blood drives, or hospital volunteer programs. Browse volunteer opportunities, and see our guides for future nurses and pre-med and biology students for clinical options.

Turning It Into a Story

Colleges don't need you to have a title like "epidemiologist." They want to see a real interest that grew over time. A strong public health thread might look like this: an online epidemiology course in 9th grade, a HOSA event in 10th, a survey project on a local health question in 11th, and a summer program or research role before senior year. Each step builds on the one before, and each gives you something specific to write about. Our guide to getting research experience can help with that third step.

Browse public health programs, data science programs and pre-med programs to build your list, or take the Find My Fit quiz.

Sources

Facts in this article were last reviewed against these sources on . Programs change their dates and prices; confirm on the official page before you apply.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between public health and pre-med?

Medicine usually cares for one patient at a time. Public health works on the health of whole populations: tracking how diseases spread, finding their causes and risk factors, and designing programs and policies that prevent illness. Many public health careers, like epidemiology, health policy and health data work, don't require medical school.

Is the CDC Disease Detective Camp free?

Yes. The CDC says there is no cost to attend, but campers must arrange their own housing and transportation to CDC's campus in Atlanta. Applicants must be sophomores or juniors when they apply and at least 16 by the first day of camp. The CDC says to check back in January 2027 for 2027 information.

Does HOSA have public health competitions?

Yes. HOSA's 2026-2027 competitive event guidelines include events such as Epidemiology, Public Health, Environmental Health, World Health & Disparities and an extemporaneous writing event on health policy. At the International Leadership Conference a member can enter only one regular competitive event, and states set their own processes and deadlines.

Can I do a public health research project in high school?

Yes, and many start with data you can collect or find locally. If your project involves surveys or other human participants and you plan to enter an ISEF-affiliated science fair, the rules require Institutional Review Board approval before you recruit anyone, plus written parental permission for participants who are minors.

Featured Programs

Related Articles

Read more articles on the ExtracurricularHub Student Success Blog about extracurriculars and college applications.