The MCHC/RISE-UP Program provides opportunities for enhanced public health leadership training in maternal and child health, focusing on social determinants of health, elimination of health disparities, and developmental disabilities. Grant funding for this program was awarded to Kennedy Krieger Institute by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) John R. Lewis Undergraduate Public Health Scholars Program to develop a national consortium of institutions and universities that provides undergraduate scholars with three public health leadership experiences: (1) clinical, (2) research, and (3) community engagement and advocacy.

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The consortium was built on the Leadership Education and Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) and University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) training framework and includes:

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1. Kennedy Krieger Institute partnering with the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, School of Nursing, School of Medicine, Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Historically Black Colleges and Universities

2. The University of South Dakota partnering with Tribal Serving Institutions

3. The University of California, Davis (UC-Davis) MIND Institute partnering with UC-Davis Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

4. Aaniiih Nakoda College/Fort Belknap Community

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MCHC/RISE-UP’s ultimate goal is to promote a more equitable health system by introducing highly qualified, diverse undergraduate and recent baccalaureate degree scholars (undergraduate juniors, seniors, and scholars who received their baccalaureate degree within 12 months of MCHC/RISE-UP program orientation), who have at least a 2.7 GPA on a 4.0 scale, to the field of public health.

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All scholars interested in maternal and child health, reducing health disparities, and promoting social justice, especially scholars from underrepresented populations in the field of public health, are strongly encouraged to apply.

Individuals eligible to apply are:

• Rising juniors, and seniors with a GPA 2.7 or better on a 4.0 scale
• Students who received their baccalaureate degree within 12 calendar months of the MCHC/RISE-UP orientation

• U.S. Citizens, U.S. Nationals, or Permanent Residents
• Able to commit to the length of the program