Soul Capital: Keeping Social Justice at the Core of the Public Health Student Experience from Admission to Graduation and Beyond

Issues: Idealism and affinity for the social reform movements of the day have long characterized students and practitioners of public health. Contemporary public health students motivated by social justice often find themselves fixed between their individual obligations and institutional goals. These students channel their passions to urgent health injustices on and off-campus, even before they acquire skills to address the injustices they'll confront after commencement. The authors believe that social justice impulse is a form of ‘intellectual and soul capital' which properly animates public health scholarship and maturation of a professional PH identity. The extent to which this capital's formation is supported or disincentivized may influence students' long-term affiliation with her/his SPH, and with the organizational structures of the field.

Description: The authors assessed public health student experiences and program structure to classify promoters and/or inhibitors of sustained social justice ‘identity.' Themes that emerge from Phase One of this exploration will be shared widely to ascertain multi-school validity.

Lessons Learned: The authors anticipate numerous supportive and inhibitory stimuli do occur intentionally and incidentally in public health education which influences students' social justice practice. Crucial “capture points” throughout graduate school matriculation may thrust PH students towards solidifying and maintaining social justice identities.

Recommendations: A proposed policy agenda will be taken from Phase Two of the study; it will be of use to Schools of Public Health, student networks, and alumni organizations.