MPH Student Support Fund Applicants

The application portal is now open and can be accessed here. Please read all the guidelines outlined below before submitting an application.

The Cornell Yang Center for Wildlife Health Student Support Fund (CYCWH SSF) provides funding support to Cornell MPH students interested in pursuing summer Applied Practice Experiences (APEx) related to One Health and/or Planetary Health. To be eligible to apply for support, students must identify organizations or projects focused on One Health and/or Planetary Health approaches.

• Experiences must be full-time and at least 4 weeks long, with priority given to experiences lasting 8 weeks or longer. Only unpaid summer experiences based off-campus will be eligible.
• Focus must link public health to anthropogenic environmental change and/or wildlife health. Experiences with a primary focus on human health without clear One Health or Planetary Health linkages are not eligible for funding. Students from any MPH concentration area are eligible to apply.
• Students are responsible for ensuring proposed experiences meet the Cornell MPH criteria for an APEx.

Amount

Up to $4,500 (see eligible expenses in Budget Guidelines below)

Funding is limited and will be allocated competitively. The CYCWH may, at its discretion, award an amount lower than requested. Please note that projects of shorter duration will generally receive lower funding amounts.

Course or Research Credit

Credit for a CYCWH SSF-sponsored summer APEx project should be coordinated directly with the applicant's faculty sponsor and the Cornell MPH office.

Application Process

Funds are limited and will be allocated based on a competitive proposal process. The 2025-26 proposal cycle is now open with applications due by February 27, 2026 at 11:59pm ET. Students will be notified of decisions by April 15, 2026.

Requirements for Eligibility

• Enrolled Cornell MPH students in good academic standing.
• Proposed activity must be related to One Health and/or Planetary Health (focus must link public health to anthropogenic environmental change and/or wildlife health).
• A Cornell Public Health faculty endorsement for the proposed activity.
• Applicant must have already been accepted for the experience.
• Proposed activity must be based off-campus and occur during the summer.
• Experience must be full-time and at least 4 weeks (26 days) long, not including travel time to/from the activity location. Only unpaid experiences will be eligible.
• A mentor willing to support the student during the experience must be identified (Cornell Public Health faculty mentor or external partner mentor).
• Projects must finish within the timeline of a student’s degree.
• Any APEx applicants, if eligible, must have already submitted an application for Cornell MPH Funding.

How to Apply

Information and materials requested in the application include:

• Contact info, graduation year.
• Name of the off-campus experience.
• Site mentor’s full name, email, and degree (e.g. MD, MPH, PhD, DVM, VMD, DVM-PhD, etc.).
• An endorsement from a Cornell Public Health faculty member involved in One Health and/or Planetary Health [full name and email] is required if your mentor listed above is not a Cornell Public Health faculty member. [Note: we are not seeking letters of recommendation.]
• Amount requested.
• Location of activity.
• Anticipated start/end date of activity.
• Describe the off-campus experience and your role (include purpose, organizations/research groups you will be working with, URL describing the activity if available, etc.). [max 150 words]
• Describe your interests related to One Health and/or Planetary Health. [max 150 words]
• Statement of Intent: What do you hope to get out of the experience and how would this activity help further your professional goals? [max 250 words]
• Resume.
• Documentation of your acceptance from your mentor/organization (i.e., a letter confirming dates of practicum experience and willingness to support the applicant, on the institution’s letterhead when possible, or an email confirming dates of acceptance).
• Approvals/Permits: Assess if the project requires IRB or IACUC approval, a CITES or USDA permit, or any other local/national/regional permits.
  • If any approvals or permits are required, the status of the process and documentation must be included in the application.
• Describe any occupational health risks in your planned activity and what your plans are for protecting yourself / other colleagues involved.
• Describe why the proposed partners are unable to fund this.
• A list of any other funding sources that you plan to apply to, have applied to, or funding already allocated for this activity. This would include any stipends / housing subsidies provided by an external partner organization. Note: Any APEx applicants, if eligible, must have already submitted an application for Cornell MPH Funding.
• Itemized budget and justification (see below for detailed budget guidelines and template).
• A list of any previous awards you have received from the CYCWH Student Support Fund, including date, type, activity name, and funding amount.

Budget Guidelines

• Use this budget template. Include detailed calculations and justifications for each line item you are requesting from the SSF.
• Use separate expense categories, such as: airfare, lodging, local transportation, visa, etc.
• Student wages are not eligible.
• Food costs and per diems are not eligible.
• Personal expenses are not eligible; expenses must be directly related to participating in the experience. Clothing and field supplies (e.g. outdoor gear, camping equipment, etc.) are considered personal expenses. Personal protective equipment (PPE), if needed and not available from the hosting organization, is an allowable cost. Preventative health measures (e.g. required vaccines, antimalarial drugs, etc.) are allowable if not covered by a student’s health insurance.
• If including driving mileage using a personal vehicle, applicants may budget up to 21 cents per mile. For rental cars, gas should be calculated based on anticipated mileage and gas price estimates for that area.
• For budgeting purposes, Tompkins County is considered the point of origin and return. If travel begins and/or ends in a location outside of Tompkins County (e.g. other residence, other activity, personal travel), you must provide a cost comparison in your justification between traveling to/from Tompkins County vs. the other location. The lower of the two costs should then be used in your budget request. Flights to/from Syracuse, Elmira, and Binghamton airports are acceptable without flight comparisons.
• Please incorporate any other funding sources (e.g. Cornell MPH Funding, stipends, awards, grants, etc.) already received for this activity into the budget and show how costs would be allocated between the different funding sources. You may add budget items/categories that are not eligible for the SSF, but that are still relevant to your participation in the activity, that will be covered by these other funding sources.
• It is expected that the applicant will budget for travel expenses as cost-effectively as feasible for the duration of the experience.

Questions?

Please email the Cornell Yang Center for Wildlife Health (wildlifehealth@cornell.edu).