Health Institute

Mission

The MSU Denver Health Institute is a collaboration of ten departments that serve students entering health-related professions. Through educating Colorado’s emerging health workforce, our mission is to revolutionize health in Colorado by breaking barriers, empowering communities, fostering collaboration and embracing diversity.

One of the ways we are accomplishing our mission is through breaking down silos. Interdisciplinary teamwork within the Institute provides the next generation of healthcare leaders the training required to tackle health care costs and improve outcomes. Through innovative and integrated curriculum that leverages emerging technology and real-life simulation, students gain the communication skills needed to problem-solve across disciplines, the separation of physical and mental health, and traverse the complexity of healthcare systems.

We are also blurring the lines between academia and industry. Critical community and industry partnerships in physical and behavioral health provide students with hands-on experiences in a wide range of health professions. The opportunity to co-construct best practices in building strong and vital communities and addressing the needs of underrepresented populations, produces graduates who are well prepared to enter the workforce. Students are provided with the support to successfully navigate not only their own educational experience, but to effectively move into a health career and lead the change necessary to solve difficult problems.

The Institute combines educational excellence with cutting-edge whole-person, transprofessional, and culturally inclusive skills that distinguish our Health Institute alumni as leaders in health-related fields. For example, through the study of the social determinants of health or groundbreaking coursework (such as our developing Lifestyle Medicine curriculum), students engage with evidence-based scholarship that strives to not only treat challenging health issues but to foster healthy communities and culturally inclusive well-being. 

Departments

• Department of Biology  
• Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry  
• Department of Health Professions  
• Department of Human Performance and Sport  
• Department of Human Services and Counseling  
• Department of Nursing  
• Department of Nutrition  
• Department of Psychological Sciences  
• Department of Social Work  
• Department of Speech, Language, Hearing Sciences  

Health Institute Initiatives and Links

Health Institute: https://msudenver.edu/health-institute/

Health Career Opportunities Program: https://msudenver.academicworks.com/opportunities/2574

Health Career Interest Program: https://www.denverhealth.org/for-professionals/careers/healthcare-interest-program

Peer Health Exchange: https://msudenver.edu/health-institute/communitypartners/