At the Institute for the Advancement of Community Health, students don’t just study healthcare - they experience it.
IACH partners closely with students from their first year through graduation, offering personalized mentoring and intentional advising to help them clarify goals and explore meaningful career paths. Faculty and community leaders work one-on-one with students to identify their interests and strengths, then connect them with educational opportunities, internships, and fellowships that are thoughtfully matched to their aspirations.
Through hands-on internships and paid fellowship experiences, students engage directly with community partners to address real health challenges. Each opportunity is carefully scaffolded—building skills, confidence, and responsibility over time—so students are supported at every step while being challenged to grow.
For students, this means gaining practical experience, professional connections, and a competitive edge for graduate school or healthcare careers. Through the IACH, they receive individualized guidance, purposeful opportunities, and preparation not only for a successful career in healthcare, but for a lifetime of leadership and service dedicated to improving the health and well-being of their community.
CLPs
IACH offers students at Furman University the opportunity to engage in meaningful, real-world conversations that shape their future.
Through a variety of Cultural Life Program (CLP) events held throughout the year, IACH creates dynamic opportunities for students to discover new passions, explore careers in healthcare, and learn how to make a tangible impact in their communities. These enriching and interactive experiences—including expert panels and discussions on today’s most pressing community health challenges—are designed to broaden perspectives and inspire action.
IACH CLP events represent a powerful commitment to engaged learning, professional exploration, and personal growth beyond the classroom.
“Hearing new perspectives about health and wellness can greatly benefit you in your future career and help you better understand the community in which you live.” – Rathna Reedy ‘27
Prisma Observation
Through a unique partnership with Prisma Health Upstate, the Institute for the Advancement of Community Health is the home for the Prisma Health Clinical Observation Program. Our students have the opportunity to explore real-world healthcare and observe clinical professionals across multiple departments within Prisma Health, gaining insight, reflection, and inspiration for future careers in health.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE PRISMA HEALTH OBSERVATION PROGRAM
Internships
Through the Institute for the Advancement of Community Health, internships aren’t just résumé builders—they’re real-world experiences that help you figure out what you want to do and how to get there.
Our high-impact, student-engaged internships let you turn what you’re learning in class into hands-on experience in real healthcare and community settings. You’ll earn academic credit while building practical skills employers and graduate programs are looking for—communication, leadership, teamwork, and problem-solving.
With hundreds of unique internship opportunities across a wide range of health disciplines, you’re matched with experiences that align with your interests and career goals. Along the way, you’ll connect with healthcare professionals, expand your network, and gain insight into different career paths.
IACH Fellowships
Each year, the Institute for the Advancement of Community Health offers competitive, paid summer fellowships that give students the opportunity to turn classroom learning into meaningful, real-world impact. Students work alongside trusted community partners on projects that address real health needs identified in the community, gaining valuable hands-on experience while building professional skills. For students, it’s a chance to strengthen résumés, explore career paths, and make a difference. Through the IACH Fellowships students engaged in purposeful, paid experiences that develops leadership, responsibility, and a commitment to improving the health and well-being of others.
Recent IACH Fellowship Opportunities:
- Addiction Medicine Center Fellow
- Medical Legal Partnership (MLP) Fellow
- Medical Legal Partnership (MLP) Research Fellow
- Mill Village Fellow
- Sustaining Way Fellow
- Unity Health on Main Fellow
- Community Based Participatory Research Fellow
- American Heart Association Fellow
- Roger C. Peace Adaptive Sports & Wellness Center Fellow
MayX
IACH is proud to sponsor a wide array of MayX opportunity focused on community health. These experiences give students an immersive, hands-on experience that connects academic learning to real-world impact. Through unique course options, students explore different cultures, gain valuable professional experience, and deepen their understanding of community health challenges and solutions. This short-term, high-impact program helps students build practical skills, expand their perspective, and strengthen their commitment to improving health and well-being in diverse communities.
Recent MayX Course Offerings:
- The Emergency Department as a Microcosm of Society
- The Southern Border: A Tale of Two Communities
- Medical Legal Partnership: Poverty, Medicine and Law
- Health and Medicine in the Global Context (Portugal, Cambodia, and Italy editions)
- Exploration and Medical Education in Orthopedic Surgery: Arthrex
- Remixing Art for Community Voice
The IACH MayX courses are a structured, high-impact program that broadens perspectives, strengthens career readiness, and nurtures a lasting commitment to improving health and well-being in the communities they serve.
Community Health Champions
Community Health Champions are student leaders who partner with the Institute for the Advancement of Community Health to promote health and well-being at Furman and beyond. Champions represent IACH at campus and community events, engage peers in meaningful conversations about health, and support initiatives that strengthen the connection between Furman and the broader community. Through this experience, students develop valuable leadership, service, and professional skills that inspire future careers in healthcare while advancing IACH’s mission of optimizing health and quality of life for all.
Learn more about the Community Health Champions“I loved gaining networking experience and meeting healthcare leaders! It really made me excited about opportunities for my future career.” -Community Health Champion, 2025-2026 Cohort
Meet Our Students
“ "I learned a lot about how amputees and limb different individuals go about living their lives and what they do differently. I also learned how to help alleviate patients’ pain through training exercises,” said Muqri, who is interested in becoming a physical therapist. “I really enjoyed this internship opportunity because of the connections I made with patients, both young and old, as well as the clinicians and technicians who taught me!"
Meet Our Students
“ "I had the incredible privilege of being an intern with OnTrack Greenville, where I developed a deeper understanding of the disparities that exist within the Greenville community and the important role that health and the social determinants of health, like education, play in the future and success of our younger generations… I witnessed the importance of having people and organizations that act as bridges to amplify the community’s voice and connect the community with the resources that it needs."
Meet Our Students
“ "I was able to see how several disciplines (clinical, spiritual, bereavement, and more) worked together to create a holistic treatment plan with each patient and their family in mind… My plan is to go into medicine, so this internship was closely aligned with my future career goals. Hospice is often considered a taboo subject that is either too scary or too sad, but I learned to see the beauty in it… I'm so glad I took the leap of faith and went outside of my comfort zone for this invaluable experience."
Meet Our Students
“ "It’s been so rewarding to learn how to help people. Everyone is different; it’s not just textbook. It’s great to see members keep coming back… and making progress. I’m very thankful to Furman for this opportunity."
Meet Our Students
“ "My internship has been incredible. I’ve been able to observe a whole range of procedures and learn from Dr. Matt. He’s gifted in his work with patients… This experience has reaffirmed my passion for dentistry."
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