First Generation Students

There are many students at the University of Michigan School of Public Health who are among the first-generation in their family to attend college. While being the first to do anything can be a bit daunting, there are many useful resources and networks that can help you connect and thrive at the School of Public Health and on campus.

Support at Michigan Public Health 

If you’re a first generation student and have questions about navigating campus or are seeking resources, please contact Beth Cable at [email protected].

Are you interested in receiving information about First Generation resources and events at the University of Michigan and School of Public Health? If so, please join our First-gen Student Community email group.

Opt-in/Opt-out Instructions:

  • go to MCommunity
  • select "Log In" and enter your uniqname and password
  • Switch the search criteria from "people" to "groups"
  • Search for "First-Generation Students at U-M Public Health"
  • select "join" or "resign"

University Support

The First Generation Student Gateway serves as a starting point to get connected to resources for first-generation students for all students at the University of Michigan. Housed in the Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives (OAMI), the Gateway is linked to several partner offices and is a home for support for first-generation students. The Gateway is for all first-generation undergraduate and graduate students and their allies. The Gateway is open during regular business hours (8AM-5PM). You can use the space for:

    • Finding resources for first-generation students
    • Connecting to partner offices who support first-generation students
    • Meet with First Generation Project Manager Adan Hussain
    • Study space
    • Meeting space
  • First-Generation College Students@Michigan (FGCS@Michigan)

This student organization is not only sponsored by the Department of Sociology and the Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives, it supports bi-annual campus-wide dinners, a full-fledged graduation ceremony, and programming events throughout the year. Check out the First-Generation College Students @ Michigan Facebook page.

In order to build a community supportive of first-generation graduate students, Rackham Graduate School has developed a new resource, the First-Generation Support Network. The goal of this new resource is to establish a list of first-generation graduate-identified and first-generation-supportive faculty and staff members, whom students can seek out for academic and/or personal advice.This service is open to all!