This current Research Topic does not derive directly from Boyer’s Model of Scholarship, but nonetheless represents a well-timed exploration and example of where higher education has progressed in bringing the innovative, integrative conceptualization of higher education scholarship and practice laid out by Boyer, to realization through the growing arena of undergraduate public health programs. At the same time, the authors included here were invited to specifically address a second arena of scholarly practice associated with additional elements of Boyer’s legacy, effective High-Impact Practices (HIPs) - practices that engage students, faculty and often broader communities in integrative learning that connect academic and extra-academic learning environments. Undergraduate public health programs are perfectly positioned to provide a framework for integrated learning through High-Impact Practices. Such practices encompass not only the essential learning outcomes that employers continue to demand – critical thinking, working with diverse others, written and oral communications, ethics, analysis, etc. – but also a curriculum that is scaffolded and replete with opportunities to practice and enhance performance and application of knowledge and abilities to important personal, social and global challenges and needs.