All MPH students are required to complete a Practicum experience to receive their degree. The Practicum is a planned, supervised, and evaluated field-based experience under the guidance of a Practicum Site Supervisor and a SPH Faculty Adviser (they cannot be the same person). Your Practicum does not include: 1) classroom-based work; 2) work completed under the supervision of a faculty member without a practice organization-based lead.
The Practicum requires a minimum of 160-hours of work (4-6 credits) for a public health organization. It is recommended that students participate with an organization in the same way that others at the organization engage in order to have the most interactive experience possible (ex: if an organization is in-person, an in-person Practicum would be preferred).
The Practicum requires students to engage in activities that demonstrate application of public health skills and make an impact on the targeted population. If a student has little prior public health practice experience, the Practicum helps the student gain the skills necessary to work effectively in a professional public health setting. If a student has extensive public health practice experience or advanced degrees in other fields, the Practicum expands their practice areas and professional network.
Stages of Approval
You cannot begin your practicum until your organization has an affiliation agreement in place and your practicum learning contract is signed and approved in the Dropbox. Any work completed at the site prior to learning contract approval in the Dropbox is outside of your practicum commitment. Students must follow the project timeline proposed in their Learning Contract and submit all forms and deliverables to the Practicum Dropbox as soon as they are approved throughout the practicum. Visit student, faculty, and site pages for requirements specific to each role.
Read about Stages of Approval
View Practicum Timeline
Group Practicum:
While the majority of MPH practicum projects are conducted individually, students are permitted to collaborate with up to two other MPH students on their practicum projects. If students choose to pursue a group practicum project, they must still submit their own Learning Contracts and will be evaluated individually by their faculty advisers and site supervisors. Group practicums may be jointly presented at the annual symposium. However, in their shared site deliverables, each group must include a dedicated page outlining the individual roles of each student that outlines the areas where they took leadership. This structure allows students to work together to create a more comprehensive deliverable while ensuring that their individual contributions are clearly articulated.
Forms and Deliverables
Students should review the descriptions of the practicum forms and deliverables before completing them.
View descriptions of Forms and Deliverables
Competencies
Students must demonstrate at least five of the 22 CEPH MPH Foundation Competencies through two student-generated products, produced in the Practicum setting for the Practicum setting.
Read about Practicum Competency Requirements
Presenting at the Symposium
All students are required to present their practicums at this year’s Practicum Symposium, unless 1) you have already presented at a previous symposium, 2) your program has you present your practicum to the public through a different mechanism (e.g., WSPHA or APHA conference, a department-organized public facing event), or 3) you have not started your Practicums.
Presenting to a class or your practicum site does not meet the public presentation requirement.
View current and previous years’ symposium programs