Public Health-Global Health Internship

The Public Health-Global Health Internship (SPH 495) allows Public Health-Global Health Majors to earn elective credit via the completion of an academic project that is matched to their internship experience. SPH 495 provides students an opportunity to:

• Understand the context in which public health-global health work takes shape in the field
• Set goals and gain career readiness skills
• Gain experience in understanding the public health-global health needs of a population or community
• Practice identifying and applying theories and frameworks learned in the classroom to their internship
• Explore and reflect upon the impact of structural oppression vis-a-vis the social determinants of health in a community facing setting
• Explore and reflect upon the impact of their own social identities and bias on their understanding of health and wellness for the populations served by the organization in which they are doing their internship
• Learn about the impact of public health-global health initiatives on communities
• Communicate, network, and work effectively with public health-global health professionals
• Gain a deeper understanding of public health-global health programs and priorities

COVID-19 AUT 2020 Guidance: The University of Washington’s Bothell, Seattle and Tacoma campuses are in Phase 2 of the COVID-19 recovery, in accordance with Washington’s Safe Start plan. 

We are striving to respect your autonomy to determine the work you are willing and able to do during this time; respect the needs of organizations; and respect public health guidance.

At this time, we are able to approve internships being conducted remotely that meet Public Health-Global Health major requirements for Elective credit.  As conditions change this page will be updated to reflect this.

GUIDANCE AND STEPS FOR SPH 495 INTERNSHIP CREDIT:

1. Take at least one integrated core SPH course for your degree or pathway (e.g. SPH 380)
2. Begin planning for your internship a minimum of two quarters in advance.
3. Think about the goals you want to accomplish through your internship: What skills and experiences do you want to gain? What public health-related topics do you want to explore in a professional setting? What type of an environment do you want to work in?
4. Attend a resume workshop (in person or online) through the Career & Internship Center. Attend leadership events (on and off campus) through Husky Leadership Initiative, diversity trainings, and/or cultural events around Seattle.
5. Search for and generate a list of opportunities that interest you. There isn’t one “right place” to find a public health internship. Use UW Handshake, the SPH opportunities pages, the SPH Undergraduate Blog, your PH-GH advisers, your peers, alumni, and your own professional network to research potential internship locations that match your goals. Look for organizations that match your interests; not just places that have postings. Some organizations are very willing to create an internship if they don’t have one posted!
6. Set up an advising appointment to discuss your internship goals. PH-GH advising can provide an initial review of your sites and guidance regarding next steps.
7. Apply to posted internships and reach out to locations that interest you but do not have posted positions.
8. Once you have secured an internship, you may apply for SPH 495 credit through Handshake
9. The deadline to submit is the Monday before the first day of the quarter in which you plan to enroll in SPH 495. If you are unable to meet this deadline, email phgh@uw.edu

After you are approved for credit, expect to:

Attend SPH 495 Orientation. Orientation will be held on the time and day listed in the Time Schedule. After this first week, you will meet with the instructor periodically at this time or at a time that is agreed upon during orientation. At Orientation, you will complete your Academic Learning Contract and review the SPH 495 Syllabus.

If your internship is occurring during Summer quarter, Orientation will be held prior to the end of Spring quarter. You will be dropped from the course if you do not complete this step.

Instructions for Applying for SPH 495 Internship Credit through Handshake: 

1. Log in to Handshake using your UW NetID. 
2. Click on the Career Center link from the menu of options
3. Click on the Experiences link
4. Once on the Experiences page click on “Request an Experience” on the top right hand side of the page. 
5. Once on the page, click the drop down menu for “Experience Type”
6. Select: SPH 495: Public Health-Global Health Internship Course
7. Fill out the application and click the green button at the bottom that says “request experience”.
8. Once you have submitted the application you will receive a confirmation email. 
9. At this point your internship supervisor will receive an email asking them to approve your position. Please reach out to them and let them know to fill out that approval as when they receive it. 
10. When your internship is verified by your internship supervisor and the SPH 495 Adviser, and you have provided all requested information, we will register you for SPH 495.

 Archived PDF of the SPH 495 APPLICATION »

SPH 495 is subject to all University of Washington guidelines, including but not limited to tuition and fees, registration, and grading standards. 

We are so excited that you are interested in hosting an Intern/s from the Public Health-Global Health Major. We know that investing your time in them will be a life changing experience for your organization and for the student. Our students seek opportunities in a wide range of issue areas within public and population health – they also bring a wide variety of experience levels, skill sets and future goals.

Site Supervisors and Employers who are interested in recruiting a Public Health-Global Health Major for an internship should:

·       Complete the online opportunity form and submit it for posting on the School of Public Health’s protected website.

·       Post an internship opportunity on UW Handshake and learning more about how to develop an internship through the UW Career and Internship Center

·       Send us an email at phgh@uw.edu to ensure that your posting is sent directly to PHGH Majors via our Undergraduate Blog and Newsletter.

Through internships in public health ideally, we want students to:

·       Understand the context in which public health-global health work takes shape in the field

·       Set goals and gain career readiness skills

·       Gain experience in understanding the public health-global health needs of a population or community

·       Practice identifying and applying theories and frameworks learned in the classroom to their internship

·       Explore and reflect upon the impact of structural oppression vis-a-vis the social determinants of health in a community facing setting

·       Explore and reflect upon the impact of their own social identities and bias on their understanding of health and wellness for the populations served by the organization in which they are doing their internship

·       Learn about the impact of public health-global health initiatives on communities

·       Communicate, network, and work effectively with public health-global health professionals

·       Gain a deeper understanding of public health-global health programs and priorities

If you aren’t sure where to start, you can also email phgh@uw.edu regarding developing an internship or research experience and meet with program staff to develop, review or workshop a new experience.