Practicum Experience Courses

Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) Practicum Experience Courses

PRAC 0705 MPH Practicum I (1) As required component of the master of public health (M.P.H.) degree, the public health practicum is a carefully planned and supervised learning experience. The practicum experience connects the skills and knowledge acquired in the classroom with the pragmatic application of the practice of public health. The practicum can provide the student with the opportunity to acquire, develop, and improve communication skills, project management skills, and problem-solving skills using public health methods, principles, and techniques. Moreover, it promotes hands-on public health practice, the exploration of career options, and generates contacts with other public health professionals. MPH Practicum I is an independent study format. There are four lectures and orientation activities that take place with the student and the graduate practicum director. Students are expected to start this process in the second semester of their first year or after the completion of 9 credits. This schedule gives students the ability to graduate in two years if enrolled full-time. This course is offered at all of the school's locations during the fall, spring, and summer semesters.

PRAC 0706 MPH Practicum I Continuation (0) Students will register for MPH Practicum I Continuation when they were registered for MPH Practicum I during the previous semester and did not complete/submit all MPH Practicum I deliverables. Students must register for this course every semester (including summer if they elect to work on practicum), until they have completed the MPH Practicum I requirements and are eligible to register for MPH Practicum IIA. This course is offered during the fall, spring, and summer semesters.
Prerequisite: MPH Practicum I during the previous semester.

PRAC 0707 MPH Practicum IIA (2) MPH Practicum IIA is a hybrid course that includes in-person lectures and online activities every other week. This is the planning stage for the practicum project. Students will identify a project and obtain approval from their practicum faculty adviser, site preceptor, and practicum director. Students are required to attend seven lectures for MPH Practicum IIA and complete certain requirements for 2 credits. Students cannot pass MPH Practicum IIA without identifying a project site/data source, conducting a literature review, conducting organizational or data background search, obtaining approval for their of scope of work, writing a protocol, submitting an IRB application (if needed), writing biweekly journal entries, starting their portfolio, and completing the online self-assessment of competencies. This course is offered during the fall, spring, and summer semesters. Prerequisite: PRAC 0705. Corequisites: Department's CORE and department's Research Methods course (concurrently).

PRAC 0708 MPH Practicum IIA continuation (0) If a student has not finished the MPH Practicum IIA deliverables, the student must register for MPH Practicum IIA Continuation. MPH Practicum IIA Continuation is a noncredit course and carries a modest fee. Students are permitted to register for MPH Practicum IIA Continuation only once. This course is offered during the fall, spring, and summer semesters. Prerequisite: PRAC 0707.

PRAC 0709 MPH Practicum IIB (3) MPH Practicum IIB is a hybrid course that includes in-person lectures and online activities. This is the implementation stage of the practicum project where students primarily spend time working on their practicum project at the site or with their dataset. Students are required to attend six lectures for MPH Practicum IIB and complete certain other requirements. Students cannot pass MPH Practicum IIB without obtaining IRB Approval (if needed), writing an abstract, finalizing a résumé, writing journal entries, closing the IRB study (if needed), creating PowerPoint slides, compiling a final portfolio, creating a final poster, writing a final report, and writing a reflective paper on the practicum experience. This course is offered during the fall, spring, and summer semesters Prerequisite: PRAC 0707.

PRAC 0710 MPH Practicum IIB Continuation (0) If a student has not completed the requirements for MPH Practicum IIB the student must register for MPH Practicum IIB Continuation. MPH Practicum IIB is a noncredit course billable for 1 credit at the usual rate and fees. Every student who has an In-Progress (IP) grade for MPH Practicum IIB Continuation from the previous semester must register for MPH Practicum IIB Continuation in the next semester. This course is offered at all of the school's locations during the fall, spring, and summer semesters. Prerequisite: PRAC 0709.

Doctor of Public Health (Dr. P.H.) Practicum Experiences

DrPH 0705 DrPH Practicum Experience (3) The Dr.P.H. practicum/practice experience allows Dr.P.H. students to further develop core Dr.P.H. competencies in advocacy, communication, and interaction with people across diverse communities; critical analysis; management; leadership; professionalism; and ethics.
Prerequisites: Completion of core courses and required electives.