Practicum Experience in Population-Based Health

The goal of the MPH mentored practicum is to have a practical public health experience that provides mentoring, contact with public health professionals, and the opportunity to participate in a meaningful way.  All CEPH- accredited MPH programs require that students obtain a significant practicum experience in population-based health prior to graduation.  Some students will have had significant experiences prior to becoming an MPH student.  However, other students without such prior experience are expected to do so during their course of study.  The MPH Program will notify students without such prior experience once they matriculate into the program. 

Students may earn academic credit for the practicum. All students who complete an experience must complete the Practicum Information Form. For students who are required to complete a practicum experience, some of the possible options are listed below. 

Customized Practicum Experience
Structured Internships
Field Experience Trips
Course-based Practicum

For questions regarding the MPH practicum, please contact:
Tara Glickman (full-time students)
David Earle (part-time students)

Types of Practicum Opportunities

There are numerous opportunities to obtain a practicum experience. If interested in any of these specific opportunities, please follow-up with the contacts and websites listed below. Enrollment in various programs may be limited by the number of available internships or practica.

• Customized Opportunities

Regardless of your geographic area, you may develop your own practicum opportunity.  These customized opportunities are developed in collaboration with Bloomberg School of Public Health faculty and a local onsite public health professional.  The practicum experience must be approved by the participating faculty member who oversees your work and awards special studies MPH practicum academic credit that counts towards your degree.  Steps for completing a customized experience are as follows:

1. Identify a potential project and a faculty practicum mentor.  If you are having difficulty finding a practicum opportunity in your area, please contact the MPH office.

2. Submit a one-page proposal to your practicum mentor, including a description of the experience (name of organization, dates, work that you will do, dates of project, what PH skills you will use, what you hope to learn).  Your faculty mentor will assess whether this experience is appropriate for meeting the MPH practicum requirement.

3. Complete the experience. You may register for academic credit in your practicum mentor’s department (course # PH.xxx.895) during the term when you will complete the experience.

4. Soon after the experience, submit a brief report to your practicum mentor about your experience. Please reflect upon what you learned from the experience and how it fits into your overall MPH program.

5. Document project completion by submitting the Practicum Info Form.
   

• Mentored Practicum with the Maryland Department of Health & Mental Hygiene and Local Health Departments - This program, known as “PHASE,” is a structured internship running 2nd-4th terms. Selection of students occurs in the 1st term. Students sign up for academic credit in 2nd term (1 unit) and 3rd term (2-4 units) and 4th term (2-4 units). Course number 340.851.  Faculty contact: Frank Sifakis
  
  
• Mentored Practicum with Community-Based Organizations in Baltimore - This program is a collaboration between the Student Outreach Resource Center (SOURCE) and the Applied Public Health Program, and it provides opportunities for students to work with various Baltimore-based community organizations and local health departments in the region. Students enroll in the 2nd and 3rd terms for 1-4 units each term. Course number 550.864.  Faculty contacts: Henry Taylor and Mindi Levin
       
• Mentored Practicum in Health Care Epidemiology and Outbreak Investigation - A limited number of internships are available in infection control and outbreak investigation at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. Students enroll for at least 2 units of academic credit.  Faculty contact: Trish Perl
  
• Population, Family & Reproductive Health Internship Resource List - The Department of Population, Family & Reproductive Health maintains a list of local, national, and international internship opportunities related to population and family health.  Faculty contact: Marycatherine Augustyn 
  
• International or Domestic Public Health Practice Trips - In collaboration with the J.B. Grant International Health Society and the Anna Baetjer Society for Public Health Practice, students have organized public health practice trips to work with various government and nongovernment organizations. In the past, these trips have occurred in January. There may be competitive grants to help partially defray costs of these trips, including the MPH Field Experience Award fund.  Practice trips must have JHSPH faculty mentors.
    
• Courses with Significant Practicum Component - Completion of any of the courses below (taken for a letter grade) could satisfy the practicum.
  -Health and Homelessness, 410.610: Lee Bone, 3rd term, 3 units
  -Ethnographic Fieldwork, 410.690: Lori Leonard, 3rd term, 4 units
  -Applications in Program Monitoring and Evaluation, 380.612: Clea McNeely, 4th term, 4 units
  -Occupational Health, 188.681: Jackie Agnew and Peter Lees, 4th term, 5 units
  -Health Survey Research Methods, 340.717: Susan Sherman & Vivian Go, 2nd term, 4 units
        

Logistics for signing up for Academic Credit for the MPH Practicum

Students may earn 2or more units of practicum special studies academic credit (students enrolled on a part-time basis at thte time that they do the practicum may opt to not register for the credits, but must still document completion of the experience). The MPH practicum special studies course numbers are xxx.895. The 3-digit prefix number is determined by the primary department of your faculty practicum supervisor (check with the course catalog and your adviser). You can determine the department affiliation of any faculty in the School by going to the Faculty Directory.

If your practicum supervisor does not have a primary appointment in the School of Public Health, but has a joint appointment in a SPH department, then use that department affiliation. If there is no joint appointment or the appointment is outside JHU, use your adviser’s department. If you are still uncertain, check with the MPH Program office.