Students can attain practical experience in the form of an internship outside of the required internship course (PBHL 4043 for undergraduates and PBHL 584V for graduate students). In such cases, the following FAQ’s do not apply. The questions and answers below apply only to the required Internship course.
When will I get to do my internship?
Undergraduate students have to meet the following pre-requisites to enroll in PBHL 4043:
- Senior class standing by the start of the semester in which you take internship
- Successful completion of or concurrent enrollment in PBHL 3643 and PBHL 4603. Starting in Fall 2024, students will need to have completed a pre-internship course prior to enrolling in PBHL 4043.
What are the steps to securing an internship site?
Ultimately it is the intern’s responsibility to identify and acquire an internship position, but here are our recommended steps: 1. Begin by exploring potential internship sites using this website early in the semester prior to the semester in which you anticipate beginning your internship; 2. Enroll in PBHL 4043 during your priority enrollment time; 3. Contact the agency you are interested in from the confirmed list of agencies under “Openings.” 4. If they already have an intern or it is not a good match, contact another agency of choice. 5. Once you secure an internship site, follow your instructor’s instructions on reporting your agency.
Note: this entire process is expected to be completed at least four weeks before the semester when you are expected to start internship. Most students start the process as soon as they enroll in PBHL 4043 (the semester before they intend to complete their internship).
How much time will internship take?
You can expect your internship experience to take 135 hours at a minimum during the semester. You cannot front-load the time, as the time at your agency should be spread over a minimum of 13 weeks. This is to ensure that interns have a meaningful experience. On average most students spend about 10 hours per week on internship.
Will there be required class meetings?
Yes, there will be two required class meetings. One on the first day of classes and one near the end of the semester. The rest of your time will be spent at your internship site.
Can I count my current job as an internship? OR Can I do my internship at site that is not on pre-approved list?
Because we are an accredited public health program, we must ensure that all internship opportunities afford students a public health experience where they can practice public health competencies; for the undergraduate course, we use the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing competencies.
A big piece here for internship is that you will need to complete at least one main public health project throughout the course of the semester. This cannot be clinical observation hours or simple day-to-day office work, but it should be focused on health promotion and prevention. Each project must give you experience in at least two different competencies, achieving at least two sub-competencies per main area. See the link above for the seven core competency areas and all sub-competencies within each area.
If this is also your job, your projects will need to be something that goes beyond your current work. This can be for example education that you develop, implement, or evaluate. Also, there are often legal agreements that we need to set up with the facility, and these can take several months to complete.
In general, students need to choose from the list of agencies provided by the course. This ensures that legal agreements are in place.
If you have questions about approved sites, contact Ms. Lindly.
Can I count my previous experience at <fill in name of agency> as my required internship?
No, previous internship experiences cannot count retroactively toward the requirements of PBHL 4043.
