Outstanding internships

For both the MPH and the MHA programs, the field placement is among the most critical and formative experiences in the curriculum. Students gain enormous benefits from their experiences by testing their classroom learning in the "real world," taking on new responsibilities and enhancing their professional knowledge and skills. Additionally, students work with experienced preceptors who can provide guidance, career perspective and advice, as well as mentoring and links to post-graduate opportunities. It is not unusual for a student's internship to lead to a permanent position, either with the organization itself or with an employer encountered through networking while doing the field experience.

In the Department of Health Management and Policy, which manages both the MHA and the MPH-Health Policy degrees, each degree program integrates classroom instruction with practice through a 13-week, paid internship in an organization selected to meet students’ needs.  Internship placements are available throughout the United States, and offer students the opportunity to observe management or policy activities first-hand, to participate in decision-making, complete assigned projects, and work with an experienced preceptor.

Recent internships for HMP students have been with many prominent health systems, such as: BJC HealthCare, Ascension Health, ECG Management Consultants, Mayo Clinic and the Naval Medical Center San Diego.

Likewise, the Department of Community Health has recently underscored the importance of the field experience by changing the name from “internship” to “practice experience in community health.”  This name emphasizes that a critical component of the curriculum is the opportunity for MPH students to integrate their classroom learning, which provides a broad spectrum of public health skills, into experiential learning.  The practice experience provides a dynamic environment for students to work with experienced professionals in public or private organizations that address significant public health issues.

Recent practice experiences for MPH students have included: Washington University School of Medicine, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Kaiser Permanente Colorado, Siteman Cancer Center and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, as well as state and local health departments.

“I like my program for its one on one contact with professors and opportunities (internships, projects, volunteer opportunities) to see the concepts of public health at work.” (Kimberly Tate, MPH ’06)

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