The Practicum in Public Health hereafter referred to as the “Practicum”, is comprised of two (2) components:
- Course-based activities (experiential learning within program-required courses) Students will be required to upload to E-Value the finished product(s) for each of their course-based activities (instructions will be provided in individual courses).
- Site-based activities (120-hours internship completed at an approved site) The internship is a planned, supervised, and evaluated field-based exercise, to be conducted at a Public Health-related organization, agency, department or community-based organization.
|
Practicum Components |
Product/Requirement |
|---|---|
|
PUBH 831 |
Project Intervention Assignment |
|
Internship |
120-hrs & product(s) identified with site supervisor |
Students must register for Practicum/APEX to ensure proper documentation in their course listing for the upcoming term.
The Practicum is designed with the student in mind, starting from its seamless integration into coursework, followed by an on-site real-world internship experience of 120 hours, which is student-driven and facilitated by the Practicum Coordinators. During this internship, students, alongside their site supervisor, will strategize and delineate activities/tasks and MPH Competencies to be met on-site, subject to approval by the practicum coordinator before commencement.
To preempt any potential obstacles that could affect their MPH completion date, students are advised to initiate their search for a suitable site, whether in Grenada, the wider Caribbean, the United States, or abroad, as early as possible.
While students may enroll in PUBH889 during any term in the program, including the first term, continued participation in the practicum (CC) is contingent upon possessing an Approved Practicum Agreement Form, which can be obtained even before course registration.
Practicum Coordinators will notify students, copying their advisors and the department's administrative team, upon approval of the Practicum Agreement.
- Students may register for PUBH889 for up to two terms. If the Practicum remains unfinished in the initial term, students may enroll in the subsequent term as CC.
- Throughout the term when students are enrolled as CC for PUBH889, Practicum Coordinators are obligated to monitor their progress. Students must furnish requested updates to the Practicum Coordinator, such as an email outlining their progress and anticipated completion date.
- In exceptional cases where students are actively engaged in the practicum but require additional time beyond the CC term, submission of evidence of practicum activity signed by the site supervisor is mandatory to continue for an extra term.
- Failure to complete practicum activity based on the guidelines above will result in a recommendation for dismissal.
If a student is registered for the practicum, but fails to submit an approved practicum agreement during the first 67% of the course, the student must utilize one of the following options as relevant:
- Withdraw from the Course
- Apply for a Leave of Absence
If the approved practicum was discontinued and a new practicum needs to be arranged and this is not done in time for the next registration period, the student must utilize one of the following options as relevant:
- Withdraw from the Course
- Apply for a Leave of Absence
Students will not be allowed to begin their internship if they have not registered for the PUBH 889 course, prior to the agreed start date.
All students will be given access to the Practicum Information site on Sakai. This site will contain further guidance about the MPH Practicum, as well as all the necessary documentation needed for the successful completion of the Practicum.
Students should only register for the practicum if they will be actively pursuing an internship opportunity with a high likelihood of signing the practicum agreement and starting, and possibly completing the internship activity during that term.