Public Health Exposures

Throughout their program of study, MPH students will be required to complete a series of ‘exposures’ introducing them to a variety of public health settings and experiences. Through these applied learning experiences, students will develop a ‘portfolio’ of real world experiences where they are able to observe and participate in public health settings across different sectors of our societies. These exposures will provide students with the opportunity to critically examine how their academic coursework and the knowledge they have gained in the classroom translates to real world settings.

In the first semester of the program, these exposures consist of bi-weekly seminars, workshops and webinars designed to expose students to a variety of perspectives, individuals, and settings as an introduction to the field of public health. Over the following year, students will be required to complete a minimum of two internships in different public health domains to provide opportunities to become acquainted with different public health agencies and their role in understanding behavioral health and health promotion. These field experiences serve as a bridge between student academic preparation and their future public health practice.

Potential settings for the public health exposures include:

• Hospital setting (i.e., population health, community health promotion)
• Community health clinics (i.e., free community clinics, Federally-Qualified Health Centers)
• Public health departments
• School systems
• Worksite wellness
• Insurance companies
• Academic research
• Non-Profit agencies