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.

 Through the duration of the program, students in the Chronic Disease Prevention and Control Concentration, will be required to complete a three credit hour Public Health Exposure (PHE) Course 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. 20 hours in the field equals one credit hour (60 hours in total is required). These hours can be completed during any semester of the program. It is advised to wait to enroll in the PHE course until the second semester of the program at the earliest. 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
• Non-Profit agencies