The purpose of this experience is to provide opportunities for students to:
The APE should provide MPH students with work experience in their concentration area, important job skills, and the opportunity to explore public health organizational environments. These experiences should be valuable to both the student and the host agency.
Well-structured APEs help students build the competencies necessary for public health practice. Competencies are a set of skills, knowledge and attitudes that transcend the boundaries of specific public health disciplines and help unify the profession.
There are 22 core competencies identified in the MPH program, as well as four to six concentration-specific competencies. As students develop their APE Agreements, they are required to link their learning objectives to the MPH program and concentration competencies.
If you are unclear if you should enroll in the 160-hour (2 credit) internship or the 240-hour (3 credit) internship course, please contact your graduate advisor and/or consult your advising sheet.
All MPH students must complete a 2-credit hour APE for degree completion. The student must fulfill a minimum of 160 hours; produce two work products/deliverables that benefit the agency and demonstrate the student’s mastery of the selected core and concentration competencies; track and submit a cumulative activity log; and complete milestone assignments and evaluations within the Canvas course portal. If the experience involves research with human subjects, students must complete the CITI tutorial.
Under special circumstances and with prior approval from the faculty concentration mentor, a student may be authorized to register for the APE while concurrently completing the final two core course requirements; please be aware that these exceptions are extremely rare.
The APE requirement will not be waived, as this is one of the required experiences that all MPH students complete as determined by our accreditor, the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH).
The 160 hour (2-credit) internship requires the student to enroll in the CPH Exam prep course (1-credit). This is recommended to be done in the same semester as the internship or at the next available opportunity.
Please note: Some students pursuing older curriculum plans will need to compete the 240 hour (3-credit) internship. Check with your graduate advisor if you are unclear which internship meets your program plan.
See more detailsStudents must successfully complete the public health core courses (18 credit hours), earning a B or better, to be eligible to enroll in the internship course. Prior to enrolling a student must secure an internship experience, complete the proposal paperwork that is approved and signed by the preceptor and faculty concentration mentor, and receive authorization from their assigned advisor.
The majority of full-time MPH students will be ready to pursue the internship in their third semester. Students may not begin accruing internship hours until all paperwork, authorizations, and course registrations have been completed.
Each student is responsible for identifying and securing an experience. Students should start their search early, at least a semester prior to when they would like to start, as the process may take longer than anticipated.
The experience can be done domestically or abroad, in-person, hybrid or fully remote, and may involve governmental, non-governmental, nonprofit, industry or for-profit settings. To be appropriate for applied practice experience activities, university-affiliated settings must be primarily focused on community engagement, typically with external partners. University health promotion or wellness centers may also be appropriate.
The APE is designed to provide the student with exposure to new experiences, topics, and methods. Students are encouraged to look for an organization unfamiliar to them.
A student can complete an APE at their current place of employment, if employed at a public health (e.g. local/state/federal agencies), healthcare (e.g. hospitals, clinics) or public health adjacent worksite (e.g. community organization, nonprofit).
The APE must have a population/public health perspective and the experience should not be primarily clinical. If a student is using their current professional role for this requirement, the hours attributed toward the 160-hour requirement must reflect work that aligns with the objectives of the APE.
Additionally, the APE and corresponding work products/deliverables must be mapped to the student’s concentrations competencies. Best practice is to complete APE project work under the guidance of a preceptor who is not their current supervisor.
The APE should be related to the practice of public health, engaged with a community, and related to the student’s goals. Ultimately, the subject matter and scope should coincide with the student’s educational and career goals.
Examples of sites:
When considering an APE site and preceptor the basic criteria should be used:
Students may work with many individuals or team members during their experience, but one site contact must be identified as the preceptor. Basic expectations for the preceptor role are as follows:
The student will be required to submit documentation that will identify, describe, and demonstrate mastery of the previously identified MPH competencies (3) and concentration competencies (2) through the deliverables.
The work product/deliverable can be a written, visual, or oral product. Examples of suitable work products include project plans, literature reviews, policy analysis, data extraction, collection and analysis, fact sheet for a targeted user group, brochure, health communication plan, survey or data collection tool, grant proposals, training manuals or lesson plans, surveys, memos, videos, podcasts, presentations, spreadsheets, websites, photos/infographic (with accompanying explanatory text), or other digital artifacts.
*It is important to discuss your work products/deliverable with the preceptor prior to approval to determine if the work will be considered proprietary (unable to be shared outside of the organization).
Review of the student’s performance in the APE must be based on at least two practical, non-academic work products AND on validating that the work products demonstrate the student’s attainment of the designated competencies. Reflection papers, cumulative hour logs, poster presentations, and other documents required for academic purposes may not be counted toward the minimum of two work products.
The assessment is not intended to be a generalized judgment on the quality of the work product but is intended to verify the extent to which the work product shows that the student can perform the competency.
Students seeking opportunities within the central Indiana region will have access to FSPH weekly job/internship announcements through the Career & Professional Canvas site, as well as the IU Indianapolis Handshake portal.
List the priorities for the APE. Is it most important to work with a new agency? Learn a new skill set? Work on a particular kind of project? Work hours other than 8 a.m.-5 p.m.? Work on a specific topic (maternal and child health, tuberculosis, child abuse, etc.)? Are there other considerations that are more important?
Invest in your professional development
Ensure you have an updated résumé. Preceptors frequently request it, along with a cover letter, before granting an interview. Contact sites to talk with potential preceptors. Create or polish your LinkedIn account so that you can conduct effective online networking.
Prepare for interviews. Interviews can be conducted online or an organization/agency’s office or a similar professional space.
Interview prep
Be sure to discuss the preceptor qualifications and responsibilities during any interviews.
Learn how to conduct an effective online search by utilizing the right keywords. Public health is broad and great opportunities can exist outside of local and state health departments and healthcare facilities.
Depending on your area of interest organizations such as the American Heart Association, Alzheimer’s Association, American Red Cross, Americares, Alliance for Health Policy, Big Brothers Big Sisters, YMCA, Girls on the Run, HRSA Public Health Internship Program, Lupus Foundation, Ronald McDonald House Charities, United Way, Refugee related service groups. Additionally, many states have their own nonprofit associations or organizations with internship possibilities.
Once a student has secured an experience, they will need to work with the Preceptor to identify the following for the APE proposal submission:
Year one: semester one
Year one: semester two
Year one: semester three
You should plan to complete your 160 hours within one semester (16 weeks) to maintain progression and consistency with your site. For most students this will be 10-15 hours of time each week devoted to the experience. If you or your site wish to extend the APE beyond the 16-week timeframe due to project time constraints or other extenuating factors, this should be noted on the APE Proposal form and noted again in the APE course introduction assignment.
Yes, students can take a paid or unpaid experience. Unpaid experiences are more common, but some agencies or organizations may have funding to support and intern in the form of hourly pay or stipend payments.
Yes, experiences that exceed the course requirements are not uncommon, especially if you are pursuing a paid opportunity. These will be approved but students need to ensure that they are able to complete the 160 hours, assignments, and two required work products/deliverables at the conclusion of the 16-week course.
The experience may extend beyond the duration of the course, and additional work products may be required by the agency or host site. Students should be prepared to complete the agreed upon hours defined by the agency or host site.
No, the 160 hours should be completed with one organization, agency or site.
The program does not allow students to change sites or experiences unless extenuating circumstances or problems arise making completion impossible or the situation unsafe. Please note that any changes must be discussed, and a new APE proposal will need to be created.
All MPH students are eligible to begin their APE after they have successfully completed (a grade of B or better) their six public health core courses. Students should plan their search 3-6 months prior to when they plan to start the APE.
Once an experience has been secured, students must complete the online APE proposal detailing the site, competencies, how the site will assess your work, and the proposed work products/deliverables.
This proposal auto-routes to your preceptor for their review and signature. After preceptor approval the proposal will route for final review from the student's faculty mentor. This process can take between 5-7 business days, and it is highly recommended that students contact both the preceptor and faculty alerting them that they will be receiving a form via email that requires review and signature.
Yes! Students are required to document and submit their hours/reflections via the activity log at 40-hour increments through the Canvas site.
Your preceptor should understand from the start (when you interview) that the program requires information to be shared with the APE faculty in order to demonstrate your work and attainment of the designated competencies. It is understood that confidential data should not be compromised, but aggregate data reports are an example of acceptable work. No information from work products/deliverables are shared beyond the Canvas site and are not available to the public.
No, successful completion of the APE is a requirement for all MPH students.
Contact Kristine Schuster, director of career and professional development.
