Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health

Internship & Seminar in Public Health

For more information, please download the Internship Guide.

Overview

All Master of Public Health (MPH) students enrolled in the Community Public Health Program at NYU are required to take E33.2360, Internship & Seminar in Public Health. Students typically enroll in this Internship course during their last year of courses although students are eligible to enroll once they have completed 23 credits toward their degree. The Internship serves as the culminating experience for the program.

Approved graduate-level public health internship projects:

* Are public health in nature (not clinical).
* Allow student intern's to acquire experience in more than one public health core competency.
* Identify appropriate "end of the semester" deliverable(s).
* Demonstrate appropriate mentorship.
* Work in conjunction with the requirements of the Community Public Health program.

Registering for Internship

To register for E33.2360: Internship & Seminar in Public Health, students must PLAN AHEAD:

TWO semesters prior to internship students must:

  • Review the MPH Internship & Seminar webpage for internship guidelines, deadlines dates, internship listings and other materials.
  • Attend an MPH Internship information session.
  • Meet with an Academic Advisor and/or Internship Director to discuss internship ideas.
ONE SEMESTER prior to registering for the internship course students must:

Internship Application Forms:

Internship Pre-registration Form (due 2 weeks BEFORE the internship learning contract- deadline dates below)

Internship Learning Contract: The following are possible Internship Learning Contract outcomes :

  • Approved: the contract is acceptable as is and you will receive the access code to register for E33.2360, Internship and Seminar in Public Health.
  • Pending Approval: The contract will be accepted pending some recommended changes to the project to ensure it meets the requirements of a culminating experience. Once the changes are made and approved, you will receive the course access code.
  • Not approved: the project does not fulfill requirements of an MPH culminating project. The student will need to proceed with another internship option. An access code to register will not be given.

Application Form Deadlines:

  • Summer semester (start of May through early August) Internship pre-registration form must be received by March 26th and Internship Learning Contract by April 9th.
  • Fall semester (start of September through mid-December) Internship pre-registration form must be received by July 18 and Internship Learning contract deadline is extended to August 20th.
  • Spring semester (late January through early May) Internship pre-registration form must be received by November 21st and Internship Learning Contract by December 5th.

What Projects Have Students Done in the Past?

Descriptions of past student internship projects are located at 35 West 4th street on the 12th floor. Here you will find examples of internship abstracts and poster presentations.

Internship Listings

To view internship opportunities by organization name: Organization name.

To view internship opportunities by topic area: list of topics

Summer International Internship Listings

South African Internship Sites

Mexican Internship Sites

Internship Evaluations

Internship Final Abstracts

Please click here to view the final abstracts from this semester's interns.

MPH Core Competencies in Public Health

Analytic Assessment Skills

  • Defines a problem
  • Determines appropriate uses and limitations of both quantitative and qualitative data
  • Selects and defines variables relevant to defined public health problems
  • Identifies relevant and appropriate data and information sources
  • Evaluates the integrity and comparability of data and identifies gaps in data sources
  • Applies ethical principles to the collection, maintenance, use, and dissemination of data and information
  • Partners with communities to attach meaning to collected quantitative and qualitative data
  • Makes relevant inferences from quantitative and qualitative data
  • Obtains and interprets information regarding risks and benefits to the community
  • Applies data collection processes, information technology applications, and computer systems storage/retrieval strategies
  • Recognizes how the data illuminates ethical, political, scientific, economic, and overall public health issuesMPH Core Competencies in Public Health

Policy Development/Program Planning Skills

  • Collects, summarizes, and interprets information relevant to an issue
  • States policy options and writes clear and concise policy statements
  • Identifies, interprets, and implements public health laws, regulations, and policies related to specific programs
  • Articulates the health, fiscal, administrative, legal, social, and political implications of each policy option
  • States the feasibility and expected outcomes of each policy option
  • Utilizes current techniques in decision analysis and health planning
  • Decides on the appropriate course of action
  • Develops a plan to implement policy, including goals, outcome and process objectives, and implementation steps
  • Translates policy into organizational plans, structures, and programs
  • Prepares and implements emergency response plans
  • Develops mechanisms to monitor and evaluate programs for their effectiveness and quality

Communication Skills

  • Communicates effectively both in writing and orally, or in other ways
  • Solicits input from individuals and organizations
  • Advocates for public health programs and resources
  • Leads and participates in groups to address specific issues
  • Uses the media, advanced technologies, and community networks to communicate information
  • Effectively presents accurate demographic, statistical, programmatic, and scientific information for professional and lay audiences
  • Attitudes:
  • Listens to others in an unbiased manner, respects points of view of others, and promotes the expression of diverse opinions and perspectives

Cultural Competency Skills

  • Utilizes appropriate methods for interacting sensitively, effectively, and professionally with persons from diverse cultural, socioeconomic, educational, racial, ethnic and professional backgrounds, and persons of all ages and lifestyle preferences
  • Identifies the role of cultural, social, and behavioral factors in determining the delivery of public health services
  • Develops and adapts approaches to problems that take into account cultural differences
  • Attitudes:
  • Understands the dynamic forces contributing to cultural diversity
  • Understands the importance of a diverse public health workforce

Community Dimensions of Practice Skills

  • Establishes and maintains linkages with key stakeholders
  • Utilizes leadership, team building, negotiation, and conflict resolution skills to build community partnerships
  • Collaborates with community partners to promote the health of the population
  • Idenitifies how public and private organizations operate within a community
  • Accomplishes effective community engagements
  • Identifies community assets and available resources
  • Develops, implements, and evaluates a community public health assessment
  • Describes the role of government in the delivery of community health services

Basic Public Health Sciences Skills

  • Identifies the individual's and organization's responsibilities within the context of the Essential Public Health Services and core functions
  • Defines, assesses, and understands the health status of populations, determinants of health and illness, factors contributing to health promotion and disease prevention, and factors influencing the use of health services
  • Understands the historical development, structure, and interaction of public health and health care systems
  • Identifies and applies basic research methods used in public health
  • Applies the basic public health sciences including behavioral and social sciences, biostatistics, epidemiology, environmental public health, and prevention of chronic and infectious diseases and injuries
  • Identifies and retrieves current relevant scientific evidence
  • Identifies the limitations of research and the importance of observations and interrelationships
  • Attitudes:
  • Develops a lifelong commitment to rigorous critical thinking

Financial Planning and Management Skills

  • Develops and presents a budget
  • Manages programs within budget constraints
  • Applies budget processes
  • Develops strategies for determining budget priorities
  • Monitors program performance
  • Prepares proposals for funding from external sources
  • Applies basic human relations skills to the management of organizations, motivation of personnel, and resolution of conflicts
  • Manages information systems for collection, retrieval, and use of data for decision-making
  • Negotiates and develops contracts and other documents for the provision of population-based services
  • Conducts cost-effectiveness, cost-benefit, and cost-utility analyses

Leadership and Systems Thinking Skills

  • Creates a culture of ethical standards within organizations and communities
  • Helps create key values and shared vision and uses these principles to guide action
  • Identifies internal and external issues that may impact delivery of essential public health services (i.e., strategic planning)
  • Facilitates collaboration with internal and external groups to ensure participation of key stakeholders
  • Promotes team and organizational learning
  • Contributes to development, implementation, and monitoring of organizational performance standards
  • Uses the legal and political system to effect change
  • Applies theory of organizational structures to professional practice

Plan a Public Health Internship Fair

Download a user's guide on how to make a Public Health Internship Fair work for you by clicking here. On October 9th, 2007 we held a public health internship fair, for information on this event, please visit this link: http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/events/2007/10/9/139192/public_health_internship_fair

To view information on the organizations that participated in our Public Health Internship Fair, please click here.