APEx: Practicum & EPR
The Applied Practice Experience (APEx) is the applied learning experience required of all Master of Public Health (MPH) students as set forth by our accrediting body, the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH). "The applied practice experience allows each student to demonstrate attainment of at least five (5) competencies... the school assesses each student's competency attainment in practical and applied settings through a portfolio approach." (CEPH, 2018). All students at GWSPH must complete an APEx in order to graduate.
At GWSPH, the APEx is an umbrella term for two tracks available for completion of this CEPH requirement, Practicum or Expedited Portfolio Review (EPR). Guided by your departmental Practice Team, faculty, and preceptors, you will be able to demonstrate the attainment of MPH foundational and program-specific competencies, learn from public health professionals from a range of public and private sector disciplines, and jumpstart your public health career (or career transition).
Resources specific to students and current and/or future preceptors can be found through the resource tabs on the side menu.
Disclaimer: Information on this webpage supersedes any other documentation that may exist in regard to the APEx and/or EPR.
Advocacy and Activism: Professional Development Series with Dr. Jameta Barlow Friday, January 27th @ 2pm EST: Register APEx 101 Sessions Wednesday, February 1st @ 12pm EST: Register Thursday, February 2nd @ 8pm EST: Register Practicum Fair Friday, February 10th 3-5pm EST (virtual via Handshake). Registration Kaiser Health News (KHN) is the newsroom at KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation), producing in-depth journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of KFF's three major operating programs. KFF is an endowed non-profit organization providing information on health issues to the nation. Join the GWSPH Career Services to learn more about internships and practicum opportunities at KHN on Friday, February 17th @ 12pm EST. RegisterApplied Public Health Events
APEx Resources
Guides
- Student Applied Practice Experience Guidebook & Exxat Manual
- Preceptor Practicum Guidebook & Exxat Manual
- APEx Prerequisites and Required Competencies by Program
Online Practicum System
Forms
- Registration Transaction Form
- Graduate Records Petition
- CITI Training
- Office of Research Excellence Endorsement Form Guidance
If you are new to the field of public health, the Practicum Experience serves as an important first step in a public health career, providing an introduction to the practical skills and experience necessary for a productive and fulfilling career. If you have had prior work experience, you will find that the Practicum Experience provides the opportunity to hone your skills or to gain new experience in a different area of public health. The Practicum Experience is a planned, supervised, and evaluated project in which students gain practical skills and knowledge via a 120-hour real-world work experience with community partners outside of GWSPH. During the Practicum, students will work under the supervision of their department’s Practice Team and a Site Preceptor to develop skills and confidence as a public health professional contributing to a community’s resources and to the solution of public health problems. Students will plan, submit, and log their practicum in the online practicum system, STEPS by Exxat (Exxat).Practicum
MPH students with substantial public health experience relevant to their department/track may request an Expedited Portfolio Review (EPR) from their Practicum Director. To be eligible, student’s must have worked full-time (as designated by an employer) in a professional public health setting that is relevant to the student’s MPH track/program that demonstrates the application of at least five MPH competencies across two work products that were produced prior to matriculation into the MPH program and are no more than 5 years old. MPH students who believe they meet the work experience requirement need to discuss this possibility with their Practice Team within their first year of the program.Descriptions of Practicum Experiences by Department
Expediated Portfolio Review (EPR)
Environmental and Occupational Health Epidemiology & Biostatistics Exercise and Nutrition Sciences Global Health Health Policy and Management MPH @ GW Prevention and Community Health For IRB related inquiries, please contact: For technical assistance with the online practicum system (Exxat), please contact: For all other inquiries:Practice Team Contact Information by Department
Georgia Middleditch - gmiddleditch@gwu.edu
Peter LaPuma - plapuma@email.gwu.edu
Ann Goldman - annieg@gwu.edu
Joseph Schmitthenner - jschmitthenner@gwu.edu
Michelle Stevens - mmsteven@gwu.edu
Chloe Nickel - cnickel2@gwu.edu
Nino Paichadze - npaichadze1@email.gwu.edu;
Students with Last Names A - L | Melissa Goldstein - mgoldste@gwu.edu
Students with Last Names M - Z | Lara Cartwright-Smith - laracs@gwu.edu
Leticia Chavarria - lchavarria40@gwu.edu
Stephanie Shorten - sshorten@gwu.edu
Laura Vasisko - lvasisko@gwu.edu
Kelley Vargo - kmvfit@gwu.edu
Christiana Ebiasah - cebiasah@gwu.edu
Malika Hook Muhammad - mahmuhammad@gwu.edu
Ann Rich - richa@gwu.edu
MPH@GW Advising - mphadvising@gwu.edu
PCH Practice Team - pchacadtraining@gwu.edu
SPH Student IRB Liaison - SPHstudentIRB@gwu.edu
support@Exxat.com
Dr. Gene Migliaccio, geno@gwu.edu - Associate Dean for Applied Public Health
Dr. Jennifer Skillicorn, skilli_j@gwu.edu - Director for the Office of Applied Public Health
Geri Kemper Seeley, gkemperseeley@gwu.edu - Program Manager, Applied Public Health