Epidemiology Practice Experience

At GW, public health students gain practical skills and knowledge through a variety of practice experiences. GW’s extensive network of public health settings enables students to partner with the very top Washington, D.C., national or international health organizations and learn to apply academic knowledge and theory in real-world professional practice settings. Depending on the program and department, students participate in a combination of internships, a supervised Practicum project, residency, and/or culminating experience. In every program, students gain confidence and real-world experience through their practice experiences. 

MPH Epidemiology students complete a Practicum and a Culminating Experience as their practice experiences, described below.

MS PHMEID F/LE and Final Project Resource Page
MS Public Health Microbiology and Emerging Infectious Diseases (MS PHMEID) students complete a Field/Lab experience and Final Project instead of a Practicum and Culminating Experience, and should refer to the MS PHMEID practice experience page, rather than follow the guidelines below.

Practicum

In the Department of Epidemiology, the Practicum consists of a Practice Activity - defined as a planned, supervised, and evaluated experience in a public health organization. The Practice Activity can be related to either primary research or public health practice and include activities such as conducting literature reviews, proposal writing, data collection and analysis. The Practice Activity enables the student to apply new skills in the context of public health, and must not be directly related to the student's day-to-day work. If the student does conduct the Practice Activity at his/her place of employment, this must be a separate activity for which the student is not remunerated.

DEPI Epidemiology Skills Building Modules Blackboard Community

The Department of Epidemiology has determined that there are several skills essential to the practice of epidemiology that our MPH students should have. The modules consist of a series of online and on-site offerings to accompany the Practicum and the Culminating Experience (CE).    They are housed in Epidemiology Blackboard Community to efficiently provide these offerings to students in a series of learning modules.  Some of these offerings are optional, others are required.  There are also two on-site required activities for building career and oral communications skills.  All new Epidemiology MPH students will be included in the DEB Blackboard Community as they enter the program.   

Culminating Experience

The Culminating Experience (CE) integrates the knowledge and skills students acquire through their academic work and the practice activity. It is a graded course in which students identify and define a specific public health issue and formulate questions to address that issue. Students work with data obtained through primary research or from an existing dataset. The process of proposal development, data analysis, interpretation and extrapolation of the results, culminates in a written report or manuscript, and an oral presentation.

Although it is not required, some students choose to link their Practicum and Culminating Experience so that the content of the selected Practicum is linked to the planning and interpretation aspects of the CE. Students may also choose to conduct a Practicum that is independent of their CE; in this case, a separate project needs to be identified for the CE.  Students can opt to do the Practicum and CE concurrently.  If, however, they choose to do the two courses sequentially, the Practicum must come first.

Epidemiology Mandatory Practicum Orientation Session Information

All Epi MPH students planning to work on their Practicum are required to attend the mandatory Department of Epidemiology Practicum Orientation Session.

This is a requirement that must be completed prior to starting the Practicum.

The orientation session is offered at the beginning of each semester. Specific dates and time for the orientation are announced on the Epi listserv. To subscribe to the Epi listserv, please send an email to [email protected] with the subject link “Subscribe Epi”.

Resources

Please refer to the following resources and guidelines to complete the Practicum and Culminating Experience:

• Epidemiology and Biostatistics Core Competencies
• Information for Potential Site Preceptors
• Syllabus: Epidemiology and Biostatistics Practicum (PubH 6000)
• Syllabus: Epidemiology and Biostatistics Culminating Experience (PubH 6015)
• FAQs - Frequently Asked Questions
• Student Checklist
• Peer-Reviewed Culminating Experience Student Publications
• Culminating Experience and Final Project Requirements (Reqs) and Timeline

Practicum/CE Forms

Please visit the Milken Institute School of Public Health' practicum web pages for more information and to access the Online Practicum System (Gworks).

Student Practicum/CE Forms

The following forms must be completed on the Online Practicum System by students to participate in the Practicum:

• Student Profile
• Student Practicum Plan

The following forms must be completed by students at the midpoint and the end of the Practicum and Culminating Experience:

• Midpoint Evaluation Form (Practicum)
• Final Student Evaluation Form (Practicum)
• Final Student Evaluation Form (CE)

These forms are located in the Online Practicum System.

Site Preceptor Practicum/CE

Practicum Site Preceptor Resources Page

The following forms must be completed or signed by Site Preceptors during the Practicum and Culminating Experience:

• Site Preceptor Midpoint Evaluation (Practicum - located in the Online Practicum System)
• Site Preceptor Final Evaluation (Practicum - located in the Online Practicum System)
• Final Site Preceptor Evaluation Form (CE)

Student Awards and Opportunities

• Capital Connection Fund
• Student Research Awards
• Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE)
• Epi Scholars Program
• Health Research Training Program (HRTP)
• International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B)
• DC DOH College Student Internship Program
• Curatio International Foundation

Links to Other Practicum Resources

• Milken Institute School of Public Health Practicum website
• CITI Training Instructions
• University Policy - International Travel
• GWU IRB
• GW Writing Center

Information for Students Traveling Abroad

Students who are considering traveling abroad should contact their Practicum Director regarding forms that need to be completed.

Advanced planning and preparation are necessary for international placement.

Practicum and Culminating Experience Faculty and Staff

To arrange a meeting with the Department of Epidemiology Practicum and Culminating Experience Co-Directors, please contact: