Practicum for Semester IV
MPH325: Practicum (On-the-job Assignment)
Course Title: Practicum (On-the-job Assignment)
Course Number: MPH325
Course Credit: 3
Introduction:
Public health focuses on monitoring, achieving and improving the health of a population and is practiced in
a variety of settings. The public health professional applies knowledge and skill from the core content
areas of public health (biostatistics, epidemiology, environmental health, health services management, and
social and behavioural sciences) to design, manage and evaluate solutions to public health problems.
Using the practicum (on-the-job assignment) as the “organizational laboratory,” the Master of Science in
Public Health (MSPH) student begins to develop the necessary skill sets for becoming a successful public
health professional. The practicum is intended to develop direct understanding and experience in public
health or health promotion organisations, thereby exposing the student to organizational cultures,
management systems, operations and resources, programs and services and target populations. Such
knowledge, skills, abilities, and experiences will continue to develop and grow as each student graduates
and becomes a life-long learner and practitioner of public health.
Learning Goal:
The goal of the practicum is to provide a structured and supervised opportunity for the student to apply
the theories, principles, knowledge and skills of public health and health promotion, as learned in the
classroom, in a practice setting. The practice experience occurs in a carefully-selected health services
organisation approved by the MSPH Program Coordinator and is supervised by HSA faculty and an
immediate supervisor/mentor. This takes into account the transition from education to professional
practice.
Learning Objectives:
The objectives of the practicum (on-the-job assignment) are to:
Provide a practice setting for the student’s application and integration of the core public health
knowledge.
Prepare the student with inter-disciplinary skills and competencies, including leadership,
communication, professionalism, cultural proficiency, program planning and assessment and systems
thinking.
Upon successful completion of this course, each student will be able to:
