Practicum

MPH Practicum

The Master of Public Health Practicum (SPPH 508) is a required component of the MPH degree and provides students with a supervised, hands-on experience in a professional public health setting. The practicum allows students to apply classroom knowledge in real-world environments while building professional networks that often lead to future employment opportunities.

Students complete a minimum of 450 hours of supervised field experience, enabling them to integrate coursework with practical public health practice while developing professional skills and confidence.

Check the tab below to learn more inforamtion about Key Requirements, Program Structure, Practicum Settings, Student Practicum Experiences, Information for Supervisors, and Previous Placements.

Key Requirements

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Full-Time Student Status

During the practicum, students must be registered as full-time students at the university. This ensures the practicum is formally recognized as part of the MPH program and meets academic and institutional requirements.

Academic Requirement

The practicum is a mandatory academic component of the MPH degree. Placements must be directly related to the student’s public health studies and designed to support the development of competencies in population and public health practice.

Paid Practicum Opportunities

The university authorizes paid work terms and internships, meaning that practicum placements may be paid when supported by the host organization. Compensation is determined by the host agency and is not required for all placements.

Program Structure

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The practicum requires a minimum of 450 hours of supervised field experience in a professional public health setting.

Full-time practicum (most common): typically completed over 12 weeks at approximately 37.5 hours per week.
Part-time practicum (optional): students may complete the same 450-hour requirement over a longer period, usually across two academic terms, with approval from the Practicum Director.

All placements must include appropriate supervision and clearly defined learning objectives.

Practicum Settings

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Most practica take place within Canada, though international placements may be approved by the Practicum Director.

Appropriate settings include:

Public health units within regional health authorities
Provincial government agencies (e.g., Ministries of Health or Labour)
Federal organizations such as the Public Health Agency of Canada
Indigenous health organizations such as the First Nations Health Authority
Public health research centres and academic research teams

These environments allow students to gain experience addressing a wide range of population health challenges.

Agencies interested in hosting one of our students for a practicum should contact our office at mph@spph.ubc.ca.

Student Practicum Experiences

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Hear directly from UBC MPH students as they reflect on their practicum experiences and share how they applied their public health learning in real-world settings.

In this video showcase, students discuss where they completed their practicum, the types of projects they contributed to, the skills and knowledge they developed, and what the experience meant for their academic and professional growth.

These stories offer prospective students, current students, and practicum partners a closer look at the diverse opportunities available through the MPH practicum.

Information for Supervisors

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The practicum provides students with a minimum 12 weeks supervised field experience in a public health setting so as to integrate the course work with practical experience and further the development of practical skills in public health. The practicum experience provides a learning exchange, where students actively contribute to an agency’s work to address public health issues, while meeting their own learning objectives and developing personal confidence and skills as a public health professional. A practicum offers students a chance to explore the kinds of jobs they may take up on completion of the MPH program.

Supervisors should have training and experience, and afford practicum opportunities, aligned with the core competencies for MPH programs. Ideally, supervisors have degrees in a public health-related discipline, an academic affiliation, and previous experience working with students. In some instances, a practicum student may also have a complementary co-supervisor (e.g., who provides more day-to-day support for a project, or an academic mentor for a practicum in a community organization).

If you are interested in hosting a MPH student and has never hosted one before, please complete the Practicum Request Form. We will review your submission, and once approved, share the opportunity with our students.

Previous Placements

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The practicum gives students the opportunity to meet and work with public health practitioners.

The MPH program has great contacts with organizations that have previously, or are willing to, host UBC students for their practicums. A list of organizations who have hosted students in previous years can be found below.

Practica can take place around Canada, as well as overseas, with some past students having travelled to South Africa, the South Pacific and South America, while areas of focus for past practica have included hygiene promotion, HIV outcomes, public health surveillance in given provinces, health survey translation and cultural adaptation, and engagement with Hepatitis C care.