Public Health Practice

At Drexel Dornsife we are committed to public health practice, maintaining strong connections with community, government, and health care organizations in the region and across the globe.

We are especially focused on improving the conditions in which people live right here in the Philadelphia region. This philosophy translates into doing real, collaborative work with external partners that produces tangible results and is integrated into the school's academic, research, and service activities.

During their time at Dornsife, students are engaged in a range of practical learning experiences that strengthen their public health skillset and often clarify next steps in their career.

Drexel University is nationally acclaimed for its unique experiential learning model, designed to cultivate highly marketable skills.

“Learning how to practice public health is learning that it's not a linear path. That makes you better at it." — Tariem Burroughs, PhD, MS.Ed, MSODL, executive director of external partnerships at Drexel Dornsife in Public Health Post

Public health practice experiences for our students include the following:

Applied Practical Experiences

Graduate students in the Master of Public Health (MPH) program complete a practicum at an organization of their choice, gaining approximately 120-hours of real-world experience.

Learn more about Applied Practical Experiences

Integrative Learning Experience

MPH students complete an Integrative Learning Experience (ILE) throughout their second year. A student's ILE can be an internship or a data analysis project (working closely with their faculty mentor) or a capstone course (working with their course instructor).

Learn more about Integrative Learning Experiences

Drexel Co-op

Undergraduate students complete a Drexel Co-op. Co-op is a work-as-learning experience that provides public health students with a paid position in their field of study while in school.

Learn more about Public Health Co-ops

Global Field Practice Experience

A Global Field Practice Experience offers students the opportunity to apply theory and principles of professional practice in global health and international development, that can potentially culminate in a Co-op, study abroad, APE, ILE, fellowship, or a funded research opportunity.

Learn more about Global Field Practice Experiences