Internships

Students on an internship

The Public Health program offers opportunities for real-world experience supervised by community and faculty mentors. The four internships listed below are offered in fall and spring, carry four credits, and require a separate application with deadlines before University course registration. Instructor permission may also be required.

PHLT 397W: Community Engagement Internship (4 credits)

Instructor: Missy Pfohl Smith

This course, offered in both the fall and the spring semesters, is an opportunity available to juniors and seniors who have declared their major in public health.

PHLT 397W gives students a mentored community project under the auspices and supervision of a University faculty member and community agency in Rochester, NY, working with an under-served population on an identified area of health promotion.

Students spend eight hours per week working at their community site. A weekly seminar led by multiple faculty members gives academic support to the internship. Admission to the course is by application only. Applications are accepted the Wednesday after fall break and the Wednesday after spring break.

PHLT 394C: Washington Semester Internship (4 credits)

Instructor: Molly McNulty

This opportunity is offered in conjunction with The Washington Center's (TWC) Academic Internship Program.

For more information about the program and the application process including information on how to apply, visit the Greene Center Washington Semester page.

Several preliminary steps need to be completed to determine eligibility before applying:

  1. Complete the online Interest Form.
  2. The Greene Center will review your form and assess your eligibility for the program based on TWC's standards.
  3. Meet with McNultyfor permission to register for PHLT 394C, the 4-credit portion of the 16-credit Washington Semester.

Once these three steps are completed, application directly to The Washington Center can be made.

PHLT 394C is only available during the academic year (fall and spring).

PHLT 394E: Emergency Medicine Internship (4 credits)

Instructor: Nancy Wood

This course provides undergraduate students the opportunity to pursue in-depth, independent exploration of a topic not regularly offered in the curriculum, under the supervision of a faculty member in the form of independent study, practicum, internship or research. The objectives and content are determined in consultation between students and full-time members of the teaching faculty. Responsibilities and expectations vary by course and department.

PHLT 394G: Public Health Internships (4 credits)

Instructor: Molly McNulty

This internship is a mentored community-based experience under the supervision of a URochester faculty member. This course creates authentic learning experiences through internships with Rochester area community agencies to help students:

  • Analyze public health scholarship
  • Synthesize that scholarship with internship experience
  • Disseminate internship experience with other students and faculty

Seminar Requirements

Students will meet with the instructor in person three times per semester. The purpose of these meetings is to explain the journal requirements and to share information about the internship placements. Students will be given a choice of times for each meeting.

Journal Entry Requirements

Students have three research-based writing assignments due during the semester called "Analytic Journal Entries" (AJEs). An AJE is five pages of double-spaced text. It d­oes all of the following, in order:

  1. Poses a question about public health practice or policy,
  2. Explains what in your experience causes you to ask that question and makes it important or interesting to you,
  3. Discusses possible answers to that question on the basis of BOTH: (a) findings and arguments from one piece of empirical research published empirical public health research AND (b) your experiences in your internship.

How to research and write an AJE will be the topic of the first in-person meeting.

*Instructor permission required.

Independent Study at a Rochester Community Agency

Students may also pursue an independent study with a Rochester-area community agency. These experiences are developed individually with guidance from a faculty mentor who has an established relationship with the agency, allowing students to create a work plan tailored to their interests and learning goals.

Additional Option: Independent Study at a Rochester Community Agency

Students can develop individual work plans with input from a faculty mentor who has a relationship with local Rochester agencies.