Practicum Experience

Preparing for the Future

The Wen Public Health Practicum program is the cornerstone of our undergraduate and our Master of Public Health degrees.

The program provides invaluable opportunities to gain professional experience, open avenues for networking, develop necessary skill sets, and training on how to navigate real-world scenarios. For many of these students, their practicum experience helps to secure a full-time job after graduation. 

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About the Program

The Wen Public Health Practicum program is the capstone requirement for the 400+ undergraduate students and 60+ MPH students who are in their final quarters of their respective degrees. The experience includes a required course and a hands-on internship, which provides invaluable opportunities to gain professional experience, open avenues for networking, develop necessary skill sets, and training on how to navigate real-world scenarios. For many of these students, their practicum experience helps to secure a full-time job after graduation. 

We have relationships with more than 140 practicum sites, many of those sites are only open to our students, located in Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside counties — and international sites for our MPH students. Our sites represent a wide range of fields, including healthcare, government agencies, non-profit organizations, research, and more. With the transition from a program to a school, we expect to expand the number of practicum sites to provide even more worthwhile opportunities for our students.

Real Life Examples

Valued Community Partners

Our practicum sites are valued partners who have agreed to this mutually beneficial agreement in that students are gaining real work experience and our sites have a Wen Public Health student as an intern. Undergraduate students must commit 100 hours to a site for no more than 10 weeks, while our MPH students must commit 180 hours to a site for no more than 20 weeks and are expected to treat the experience much like they would a paid job. Students are matched with placement sites based on emphasis, academic preparation, and career goals. 

UCI School of Medicine Faculty Research Lab

Dr. Sunmin Lee’s Social Epidemiology Lab conducts research to reduce health disparities experienced by minoritized groups and immigrants, particularly among Asian Americans.

UCI Basic Needs Center

Students can support the organization’s understanding of basic needs insecurity in higher education, recommends improvements to the current services/programs, and proposes new evidence-based interventions to address students’ basic needs on campus.

The LGBT Center of Orange County

The Center provides advocacy on behalf of the Orange County LGBT Community and to provide services to ensure its well being and positive identity, students may gain experience at any level programming; development, implementation, or evaluation.

Healthcare Policy Analyst

Supports researchers, assesses programs for results and works with data. Creates stakeholder groups to spread the message of how important knowledge of public health issues can be.

Intervention Researcher

Defines programs and develops theories, gathers information and synthesizes data. Formulates, tests evidence-based intervention programs and publishes findings through peer reviewed journals and conference presentations.

HIV/AIDS Research Associate

Works closely with HIV/AIDS studies participants and head researchers to ensure research findings and participant information are properly recorded and filed.

Director of Family Health Services

Works directly with community members to plan, coordinate, and manage family health programs for an organization. Hires and allocates staff, oversees budgets, secures financing and ensures client service standards are met.

State/Federal Environmentalist

Represents the environmental interests of state-level and/or federal agencies, such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, or the Department of Natural Resources.

Learn how to become a practicum site partner