The Internship

Ellis Silva, MPH

Ellis Silva, MPH

“I completed a public health internship in Uganda to provide access to health services and education. My education at Brown has taught me the importance of thinking globally and upstream. Whether it’s working in Providence or East Africa, I will take what I’ve learned here at Brown wherever I go.”

Read about Ellis’ internship

All MPH students are required to complete an internship in the form of an applied public health practice experience. The Brown MPH provides enrolled students with a variety of resources to connect with rewarding and interesting applied public health practice experiences.  In addition to meeting with academic core advisors and other faculty conducting research in specific public health topics, students also confer with the Coordinator for Applied Learning Experiences and Career Development in order to learn more about opportunities that align with each student’s public health area of interest and future career goals.

Components of the Internship
  1. An approved Applied Public Health Practice Experience proposal: This proposal is developed in PHP2071 during the Spring of the student’s first year.  The proposal includes information on the applied public practice experience site and work to be conducted and the project.
  2. An Applied Public Health Practice field placement: Students must complete at least 145 hours at a pre-approved applied public health practice field placement. This is equivalent to approximately one month (4 weeks) of full-time (8 hours per day) work. Students can complete the field placement as a full-time or part-time experience in the summer between the first and second year, or they can complete the applied public health practice experience during the spring semester. The applied public health practice field placement should expose the student to real world public health issues and other professions that work to address public health issues.  Applied public health practice field placement activities may include (depending on the topic and the qualifications of the student) attending meetings; participating in ongoing activities; planning, implementing and evaluating short-term projects; participating in health education and outreach; taking part in analytical discussions and/or delivering health related services.
  3. A final project: The applied public health practice experience must include a final product/deliverable.  A final project may include, as examples, designing a public health intervention, conducting a quality assessment, writing a research proposal, writing a literature review, completing a research analysis/report, or developing a website.  Students must consult with their MPH applied public health practice experience sponsor and with the MPH Program Associate Director to be sure that their proposed project is acceptable for the educational purposes of the applied public health practice experience.
  4. A poster: Students must design a poster that demonstrates the results of the field placement final project.  Students must present their Applied Public Health Practice Experience posters in a poster session held in September of the second year of the MPH Program as a part of PHP2072.

Students who matriculated prior to Fall 2018 should click here.

Sample Internship Experiences

Our students’ internship experiences are as diverse as their interests:

Sample Internship Project Location
Evaluation for Standard and Mobile Health Applications Bangladesh
Microbial Translocation and Schistosomiasis Brazil
Using Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy to Assess White Matter Neuroinflammation Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies
Developing an Instrument in Assessing Financial Toxicity in Multiple Sclerosis Center for Gerontology
Technological Solutions for the Diagnosis of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Center for the Study of Children at Risk
Retaining Transgender Women in HIV Care: Best Practices in the Field The Fenway Institute
Evaluation of Academic Detailing Visits with Top Opioid Prescribers in Rhode Island Rhode Island Department of Health
Efficiency of Nursing Home-Emergency Department Transfers and Quality of Communication Review Rhode Island Hospital Emergency Department
Supportive Housing Models for Medicaid Program Steward Healthcare Network
Co-Facilitator of Teens Empowered to Advocate for Community Health TEACH Community Health
International Organization for Migration Practices Regarding Assisted Voluntary Return & Reintegration for Migrants with Health Needs World Health Organization
Sample Local Internship Sites

Students may complete an approved internship locally, nationally, or globally.

In Rhode Island, our students have access to organizations and government agencies—from the insurance commissioner's office to the lieutenant governor's office, from the Department of Health to the seven local hospitals affiliated with Brown's Alpert Medical School—that are key to improving population health. Comprising 1,000 square miles and 1 million people, the smallest state in the union is manageable in scope while being economically and ethnically diverse; it's the ideal place not only to collect data, but also to evaluate interventions and understand why they work. Sample local internship sites:

Government Agencies Rhode Island Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities, and Hospitals
Rhode Island Department of Corrections
Rhode Island Department of Health
Non-profit Organizations
Community Care Alliance
Day One Sexual Assault and Trauma Resource Center
The Fenway Health Center (Boston)
Green & Healthy Homes
Greenhouse Social Enterprise
HealthCentric Advisors
House of Hope Community Development Corporation
Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence
Maternova, Inc.
Narragansett Indian Tribal Lands
Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island
PACE Organization of Rhode Island
Center for Prisoner Health and Human Rights
Providence & Woonsocket Public High Schools
The Providence Center
Rhode Island Foundation
Rhode Island Free Clinic
Rhode Island Hospital
Rhode Island Public Health Institute
Center for the Study of Children at Risk
Steward Healthcare Network
Walden Behavioral Care
The Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute