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MPH Public Health Practice Experience

The Public Health Practice Experience (PHPE) is the individual experiential learning opportunity that serves as a bridge between a student’s academic training and applied public health practice. Activities meeting the PHPE are mutually beneficial to both the PHPE site organization and the student. The student will develop products that demonstrate attainment of program foundational and concentration-specific competencies and are useful to the PHPE site organization. PHPE sites include domestic and international governmental, non-governmental, non-profit, industrial, for-profit settings, appropriate university-affiliated settings. The program works with the student to develop a PHPE that is aligned with their academic goals and potential future public health career plans. 

A few current and past PHPE site organizations:

  • Virginia Department of Health, New River Health District
  • Virginia Rural Health Association
  • Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services
  • Virginia Tech Hokie Wellness
  • Virginia Cooperative Extension
  • Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine Center for Animal-Human Relationships
  • USDA-APHIS, New York Animal Import Center
  • Fairfax County Health Department
  • St. Francis Pet Care
  • USDA-APHIS-Veterinary Services
  • Virginia Department of Health, Division of Disease Prevention, STD Surveillance, Operations, and Data Administration 
  • Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries