When it was founded, the School of Public Health was dubbed the school without walls. It is a description and a charge that remains the hallmark of its degree programs. To be sure, students at the School of Public Health become active in practicing public health from the start.
In fact, our students accrued more than 70,000 hours practicing public health last year. The practicum work was carried out at local community organizations, local, state and federal government agencies, hospitals, private companies and nonprofit foundations from Philadelphia to locations overseas.
Our students have routinely ranked this as one of the most meaningful and fulfilling portions of their academic experience at the School. In fact, it is one the main reasons students say they decided to enroll at Drexel University.
All full-time MPH students begin practicum work during their first year. In the spring quarter of the first year, students are required to complete a 120-hour practicum as part of a course on Community Assessment that provides them with hands-on experience in community-based settings.
In the second year, students are required to work 1.5 days per week across the academic year at a community site where they are developing their required Community-based Master's Project linked to their area of concentration.
Please visit our Office of Community Projects to learn more about the school’s practicum requirements and community partnership programs.