Built-in professional experience
The School of Public Health Sciences is home to three professional graduate programs, all of which have a built-in 420-hour professional practicumÌýallowing students to gainÌýrelevant hands-on experience in their field.
- Master of Health Evaluation (MHE)
- Master of Health Informatics and Analytics (MHIA)
- Master of Public Health (MPH) Ìý
Students will work closely with the Experiential Learning and Communications Specialist to find a practicum that will provide them with the opportunity to apply their knowledge and skills and to connect with future employers. Once the practicum has been secured, students will work with the practicum supervisor to complete a learning contract.
The practicum is a mandatory component of all professional graduate programs and can be taken after all core coursework is complete.
Stories from the field
"For my practicum, I worked on an updated literature review of epidemiology studies of radiation and cancer for a report of the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Radiation (UNSCEAR). I reviewed studies of occupational radiation exposures, but the report will include studies of cancer among survivors of the atomic bombings in Japan, patients treated with radiation, populations exposed in nuclear accidents, and public radiation exposures. This report will summarize the latest epidemiologyÌýstudies on the effects of radiation, to inform global radiation protection. A highlight was experiencing what inter-professional collaboration really looks like in an applied setting. In the nuclear industry, it is impossible to do one job without consideration for how the entire system is impacted, and as a result, there are so many opportunities for specialists to expand their role."Ìý
—MEGAN JANECKA, Public health practicum
"As a student in the MHI program, I led the early project management work for CAN-VIEW, Canada’s first AI-driven eye health data repository. I had the opportunity to coordinate multi-stakeholder collaborations and later secured federal funding through Canada’s Digital Research Alliance DRI-EDIA Champions program to co-develop a First Nations-driven data governance framework in partnership with the Southern Chiefs’ Organization (SCO) of Manitoba. This work focused on embedding OCAP® principles and equity-driven design into the foundation of national health data infrastructure. Throughout the program, I also developed technical skills in health data standards (HL7 FHIR, IHE integration profiles), planning system architectures, and data analysis foundations in R and Python. These experiences strengthened my ability to bridge policy, ethics, and technology, while building strong competencies in system architecture planning, data standards development, project management, and equity-centred digital health innovation."
—MEMOONA MAAH, Health informatics and analytics practicum
"During my practicum,ÌýI had the opportunity to contribute to evaluations being conducted by the Evaluation Division of the Office of Audit and Evaluation (OAE), at the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and Health Canada. These include evaluations of projects designed to prevent the spread of infectious diseases, including Tuberculosis and COVID-19 and the Human Pathogens and Toxins Regulations & Act (HPTAR). As students, we often look at evaluations as uni-dimensional undertakings, moving smoothly from planning to execution and reporting. It was only when I was exposed to the actual process of evaluation that I was fully able to appreciate that they are complex undertakings requiring not only careful planning, but insightful negotiations, teamwork, and adaptation to dynamic situations."
—SARA HUSAIN, Health evaluation practicum