Online MPH Practicums and Campus Requirements

Many people choose an online Master of Public Health (MPH) because they work or live far from a campus. Two terms cause confusion when they read program pages: practicum and campus requirement. They are different things, and a program can have one, both or neither. This guide explains the difference and how to ask the right questions.

Two separate requirements

A practicum (applied practice experience) is work you do with a real organization, such as a health department, nonprofit, hospital or community group. Its purpose is to apply public health skills outside the classroom.

A campus requirement is any time you must be physically at the university: an orientation, an intensive session, a residency week, an in-person exam or a capstone presentation.

An online program with no campus visits can still require a practicum. A hybrid program with several campus weeks may handle practice locally. Do not infer one from the other.

What CEPH criteria say about practice

For schools and programs accredited by CEPH, the 2024 criteria require that MPH students demonstrate competency attainment through applied practice experiences. Points that matter for online students:

• Form. The experience can be a practicum or internship completed during a summer or academic term, course-based activities (for example, performing a needed task for an organization under faculty supervision), service-learning, co-curricular activities such as organized volunteer service, or a blend of for-credit and not-for-credit activities.
• Timing. It may be concentrated in time or spread across a student's enrollment.
• Settings. Governmental, non-governmental, nonprofit, industrial and for-profit settings qualify, as do appropriate university-affiliated settings focused on community engagement.
• Outputs. Each student must demonstrate at least five competencies, at least three of them foundational, and the program assesses the experience through at least two practical, non-academic work products made for the site's use and benefit. Examples listed include project plans, grant proposals, training manuals, surveys, memos, presentations and websites. Reflection papers, contact-hour logs and scholarly papers written for faculty assessment do not count toward the two-product minimum.
• Hours. The MPH section we reviewed does not set a minimum number of hours. The number of hours therefore depends on the school's policy, and you need to ask for it.
• Own workplace. The criteria for DrPH applied practice state the experience may be completed in the student's own work setting. The MPH section we reviewed does not say the same thing in those words, so ask each MPH program whether your current job can count and what conditions apply.

The criteria also describe a culminating integrative learning experience, which can be a capstone course, practice-based project or comprehensive exam, and which produces a written product. It is a separate requirement from the practicum.

What CEPH criteria say about online programs

CEPH's distance education criterion defines a distance-based degree as one designed to be accessed remotely, via technologies such as internet-based course systems, conferencing, video or chat. According to the criterion:

• the methods support regular and substantive interaction between students and instructors, whether synchronous, asynchronous or both;
• the program is subject to the same quality-control processes as the university's other degree programs;
• the university provides administrative, communication, information technology and student services;
• the school establishes that the student who registers is the one who participates and completes the work, and may do so through secure login, proctored examinations or other effective methods;
• the university notifies students in writing about privacy protections and about any projected additional charges tied to identity verification.

Two consequences for you. First, proctored exams are named as one possible identity verification method, so some programs may ask for proctoring, which can mean a testing center or remote proctoring service; ask which. Second, the criterion lists additional charges tied to verification as something the university must notify you about, so ask for the fee schedule in writing.

Note also that a foundational competency in the MPH criteria involves direct engagement with individuals from a profession or sector outside public health, and the criteria say that engagement can be place-based or distance-based. The competency list itself is the same for all students.

What varies by school

The criteria set expectations, not a single model. Programs choose:

• how many hours of practice they require;
• whether they place students or students find their own sites;
• whether placements must be in the student's region;
• whether employment can count, and whether it must differ from your normal duties;
• whether the capstone is in person, on video or written;
• whether any on-campus session exists.

Because these differ, program pages in this directory are only a starting point. For any program you are considering, check the school's own handbook or ask the program director in writing.

Questions to ask an online or hybrid program

About the practicum

1. How many hours are required, and is that number for the practicum alone?
2. Who finds the site: the school, you, or both? What support is offered if you live far from the school?
3. Can my current employer count as the site? What does the school need to see?
4. When in the program does the practicum happen, and can it be done part-time over several terms?
5. Are there extra fees, insurance, background checks, immunizations or other site requirements?
6. What are the work products, and who approves them?

About campus time

1. Is any physical presence required at any point, including orientation, exams, capstone or graduation?
2. If so, how many days, and when?
3. Who pays for travel and lodging?
4. Are in-person components offered at more than one location?

About accreditation and status

1. Which accredited unit is the program part of? Confirm on CEPH's accredited list; see understanding public health accreditation.
2. Is the online degree the same degree, with the same title, as the on-campus version?

About cost

1. Is online tuition different from on-campus tuition?
2. Are there technology, proctoring or practicum fees?
3. Does funding apply to online students? See public health tuition and funding.

Reading program pages carefully

Phrases like "100 percent online" can describe the coursework only. Look for the terms "practicum," "applied practice experience," "field experience," "residency," "immersion," "intensive" and "capstone" in the program handbook, and read how each is defined. If the page is vague, write down your question and the answer, with the date.

Using this site

Use the online MPH page to see programs in the directory that list online delivery, and the compare tool to set formats side by side. The directory does not claim to list every online program or to carry every school's current requirements. The methodology page explains what we record. For the overall process of selecting a program, continue with how to choose an MPH program.