what we do
Center for Public Health Practice activities include:
- Providing M.P.H. students with a field supervisor who will work with students to find a full-time summer internship that matches their interests and abilities. Field supervisors also assist in student career development by helping students identify and refine their interests, skills, and career direction, as well as resume review, professional contacts, and informational interviews.
- Placing approximately 125 students each year in health departments, community-based organizations, health care systems, nonprofits, and other public health organizations.
- Assisting with international summer internships. Berkeley M.P.H. students have had summer internships in Armenia, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, China, Cuba, Ecuador, Guam, Haiti, India, Kenya, Thailand, Mali, Mexico, Namibia, Nicaragua, the Phillipines, Switzerland, Vietnam, Zimbabwe, and Zambia.
- Providing the PH291 professional development workshop series. Workshops are presented by CPHP staff or community public health practitioners. The series is divided into four modules to emphasize certain skills: management, communications and advocacy, planning and strategy, and personal and project management. Topics include: Introduction to Finance, Writing for Publication, Legislative Advocacy and Policy, Writing Grants for the CDC and NIH, Administrative Advocacy, Evaluation Methods, Negotiation, Project Management, and Human Resources Management.
- Providing career services for Public Health students, alumni, and employers. Jobs and internships are posted on our job web site. In addition to job postings, career services include job search, resume writing, and interviewing workshops; career counseling; and special events such as the Career Café.
- Creating the Center for Multicultural Health (CMH): Reducing Health Inequities Through Public Health Practice. The CMH, part of the Center for Public Health Practice, works with numerous community partners to offer students paid internships during the summer and academic year, paid and volunteer jobs, practice-based class projects and case studies, and workshops with leading practitioners. Through these opportunities, students can contribute to the design, implementation, and evaluation of interventions designed to reduce health inequities and/or improve the access and quality of programs and services.
- Cosponsoring the Public Health Alumni Association's annual Career Café, where public health practitioners meet with students to network, share their insight, career advice, and employment opportunities in an informal, casual venue.
- Development and coordination of the "What Can You Do with a Degree in Public Health?" speaker series where public health practitioners from different organization types (health department, nonprofit, private sector) or expertise areas (obesity, environmental justice, HIV/AIDS) share their day-to-day activities, industry trends, challenges, typical salaries, desired skills, opportunities, and other information that help students learn more about possible public health career paths.
- Working with faculty to include and develop practice-based projects in courses. The center also works with community partners on practice-based interventions.