Prerequisite Courses
The following courses must be taken BEFORE applying for an internship:
| Course Code | Course Name |
|---|---|
| PUBH 240 | Introduction to Public Health |
| PUBH 320 | Communicable and Non-Communicable Diseases |
| PUBH 390 | Program Planning and Implementation |
| PUBH 401 | Community Health Methods |
💡 Why These Prerequisites?
The information and skills in these courses will help you to be more marketable for an internship. Organizations want individuals who have minimum qualifications and a passion for what they are doing.
Minimum Requirements
In order to register for the PUBH 498R course, your internship must be approved through the application process. To receive credit, you must meet the following criteria:
7 Weeks Minimum
Your internship must be completed over a minimum of 7 weeks.
200 Hours Minimum
You must work for a minimum of 200 hours to receive credit.
Within One Semester
Must be completed within the semester you are registering for.
⚠️ Important Note
These are the minimum requirements. You are encouraged to do more hours to be more marketable when applying for employment.
📌 Need More Time?
If your current situation requires you to complete your hours over a period of time longer than 1 semester, please contact the Public Health Internship Coordinator or the BYU-Idaho Internship Office.
What Counts as an Internship
Public health is a very broad profession. Your internship should encompass responsibilities around the following areas:
- Health/wellness program planning, implementing, or evaluating
- Conducting a needs assessment
- Working with epidemiology, infection control, or healthcare analysis
- Environmental health work
📌 Additional Course Recommendations
If you are going to do epidemiology or environmental health, you should take PUBH 370 Epidemiology and OSH 310 Environmental Health.
Acceptable Work Settings
This work can be done in a number of settings, including:
- Schools
- Community-based organizations
- Worksites
- Government agencies
- Non-profit organizations
What Does NOT Count as an Internship
Watching and following someone else around will not count as an internship experience. You can do this on your own outside of the internship experience to gain perspective.
Watching someone else complete work, especially if they had to complete additional schooling for the job, won't give you the full experience you deserve.
While shadowing is important if you are going to graduate/professional school, you will have a more impactful resume with BOTH an internship in public health AND your shadowing hours.
The following types of work will NOT count as an internship:
- Working as a CNA
- Health technician
- Phlebotomist
- Admission clerk
- Administrative assistant
- Front desk work
- Scheduling
- Medical scribe jobs
Clinical work settings are one area of public health, but the bulk of your hours need to focus on needs assessment, planning, implementation, evaluation, epidemiology, etc.
✅ Example of What DOES Count
Implementing a new infection control program at a large medical clinic is certainly related to public health. Keep in mind the internship must be involved with a particular health/wellness program.
⚠️ Important Distinction
One-on-one patient education within a doctor's office setting is not a specific program, therefore does not count as an internship. If you wish to participate in these types of opportunities, we recommend keeping them separate from your internship experience.
Internships need to be completed while registered for the Internship course.
Past experiences that would have counted as an internship cannot count as the PUBH 498R course retroactively.
Requirements Summary
✅ Before You Start Looking
- Completed PUBH 240 - Introduction to Public Health
- Completed PUBH 320 - Communicable and Non-Communicable Diseases
- Completed PUBH 390 - Program Planning and Implementation
- Completed PUBH 401 - Community Health Methods
- Understand minimum hour (200) and duration (7 week) requirements
- Know what types of work DO and DO NOT qualify
- Started looking 2 semesters before planned internship