Applied Practice Experience (APE)

Students can work with public or private international, national, state, or local health-related organizations for a minimum required 50-hour working experience and the development of at least 2 work products that demonstrate 5 public health competencies.

The goal of the APE is to expose the student to the day-to-day experiences of working in a health-related organization, setting priorities, teamwork, marshaling resources for problem solving, serving client needs, accepting and responding to feedback and learning how individuals’ visions and values shape the vision and values of an organization.

To find out more about the APE, please contact our APE coordinator:
COSSPP-MPH-Internships@fsu.edu

Prerequisites

  • Completion of PHC 5155, PHC 5001/URP 5525, and ECP 5538 or equivalent
  • For students admitted for Fall 2025 or later: In addition to the course prerequisites above, you will need to have completed Milestones 1-3 of the MPH Career Preparation. More information can be found here.

Previous interns from our program have assisted with:

  • Collection and analysis of infant mortality and low birth weight data by county and coalition.
  • Data collection on maternal and child health indicators was used in Florida’s Title V Maternal and Child Health block grant.
  • Monitoring and reporting on legislative committee meetings.
  • Written analyses of bills proposed for consideration in the Florida legislative session.

List of previous APEs:

  • Florida Department of Health
    • County Health Department
    • Chronic Disease
    • Disease Control
    • Environmental Health
    • Maternal & Child Health
    • Tobacco
  • Florida Department of Children and Families
  • Florida Agency for Health Care Administration
  • Private For-Profit Organization
  • Private Not-For-Profit Organization
  • FSU Health and Wellness Center
  • US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

While students may work on a variety of tasks during their experience, the expectation is that they will have 2 work products for which they are principally responsible. It should be accompanied by appropriate project goals and success criteria, adequate instructions, supervision and feedback, interim products and deadlines, resources, and an identifiable product such as a report, presentation, briefing, hearing, web page, survey, or other product which reflects integration of analytical, organizational and presentation skills and makes appropriate use of the student’s academic training.

Students should feel that they have undertaken a challenging project, marshaled resources, overcome obstacles, and produced worthwhile products that will help the organization achieve its goals. A mere compilation of lists or sorting of files will not be considered adequate to meet the goals of the APE.

Career Resources