COPH FORM: DrPH Applied Practice Experiences 2017.docx

Purpose & Setting: All DrPH students will engage in one or more practice-based experiences. The applied practice experiences should develop the student’s advanced practice and leadership skills and knowledge through completion of meaningful projects for public health organizations, including government, non-government, non-profit, industrial, and for-profit settings. These can include the student’s own work setting, or another setting that the student selects, and the student must identify a mentor in the organization who will guide the student during these experiences. Please see the section on Practice-Based Mentors.

Process: While attending each DrPH Institute, the student will start a proposal for an applied practice experience. The student will then work with their faculty advisor and an identified mentor to develop a complete proposal for the competencies, learning objectives, activities, and deliverables required for each applied practice experience. The final proposal must be approved by the student, the faculty advisor, the mentor, and the DrPH Director.

Competencies: The student is expected to achieve demonstrated growth in at least five of the DrPH competencies throughout the series of practice experiences, and at least one competency must relate to leadership or management. The student will identify the targeted competencies for each applied practice experience in their proposal, drawn from the competencies specified in the list of DrPH Courses and Competencies for their concentration. The experiences proposed to meet these competencies can be done in a single large project, or several smaller projects, and can be spread across multiple semesters; this depends on the objectives, activities, and deliverables of each practice experience. It is suggested that the student identify about 30 hours of project activities per competency targeted.

Learning Objectives: In consultation with the faculty advisor and mentor, the student will identify the learning goals for the applied practice experiences based on the competencies targeted. The student will honestly assess their experience and build upon any limitations to enhance the skills and knowledge needed as an advanced professional, or to inform the dissertation project the student would like to pursue. Carefully considering the additional experiences needed to round out the student’s skills and practical knowledge is primary, along with ensuring that opportunities are included to enhance leadership skills.

Activities: Details of the practice activities are developed and agreed to jointly by the student, mentor, and faculty advisor. This represents the heart of the three-way agreement that is integral to developing practice experience. It is necessary to describe the specific actions, projects, processes, and tasks that will allow the student to meet the chosen competencies and objectives. Activities should take the form of statements that begin with action verbs, that are specific, measurable, and time-limited. The student should also state the expected dates for involvement in and completion of the activities, including a temporal view of the entire lifetime of each proposed activity.

Deliverables: The proposal must include deliverables that both meet the needs of the organization, and demonstrate reflection on development of the stated competencies and fulfillment of the learning objectives. This may require more than one deliverable (e.g., the completed project for the organization plus a reflection on competencies and learning objectives achieved). The student should consider what type of deliverables are appropriate for the organization, whether a report on activities performed, a summary of data collected and analyzed, tests from training sessions, etc.

Evaluation: The practice site mentor provides guidance on an ongoing basis, and assists the student with the project deliverables as needed. The student will submit the final deliverables to the faculty advisor, who will provide a final evaluation of the quality and achievement of the deliverables, and whether the student met the stated learning objectives. The deliverables and signed evaluation must also be submitted to the DrPH program.

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USF ADMISSION TO CANDIDACY FORM

In order to be admitted to doctoral candidacy, students must meet the following requirements at USF:

1. admission to a doctoral program
2. appointment of a Doctoral Committee (see Dissertation Committee section of the guidebook)
3. attainment of an overall and degree program Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.00 at USF at the time of candidacy. All “I” and “M” grades, including “IF” and “MF”, must be cleared before candidacy may be finalized
4. successful completion of a qualifying examination
5. certification by the Doctoral Committee that the above qualifications have been successfully completed

The Admission to Candidacy form should be submitted for approval during the semester that the qualifying exams were completed, but no later than the semester following the successful completion of the exam. The form will be approved by the Dean of the College and forwarded to the Dean of the Office of Graduate Studies for final approval. Doctoral Candidacy is effective as of the day that the Office of Graduate Studies approves of the request and changes the student’s status to 6C. For procedures and processing deadlines refer to the Office of Graduate Studies website at www.grad.usf.edu.

Once candidacy status is approved, students with approved candidacy are eligible to enroll in dissertation hours (7980) in the semester that immediately follows the last business day of the approval window. For example, students approved during the Fall approval window may enroll in the Spring. Students approved during the Spring approval window may enroll in the summer and students approved during the Summer approval window may enroll in the Fall. Students may NOT enroll in dissertation hours prior to being admitted to doctoral candidacy. 

Each degree program has a required number of dissertation hours for completion of the degree. Departments may, with College approval, apply Directed Research hours toward the total number of dissertation hours required. Directed Research hours shall not exceed 50% of the dissertation hour requirement. No directed research hours will be converted to dissertation hours (i.e. a directed research course dropped and a dissertation course added) prior to or during the approval window.