APE and Thesis/Capstone

What is applied practice experience?

An Applied Practice Experience (APE) is a unique opportunity that enables students to apply practical skills and knowledge learned through coursework to a professional public health setting that complements the student’s interests and career goals. The APE must be supervised by a Field Supervisor and requires approval from an APE Advisor designated by the student’s academic department at RSPH. To successfully fulfill the APE requirement, students must a) complete a minimum of 200 clock hours in one or two public health agencies, institutions or communities; b) meet student-selected MPH foundational competencies and concentration competencies; c) produce at least 2 deliverables that benefit the APE agency; d) enter and track all APE-related information, deliverables and required approvals in the RSPH APE Portal; and e) registration in the student’s Department 595 course (i.e. BSHE 595, BIOS 595, etc.) is required in the student’s final semester of enrollment. See MCH Practicum Approval Form here.

Prior to the start of a student’s APE, the student must receive departmental approval, and for MCH Certificate requirements, it must be MCH-focused.

Examples

Organization: HealthMPowers

A nonprofit organization that seeks to improve healthy eating behavior and physical activity among children. They partner with schools, childcare centers, and afterschool sites to deliver programs that aim to increase healthy behaviors in children.

Location: Atlanta, GA

Project Description:

  • Qualitative data analysis
  • Center report on health indicators, and a
  • Quantitative analysis for the FY23 intervention report

Organization: Clarkston Health Equity Coalition

Position was part of a multidisciplinary team that worked with the CHEC to address poor pediatric nutrition and prevention of infant conditions (primarily anemia) within the multicultural community in Clarkston, GA.

Location: Atlanta, GA

Project Description:

  • Survey and collect all resources currently being used by partners who serve women and children in Clarkston. (Clinics; Embrace Birth Support; etc.)
  • Identify gaps in the resources (content; language; visual)
  • Identify priority communities to engage
  • Conduct a survey and focus groups with community members
  • Provide enhanced or new nutrition education materials to all partners

Organization: CDC’s Division of Birth Defects and Infant Developmental Disorders (DBDID)

Location: Atlanta, GA

Project Description:

  • Created training materials and provided logistical support for a health brigade of audiologists, ophthalmologists, and neurologists who screened children with potential Zika exposure for developmental delays
  • Produced resources to help facilitate sessions about how to improve surveillance systems and modernize data technologies.

Organization: Emory Decatur Labor Support Volunteer Group

Location: Atlanta, GA

Project Description:

  • Conducted surveys and interviews of program volunteers to assess motivation, characteristics of longevity and overall experience
  • Assisted with grant applications for supervisor salary

Organization: Georgia Department of Public Health -Vaccine Preventable Disease Team

Location: Atlanta, GA

Project Description:

  • The project focused on understanding immunization education provided to pregnant individuals planning to give birth in the Fulton and Dekalb county
  • Working with the state and district epidemiologists to collect surveillance for notifiable diseases for infants and adults in Georgia.

What is a thesis?

Thesis Projects help students develop skills in conducting research and analyzing, interpreting, and processing study findings.

Any project from a public health work experience, volunteer position, applied practice experience, or global field experience has the potential to lead to a thesis. See MCH Thesis/Capstone approval form here.

What is a capstone?

Capstone projects allow students to explore a topic of interest in depth—possibly expanding a course project or applied practice experience into new dimensions—to increase practical skills and experience, sharpen presentation skills, gain peer feedback, and increase career development. See MCH Thesis/Capstone approval form here.

Examples of theses and capstone projects

Below are some of the theses and capstone projects that students enrolled in the MCH Certificate Program have completed. A more comprehensive list can be found here. 

Pregnancy and Perinatal Health

Child Health

Adolescent Health

Women’s Health