SPH Launches Practicum Access Award to Support Students in Need.
SPH Launches Practicum Access Award to Support Students in Need
This summer, the new equity-focused award will support 35 SPH students in fulfilling their practicum requirements without undue financial burden.
For Devanshi Choksi, an MPH student at the School of Public Health, finding a summer practicum experience to fulfill her degree requirements was difficult. As an international student, she was not only limited in the type of opportunities she could pursue due to requirements to complete her practicum on the Boston University Medical Campus, but was also ineligible for certain grant programs to help fund her work. To cover her cost of living and other expenses while she completed her work unpaid, she was forced to seek out another part-time job opportunity.
Choksi’s story is unfortunately far too common. Many SPH students face similar restrictions and financial challenges when pursuing their practicums, with less than 40% of them receiving any funding at all. This lack of funding also leads some students to pursue practicum experiences that do not align with their own public health interests in order to obtain some financial security, as many traditionally paid opportunities are available among biotech and consulting firms, rather than with non-profit organizations, local and state governments, and health departments.
The Practicum Access Award, a new equity-focused award at SPH, seeks to fill this gap. This summer, the award will fully support Choksi and 34 other SPH students in fulfilling their practicum requirements without undue financial burden. Each student will receive up to $3,600 to support their 240-hour practicum, which amounts to $15/hour (or minimum wage in the state of Massachusetts).
“I am extremely grateful for this award, and receiving it has been such a relief since I strongly believe in the goal of my practicum project,” says Choksi, who will be working to integrate mental health services with routine primary care visits as a clinical operations research intern with the Integrated Behavioral Health pilot program at Boston Medical Center. “This funding from SPH will ensure that I am able to do work that I truly believe in and that I will not have to let go of that belief due to financial reasons.”
The new award will replace SPH’s previous Practicum Scholar Award, which gave 25 students a $1,000 stipend for their practicum experience. Though the Practicum Scholar Award was a great first step in helping students find funding for their internships, “it wasn’t ideal,” says Ryan Wisniewski, assistant director of the practicum program.
“The application process was highly competitive and wasn’t equitable because students had to have a practicum in hand to apply. Many of our students don’t even know if they can afford to apply for an unpaid practicum, so they often don’t. This prevented them from being eligible for the stipend right off the bat,” says Wisniewski, also highlighting that the original stipend, though helpful, did not get students very far when navigating the high prices and costs of living in Boston. “We wanted this new award to really focus on centering equity in the application and review process to ensure that the students who need the money the most are able to receive it.”
The award was given to students based on both financial and social indicators, and they did not have to have a practicum lined up to be eligible to apply. When applying, students were asked to identify their financial need, recognizing whether they had any outside financial support from their family or other sources. Students were also asked to identify any historically marginalized identities they hold, including but not limited to race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, first-generation status, country of origin, and age.
This new model of appropriating funds was approved by the Practicum Award Committee, which was comprised of faculty, staff and students, with particular attention paid to student feedback. Applications were blindly reviewed and scored, according to the approved rubric, by two students who had already completed their practicum. Over half of the students who applied for the award received full funding for their practicum experiences this summer, and all students with the highest identified financial and social need received the award.
“It’s unfortunate that unpaid internships for academic credit are still something our students have to navigate. We hear from student that there is no justice in unpaid labor,” says Wisniewski. “This award is about investing in our students, taking care of their needs, and helping to ensure that they can make the most out of their summer and the work they will be doing throughout their practicum without worrying about making ends meet.”
Lacoy Brown, a recipient of the Practicum Access Award who will be working as a performance improvement intern at Cambridge Health Alliance, says that the award will allow her to put her time and energy into enjoying and completing an internship that best aligns with her career interests. “Awards like this provide equal opportunity and the flexibility for students like me to be more intentional with the type of employers and projects we want to collaborate with and prevents us from settling,” she says.
As a practice-based institution, SPH is committed to equipping students with the knowledge and skills necessary to be successful in the field through real-world work, and Julia Lanham, assistant dean for careers and practicum, highlights that the Practicum Access Award helps to further this mission.
“Students are drawn to SPH because of our mission and because, in many instances, they have identities that render them members of the populations that public health serves,” she says. “This award helps to create a pipeline for giving people with these historically marginalized identities and lived experiences the opportunity to learn and grow in ways that are meaningful for them so they can go on to lead public health work within their own communities. As both a school and a field, we want the people closest to the communities we serve doing the work, and it starts by providing them with both opportunity and access.”
“We are committed to doing all that we can to support all our students in a practicum that best aligns with their aspirations,” says Dean Sandro Galea. “I am delighted we can in particular, thanks to the generosity of our supporters, create an opportunity for our historically underrepresented students to engage in these practicums and move the work of public health forward.”
To continue supporting SPH students and this work, consider donating to SPH’s Global Networks of Internships and Practicums fund here.