Field immersions are an integral part of the Harvard DrPH Program. The Program seeks to ensure that students gain practical experience in public health while collaborating with senior public health practitioners and leaders. This complements academic coursework and helps develop and demonstrate advanced foundational knowledge and leadership competencies in a real-world setting. The curriculum includes two periods of field immersion and experiential learning over the course of the Program:
- Winter and Spring Year 1: Team-based (3 weeks full time in January, reduced hours in Spring 1)
- Summer Year 2: Individual (8-10 weeks)
Team-Based Field Immersion
The purpose of the Team-Based Field Immersion experience is for students to exercise leadership, collective problem solving, systems thinking and teamwork skills toward completion of project deliverables co-developed with staff at the host organization. The immersion takes place in the Boston area over the January and Spring 1 terms in Year 1 of the program. The DrPH program supports transportation costs for this local immersion experience.
Host Organizations and Projects
Institute for Healthcare Improvement, Latin America Region
The DrPH student team worked with IHI’s Latin America Region team to harvest evidence-based practices to be used in the development of a quality improvement change package for diabetes prevention and care. Students developed and deployed a survey and conducted interviews with hospital administrators and providers in Mexico and Ecuador to better understand current diabetes care delivery best practices as well as barriers, challenges and facilitators to diabetes care delivery, with a focus on early identification. Findings and recommendations from the student team were presented to IHI staff for integration into the next innovation cycle and pilot effort.
McLean Hospital, Division of Women's Mental Health
McLean Hospital’s Division of Women’s Mental Health was interested in developing a platform and approach to disseminate information to the public about the symptoms, assessment, and treatment of trauma spectrum and dissociative disorders, which are often misunderstood and undertreated. The DrPH student team worked with Division staff to develop an interview guide and conducted over 20 interviews with stakeholders including clinicians, researchers, administrators as well as individuals living with dissociative disorders. A member of the student team participated alongside McLean staff on a panel discussion at the Infinite Mind Conference in Orlando. FL. Synthesis of interview data and landscape analysis of similar public health education campaigns informed the set of recommendations around messaging and channels for distribution by key stakeholder groups.
Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council
Mental health and substance use challenge disproportionately affect the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe. In September 2018, the tribe was awarded a Tribal Opioid Response (TOR) grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to address high rates of substance abuse in the tribal community. The “360 Project” focuses on treatment, prevention, and promotion of tribal culture. In support of the 360 Project, the DrPH student team collaborated with the Tribal Council to develop and implement a community needs assessment to inform program and service efforts. The student team interviewed key stakeholders such as tribal leaders and members and had the opportunity to mentor and train tribal college students in implementing a community survey.
Summer Field Immersion
The purpose of Summer Field Immersion is for students to concentrate on developing new competencies and advancing existing skills while addressing a public health issue or challenge that is of personal interest. This full time, 8-10 week experience between May-August is arranged between the student and their host organization. It can be in the form of a fellowship, internship or consultancy. Summer Immersion takes place in the summer between first and second year of the DrPH Program.
The program shares the responsibility with students for identifying organizational partners interested in hosting doctoral students for summer field immersion. The educational experience requires students to research potential sites, network with public health agencies/organizations, and arrange meetings or calls to design opportunities that advance their own individual learning goals. Students are not funded by the program for this experience but are encouraged to seek compensation from their host organization or funding from other sources.
Host Organizations and Projects
Summer 2020
| Organization |
Project Title |
| Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health |
World Bank Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility Case |
| Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation |
African Health Markets for Equity Project |
| Rhode Island Health and Human Services |
The Rhode Island Health Transformation Project |
| Harvard FXB Center for Health and Human Rights |
Impact of Covid 19 on Homeless and Substance Use Disorder Populations |
| The Rippel Foundation |
Analyzing How to Change Large Institutions and Systems from the Outside Through the Practice of Culture Change |
| Harvard Ministerial Leadership Program |
Generating Actionable Strategies to Improve the Quality of Antenatal Care Service in Public Health Facilities in Zambia |
| AIDS Healthcare Foundation Global Public Health Institute |
A Qualitative Assessment of the Back in Care Program and Retention Strategies across US clinics of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation |
Summer 2019
| Organization |
Location |
Project Title |
| The Birthplace Lab |
Vancouver, Canada |
Improving Evidence Based Tools for Quality and Safety in Normal Birth: Developing Content Validation for Community-Based Questionnaires |
| Swasth Foundation |
Mumbai, India |
Review and Recommendations for the Quality Improvement and Monitoring Systems at Swasth Foundation Clinics in Mumbai and Ahmedabad, India |
| Centre for Chronic Disease Control |
New Delhi, India |
Developing Teaching Material on Environmental Health in India |
| PATH |
Seattle, WA |
Strengthening Global Human Milk Banking |
| Livable Streets Alliance (with Environmental Fellows Program at University of MI) |
Cambridge, MA |
Accountability for Go Boston 2030 and Improving Metro Boston’s Transportation System |
| Women Lead |
Kathmandu, Nepal |
Strengthening the Grassroots to National Level Advocacy Pipeline for Improved Women’s Health in Nepal |
| Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation |
Seattle, WA |
Gender Equality, Family Planning, and Universal Health Care: A Global Synthesis of Linkages to Identify Critical Opportunities for Adolescent Girls and Young Women |
| Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation |
Seattle, WA |
Polio Eradication Endgame: Surveillance Enhancement and Vaccine Choices |
| Bush School of Government and Public service, Texas A & M University |
Texas, Louisiana, and Alabama |
Addressing Neglected Tropical Diseases in the American South |
Summer 2018
| Organization |
Location |
Project Title |
| UMass Memorial |
Worcester, MA |
UMass Memorial’s Anchor Mission |
| Intermountain Healthcare |
Salt Lake City, UT |
Social Determinants of Health Demonstrations |
| HSPH and Alfanar |
Boston, MA |
Social Enterprises in Primary Care |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield of MA |
Boston, MA |
Business Consulting Group (projects to be assigned) |
| PAHO |
Washington, DC |
Methodology for Measuring Health Systems Resilience |
| Denver Mayor’s Office |
Denver, CO |
Increased Wellness for Denver City Employees (Bloomberg Fellowship) |
| UMass Memorial |
Worcester, MA |
First Stage Implementation of Anchor Mission |
| Branchfood |
Boston, MA |
Boston Food Innovation Ecosystem Report |
| Pfizer |
New York, NY |
Assessing Global Barriers to Optimal Prevenar-13 Vaccine Delivery, Access, and Uptake |
| WHO |
Geneva, SUI |
Analysis of Health Systems Inefficiencies |
| Global Fund |
Geneva, SUI |
Scaling Up Programs to remove human rights-related barriers to health services in 20 countries and beyond. |
| Gates Foundation |
Seattle, WA |
Agriculture Development Technology |
| Harvard China Health Partnership, HSPH |
Guiyang, China
Boston, MA |
The Analysis and Evaluation of an Innovative Management Company that Aims to Increase Public Hospital Efficiency in Southwest China |
| City of Boston Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics and Office of Food Access |
Boston, MA |
Weekend Food Access for Youth in Boston (Rappaport Public Policy Summer Fellowship) |
| World Bank/Center for Global Development |
Ghana |
Impact of Frontline Health Workers on Health Systems Strengthening in the SDG Era |
| WHO |
Geneva, SUI |
The GLOSS Maternal Sepsis Study |
| Save the Children |
Malmo and Lund, Sweden |
Save the Children’s Livskonceptet Programs in Two Swedish Cities: A participatory study for program improvement |
| Harvard China Health Partnership, HSPH |
Beijing, China |
Developing a case study on China’s cooperation with the World Health Organization |
Summer 2017
| Organization Name |
Location |
Project Title |
| The Analysis Group |
Boston, MA |
Quantitative Analysis of Clinical Trial Data and Dashboard Development |
| Ariadne Labs at Harvard
T.H. Chan School |
Boston, MA |
Quality Measurement in Serious Illness Communication |
| The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation |
Seattle, WA |
Evidence and Innovation for the Family Planning Strategy |
| The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation |
Seattle, WA |
Telling a Meaningful Story: Developing Evidence-Based Impact Investing |
| The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation |
Seattle, WA |
Advancing Capacity-Building in Non-Sewered Sanitation |
| The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation |
Seattle, WA |
Pandemics Preparedness Strategy Development |
| The District Office of Sen. Kamala Harris (CA) |
Los Angeles, CA |
Fostering constituent and stakeholder engagement in federal and state policy |
| Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy (MIRA) Coalition |
Boston, MA |
Accessibility and Utilization of Health Care Services by Immigrant Women: A Needs Assessment in Greater Boston |
| The Global Fund |
Geneva, Switzerland |
Increasing Investment in and Documenting the Health Impacts of Programs to Reduce Human Rights Barriers to Services. |
| Harvard T.H. Chan School Department of Health Policy Management |
Boston, MA |
Engineering High Reliability Learning Lab at Mount Auburn Hospital, Cambridge, MA |
| Intermountain Healthcare |
Salt Lake City, UT |
Capacity Building Around a Multi-Sector Public Health Strategy for Adolescent Suicide Prevention in Utah |
| IZUMI Foundation |
Boston, MA |
Preparing for IZUMI Foundation’s Funding Strategy Review: Gathering Perspectives from Global Health Funders and Sub-Saharan NGO Partners |
| The Lancet Commission |
Boston, MA |
The Lancet Global Health Commission on High Quality Health Systems in the SDG Era |
| MASS Design Group |
Boston, MA |
Enterprise Communities: Affordable Housing Design Leadership Institute |
| Mississippi State Department of Health Office of Health Equity |
Jackson, MS |
Laying the groundwork for a public health infrastructure for health equity in Mississippi by generating a report and forming a taskforce |
For Host Organizations
Hosting Harvard DrPH students is mutually beneficial for the student and organization. The investment in the leadership expansion of the public health workforce not only contributes significantly to the success of the Host Organization but also to the public health arena overall. DrPH students are seasoned professionals who can:
- Expand and contribute to the mission of your organization
- Lead the measurement of key business outcomes and design strategies for improvement
- Assess the impact of health systems on population health outcomes
- Develop training tools to meet the specific need of an organization
- Develop financial or business plans for a new program or service
We seek long-term collaboration with a broad range of international and domestic organizations and individuals who are leaders in their field and invested in the development of public health professionals. Host organizations can expect DrPH students to contribute to high-impact projects around organizational capacity, service delivery, and consumer and public health outcomes. Organizations can be from the public or private sector, based in the US or abroad.
If you have any questions about the program or a potential partnering opportunity, please contact Jocelyn Chu, Assistant Director of Field Practice at jcchu@hsph.harvard.edu.
