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Health, Human Services and Public Policy

The Health, Human Services and Public Policy Field Practice Program connects what you learn in the classroom with hands-on experience at health and human service organizations throughout the region.

Through field practice, seminars and a community-based capstone project, you’ll develop professional skills, build connections and explore career paths in social work, public health, public administration and public service.

Field Practice Program

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Gain Real-World Experience

Complete at least 240 hours of field practice before graduation. Most students remain at one learning site for three semesters, spending approximately six to eight hours per week gaining meaningful professional experience.

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Build Skills and Professional Connections

Work alongside professionals in health and human services while developing skills relevant to your career goals. Your experience can help you better understand professional roles, explore career possibilities and build connections within the field.

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Put Your Learning into Practice

Field seminars during your junior and senior years give you opportunities to reflect on your experiences and connect them with your academic learning. You’ll develop skills for professional work in areas such as social work, public health, public administration and public service.

How Field Practice Works

Your field practice experience begins before you arrive at your learning site. You’ll complete the required pre-placement process, learn about program expectations and explore approved learning sites and recruitment opportunities that align with your interests and professional goals. Field Practice Program faculty and staff can help you identify an appropriate experience.

Once placed, you’ll work with your mentor to establish a learning plan and complete your required field hours, projects and professional responsibilities. Field seminars provide opportunities to reflect on your experience and connect it with what you’re learning in the classroom. You’ll bring these experiences together through your HHSPP Capstone Project, applying the knowledge and skills you’ve developed through your coursework and field practice.

“A job can be hard to find right out of college, but with Health, Human Services, and Public Policy juniors and seniors choose a local agency they want to be a part of and get experience in the field before they even have their degree. This not only gives us an idea of the work we will be doing when we get out of college, but also gives us real life examples of what our classes talk to us about and prepare us for. It is a great way to build your resume and a good example for future employers.”

- Student Name

 

Prepare for Field Practice

Get familiar with field practice hours, learning sites and key terms before you begin your experience.

You’ll complete at least 240 field practice hours before graduation, including a minimum of 60 hours during each of your three field seminar semesters.

The remaining 60 hours can be completed during those semesters or over summer or winter breaks. Most learning sites expect students to participate six to eight hours per week to develop professional skills and contribute meaningfully to the organization.

Students often go beyond the minimum requirement, averaging approximately 320 hours over three semesters.

Learning sites and opportunities vary each semester. Students gain experience with health and human service organizations throughout the region, including organizations such as:

  • CalFresh Healthy Living
  • County of Monterey Health Department
  • Veterans Transition Center
  • Community Action Board
  • Everyone's Harvest
  • Montage Health
  • Gateway Center

Experiential Practice Learning

An educational approach that integrates classroom theory with hands-on, community-based practice to prepare students for professional service roles.

Dual Competency Mastery

The process of developing workplace skills while meeting specific professional competency requirements associated with a student's field of study.

Supervised Professional Autonomy

A structured partnership among the student, faculty advisor and learning site mentor that supports professional growth while allowing students to develop independent decision-making skills.

Reflective Synthesis

Structured reflection through seminars, logs, portfolios and other activities that helps students connect their field experiences with professional and ethical practice.

Reciprocal Benefit

An approach to field practice in which the experience supports both the student's education and the work of the learning site.

Field Education

A professional training approach, particularly associated with social work, in which students develop skills through supervised practice in real-world settings.

Learning Site

An approved health and human services organization where a student completes their field practice experience. Also referred to as a field placement.

Field Practice Experience

The supervised, hands-on experience in which students apply classroom learning in a professional setting. It may also be referred to as an internship.

Capstone Project

A culminating project completed at the learning site in which students apply their academic knowledge to a community-based issue and produce a professional presentation and capstone report.

Mentor

A qualified professional at the learning site who supervises and guides the student's day-to-day work.

Faculty Advisor

The HHSPP representative who connects the student's academic experience with their learning site, monitors progress and helps address challenges.

Learning Plan

A collaborative document developed by the student and mentor and approved by the faculty advisor. It identifies the student's learning objectives, responsibilities and competencies for the placement.

Competencies

Observable and measurable knowledge, values, skills and attitudes associated with professional practice.

Field Seminar

A concurrent academic course where students reflect on their field experiences, discuss challenges and connect professional practice with academic learning.

Field Practice Program Coordinator

The HHSPP staff member who supports students throughout field practice and coordinates community partner recruitment, mentor training and university and program requirements.

Pre-Placement Process

The steps students complete to identify and secure a field practice learning site before enrolling in their first field seminar course, CHHS 396S.

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Questions About Field Practice?

Need help understanding a field practice term, requirement or process? The Field Practice Program team is here to help.

Health, Human Services and Public Policy

The Field Practice Program is part of Cal State Monterey Bay’s Department of Health, Human Services and Public Policy, connecting students with hands-on learning opportunities in the community.

Adrienne Saxton, MPH, CHES

HHSPP Field Practice Program Coordinator