Doctor of Public Health Applied Practice:

Find a Preceptor and Site

You should pursue sites that reflect your own areas of passion and career interests.

Be prepared to travel and talk to people in person, as appropriate.

Brainstorm choices

• Search Meditrek to see a list of field sites students have used in the past.  
• Try a general search on LinkedIn for someone who works at a site you are interested in.
• Search the web for possible sites in your local area.
• Reach out to your professional network and people outside your professional network. This can include:
  • Co-workers and colleagues (former and current)
  • Friends and family
  • City, county, and state health departments
  • Community health organizations and local hospitals
  • Your current or former supervisor(s)
  • Former preceptors or colleagues of former preceptors
  • Classmates
  • Former faculty members from Walden or your undergraduate public health program
  • Walden University Public Health alumni

You may search active affiliation agreements Walden University has in Meditrek. Some field sites may not be appropriate for you as an DrPH student. Even if an active agreement exists, you will need to work with the field site to ensure they can take you during the period that aligns with your course. 

The presence of an active agreement with a field site does not imply automatic approval of your Applied Practice Application.  

Walden pursues affiliation agreements with new field sites whenever possible. Walden University has resources and staffing available to negotiate new affiliation agreements. Please contact the Office of Field Experience at DrPHape@mail.waldenu.edu to discuss options if your field site is not listed.

Once you have confirmation an individual will serve as your preceptor, you can begin to collect the documents required to submit your Applied Practice Application. If you start the process early, make sure you remain in contact with your preceptor to ensure or see if they are still willing and able to be your preceptor.