Field Experience Information

Important Documents

ES 250 Documents

• ES 250 Summer 2012 Syllabus
• ES 250 Summer 2012 Application
• ES 250 Summer 2012 Agency Acceptance Form

ES/HLTH 370 Documents

• ES/HLTH 370 Summer 2012 Field Experience Manual

HLTH 250 Documents

• HLTH 250 Spring 2012 Contract
• HLTH 250 Summer 2012 Contract
• HLTH 250 Fall 2012 Contract

HLTH 460 Documents

• HLTH 460 Field Experience Manual

What is Field Experience?

One of the most unique opportunities we provide our students involves the required completion of a field experience. For Health Science students, it is a 320 hour summer field experience.  This internship allows HES majors to experience hands-on training in an organizational setting, under the supervision of highly qualified professionals in their chosen field of study. Students usually complete the internship during the summer between their junior and senior year. With the exception of students following the Physical Education/Health/Coaching Pattern, all Exercise Science and Health Science majors are required to complete the internship as an undergraduate, at an off-campus agency/organization within their specific pattern area. (Physical Education/Health/ Coaching students will complete a more intense teaching internship as part of their graduate degree requirements after they have been accepted into the MAE program.)

Eligibility Requirements

In order to be eligible for the field experience, the following must occur:

• ES 250, ES 370, and HLTH 370 students must attend two mandatory meetings (one in the fall, one in the spring, prior to summer enrollment). You must sign-up to attend one of the fall meetings.  Sign-up for the spring meeting is not required. Health 460 students will attend one mandatory spring meeting, and follow the guidelines outlined in the Health 460 Field Experience in Health Education Manual (see above). You will need to send the following link for this orientation session to your agency supervisors.
  
  Attention: ES 250, ES/HLTH 370 Students must attend one of the following meetings

  Tuesday, April 10, 2012
  8:00pm--HS1206

  OR
  
  Wednesday, April 11, 2012
  5:00pm--HS1206

  Attention: HLTH 460 
  Students must attend the following meeting

  Tuesday, April 10, 2012
  8:00pm--PB231

  OR
  
  Wednesday, April 11, 2012
  5:00pm--PB231

Field Experience Prerequisites

• Junior or Senior status (minimum 60 hours completed)
• Consent of Advisor and Program Director
• Major GPA 2.5 or above
• Cumulative GPA 2.0 or above
• Health Science majors must have successfully completed HLTH 366 prior to enrollment
• Declare pattern at least one semester prior to enrollment, and successfully complete any courses that fulfill pattern course prerequisites
• Follow instructions in the Field Experience Manual.

New Internship Possibilites

• Fitness Center at Meredith, Inc. in Des Moines, Iowa. Application is at www.meredith.com and then search 'Temporary Jobs.'
• NMRC in Kirksville, Mo. Visit http://www.nermc.com/Community%20Relations/Pages/Volunteers.aspx for more information.

How to Find an Internship

Ultimately, it's up to you to find your internship location. However, to assist you, we've put together a lists of internship sites that have been used by former students. Information on internship locations in previous semesters is available by clicking on the links below.

• Health Science Internship Contact Information
• 2008 and prior internship locations and information
• 2009 internship locations and information
• 2010 internship locations and information
• 2011 internship locations and information
• MedX Internship Program Information

We also list internship positions from off-campus agencies that have contacted our office looking for applicants. You can find out more about current opportunities on our announcements page.

If you are concerned with housing arrangements, and desire to do your internship at a medical center, we have information about 7 centers in Missouri which offer free or very inexpensive housing for students doing internships at nearby medical centers.  The houses include computer labs and medical facilities for the students with staff to assist them in research, etc.  Please contact the Missouri Area Health Education Centers (MAHEC) for more information.

How to Enroll

In order to enroll in the ES/HLTH 370 Field Experience course, you must follow the procedures outlined in the Field Experience Manual (See Above Link). If you are a Health Science major, you will also want to view the National Health Educator Competencies to be used when preparing your objectives and modified objectives for Field Experience. The Field Experience Checklist (page 17) outlines all the steps required before you are allowed to enroll.

Your very first step is to attend a mandatory meeting, usually held in November prior to the summer you plan to complete your internship. After you attend a second meeting in the Spring semester, meet all eligibility requirements, and complete all the steps in the checklist, you will be provided with permission to enroll in the class during summer regular registration/add drop.

Submitting Assignments

After you have enrolled, you will be able to start submitting assignments through BlackBoard. For complete instructions on using Blackboard to submit your assignment, see the Field Experience Manual. (Link is above)