How many practicum hours do I need to log?

There is no single national number. CEPH, which accredits MPH programs, requires an applied practice experience, but each school sets its own hour minimum and its own rules for recording and verifying time. Students in different programs, or even different concentrations at the same school, can have very different targets.

Find your real number

Your practicum handbook or syllabus is the authoritative source. Look beyond the headline total for how hours are verified, when logs are due, and which activities are excluded. If anything is unclear, email your practicum coordinator and keep the reply.

Then divide the total by the weeks you will actually be at your site, not the weeks in the semester. Onboarding, clearances, and holidays often eat the first week or two, so build in a buffer. A steady weekly pace is what prevents the end-of-term minimum hours scramble.

What usually counts

• Project work for your site, on-site or remote
• Meetings and community events you attend as part of your role
• Required site trainings, such as HIPAA or confidentiality modules
• Learning a tool your project needs, like REDCap or GIS software

What usually does not count

• Commuting to and from your site, although some programs allow travel that is part of the job itself, such as driving to a satellite clinic
• Academic deliverables like your ILE paper, reflections, or portfolio, even when they are about your practicum
• Class time, coursework, and breaks

When you are unsure

Ask before you log a gray-area activity, not after. A quick written answer from your coordinator protects you if your log is reviewed. Be conservative with rounding, too: rounding consistently to the nearest 15 minutes is common, but systematically rounding up can undermine the credibility of your whole log.