Public Health Professional Placement (PUBH7044)

Course overview

This course involves a supervised industry placement in organisations where the School of Public Health graduates may work including health services, universities and non-government agencies. The course gives students the opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills they have obtained in the first few semesters of their program and gain invaluable experience in working in a public health setting. The placement is only available in a student's final semester of study. There will be a restricted number available, therefore, students will need to apply by submitting an expression of interest and their CV. These will be assessed by the Course Coordinator, and students will not be able to enrol in PUBH7044 until his/her approval has been obtained.

Special features:
Students will be placed in a Public Health workplace two days per week for one semester.

This course was introduced as a capstone optionﾠin the MPHﾠfollowing the recommendation of a program review in 2018. ﾠ It is intended toﾠgive students the opportunity to applyﾠthe skills and knowledge they have learnt during their study into practice, developﾠrelationships with external organisations, and improveﾠtheir employability post-graduation. PUBH 7044 employs a workplace integrated learning model.ﾠ Workshops and employability sessions are held across the semester to support students during the completion of 180 total work hours across 13 weeks at their placement sites.ﾠﾠ

The UQ policy, PPL 3.10.04 on Work Integrated Learning and Work Experience is available from the following link:ﾠ ﾠhttps://ppl.app.uq.edu.au/content/3.10.04-work-integrated-learning-and-work-experience

Course requirements

Prerequisites

You'll need to complete the following courses before enrolling in this one:

16 units from MPH or MEnvHlthSci with GPA of 5.5

Course contact

Course staff

Aims and outcomes

To provide students with the opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills they have obtained in their previous semesters of the Master of Public Health or Master of Environmental Health Sciences program and to gain invaluable experience in working in a public health setting.

Learning outcomes

After successfully completing this course you should be able to:

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment details

Goal-Setting

Mode

Written

Category

Paper/ Report/ Annotation

Weight

Pass/Fail

Due date

15/08/2025 2:00 pm

A student’s submission that is not made within 5 days of the due date will fail that assessment item and may, therefore, fail the course overall.  

Learning outcomes

L01, L07

Task description

Submission guidelines

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

The maximum extension allowed is 28 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.

Please see 10. Policies & Guidelines

Late submission

Please see 10. Policies & Guidelines

A student’s submission that is not made within 5 days of the due date will fail that assessment item and may, therefore, fail the course overall.  

Interim Report

Mode

Written

Category

Reflection

Weight

Pass/Fail

Due date

12/09/2025 2:00 pm

A student’s submission that is not made within 5 days of the due date will fail that assessment item and may, therefore, fail the course overall.  

Learning outcomes

L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06, L07

Task description

Submission guidelines

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

The maximum extension allowed is 28 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.

Please see 10. Policies & Guidelines

Late submission

Please see 10. Policies & Guidelines

A student’s submission that is not made within 5 days of the due date will fail that assessment item and may, therefore, fail the course overall.  

Placement Project Presentation

Mode

Activity/ Performance

Category

Presentation

Weight

Pass/Fail

Due date

21/10/2025 2:00 pm

in class presentation with slides submitted ahead of the workshop by 11am.

A student’s submission that is not made within 5 days of the due date will fail that assessment item and may, therefore, fail the course overall.  

Learning outcomes

L01, L07

Task description

Submission guidelines

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

The maximum extension allowed is 28 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.

Please see 10. Policies & Guidelines

Late submission

A student’s submission that is not made within 5 days of the due date will fail that assessment item and may, therefore, fail the course overall.  

Please see 10. Policies & Guidelines

Time Sheet

Mode

Written

Category

Notebook/ Logbook

Weight

Pass/Fail

Due date

10/11/2025 2:00 pm

A student’s submission that is not made within 5 days of the due date will fail that assessment item and may, therefore, fail the course overall.  

Learning outcomes

L04

Task description

Submission guidelines

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

The maximum extension allowed is 28 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.

Please see 10. Policies & Guidelines

Late submission

A student’s submission that is not made within 5 days of the due date will fail that assessment item and may, therefore, fail the course overall.  

Please see 10. Policies & Guidelines

Final Report

Mode

Written

Category

Reflection

Weight

Pass/Fail

Due date

10/11/2025 2:00 pm

A student’s submission that is not made within 5 days of the due date will fail that assessment item and may, therefore, fail the course overall.  

Learning outcomes

L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06, L07

Task description

Submission guidelines

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

The maximum extension allowed is 28 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.

Please see 10. Policies & Guidelines

Late submission

Please see 10. Policies & Guidelines

A student’s submission that is not made within 5 days of the due date will fail that assessment item and may, therefore, fail the course overall.  

Course grading

Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.

Additional course grading information

A student’s submission that is not made within 5 days of the due date will fail that assessment item and may, therefore, fail the course overall.  

Supplementary assessment

Supplementary assessment is not available for some items in this course.

The final grade awarded will be based on the results of the supplementary assessment only, and a passing grade will be awarded if, and only if, the student receives at least 50% of the marks on the supplementary assessment. 

Additional assessment information

Supplementary Assessment

This course has a partial exemption from supplementary assessment. The Placement takes places at an external organisation over many weeks which it is not feasible to replicate for supplementary assessment purposes. Therefore a Fail for that item will result in a student receiving a Fail grade forﾠthe course.

Supplementary assessment for the other three assessment items will only be awarded where, in the judgement of the associate dean (academic), the student has marginally failed to attain the level of competence required for a pass.

Learning resources

You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.

Library resources

Library resources are available on the UQ Library website.

Learning activities

The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.

Policies and procedures

University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:

• Student Code of Conduct Policy
• Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
• Assessment Procedure
• Examinations Procedure
• Reasonable Adjustments for Students Policy and Procedure

Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.

Course guidelines

School of Public Health (SPH) Guidelines for late submission of progressive assessment - Preamble

To apply for an extension to the due date for a piece of progressive assessment (eg assignments, oral presentations and computer-based assignments) students should complete the online request at  https://my.uq.edu.au/information-and-services/manage-my-program/exams-and-assessment/applying-assessment-extension?p=2#2 

Information regarding deferral of in-semester exams and end-of-semester exams is available from https://my.uq.edu.au/information-and-services/manage-my-program/exams-and-assessment/deferring-exam 

If requesting an extension on medical grounds, a medical certificate must be provided. The extension will be approved for the number of days included in the medical certificate that the student was not fit to study or work, eg if the medical certificate is for 3 days, an extension will be approved for 3 days maximum regardless of the student's request.  

If requesting an extension using a Student Access Plan (SAP) as evidence, a maximum of 7-day extension will be approved in the first instance. Updated medical documentation, as well as a copy of the SAP, is required if requesting an extension for more than 7 days. 

A student may have a maximum of three extension requests approved for a single assessment task.   

An extension for an assessment item due within the study period in which the course is offered, must not exceed four weeks in total.  

The following SPH guidelines are consistent with the UQ policy. However, the SPH Guidelines contain specific rules and interpretations for SPH courses, and requests for extension and penalties for late submissions will be judged according to the guidelines outlined in this document. You should read both the information in your my.UQ at the following link: https://my.uq.edu.au/information-and-services/manage-my-program/exams-and-assessment/applying-assessment-extension and the SPH guidelines (below) before submitting a request for an extension. The SPH Guidelines apply to all courses offered by the School of Public Health unless the Course Profile explicitly states otherwise.

SPH Guidelines for late submission of progressive assessment

Initial extension for an individual item of assessment – the SPH Student & Academic Administration Team and/or the Course Coordinator decides.

This could be for medical or compassionate reasons, or if, in the opinion of the Course Coordinator, there are exceptional circumstances.

Acceptable and unacceptable reasons for an extension are listed at the following link, along with the required evidence to be provided:  https://my.uq.edu.au/information-and-services/manage-my-program/exams-and-assessment/applying-assessment-extension?p=1#1

A request for an extension to an assessment due date must be submitted through mylUQ as soon as it becomes evident that an extension is needed, but no later than one calendar day after the assessment task submission due date and time. 

If applying for an extension after the due date and time of the assessment item, your request may not be approved. An explanation as to why your request was not submitted prior must be included.       

If approved, a new due date will be set. This would generally be no later than 7 days after the original due date, however this can be modified to take account of the circumstances of the request and the time that would have been lost from studies.

If the new due date is past the date for submission of end-of-semester results, the student will receive an INC (incomplete) result.

Second and all subsequent extensions for an individual item of assessment – the SPH Student & Academic Administration Team and/or the Program Convenor together with the Course Coordinator decides.

This would only be approved for exceptional circumstance with supporting documentation.

• Online requests must be made at least 24 hours prior to the due date from the first extension.
• The SPH Student & Academic Administration Team and/or the Course Coordinator will consult with the Program Convenor, who will make the final decision.
• If approved, the new due date would generally be no later than 7 days after the first extension due date.
• The Program Convenor should consider if remedial or other support should be offered to the student.
• The Program Convenor should provide a report on these matters as needed at SPH Examiners’ Meetings.

The maximum number of extensions for each assessment item is three only. 

Please Note: In order to support course progression, extensions that total more than 14 calendar days from the original due date of an assessment item will only be approved in very exceptional circumstances. These requests are assessed and approved or denied on a case-by-case basis. 

If you have been ill or unable to attend class for more than 4 weeks in a semester, we advise you to carefully consider whether you are capable of successfully completing your courses this semester. You might need to consider applying for removal of course.

Penalty for late submission

Submission of assignments, practical reports, workbooks, and other types of written assessments after the due date specified in the Course Profile will receive a penalty.

The penalty will be a deduction of 10% RELATIVE PERCENTAGE per day (24 hour period or part thereof, including weekends and public holidays) or for work graded on a 1-7 scale, a deduction of one grade per day, e.g. If the original mark is 73%, then 10% relative percentage is 10% of this value, ie 7.3%, The final mark for this assessment item after applying the penalty for 1 day late submission would be 73 -7.3 = 65.7% The same outcome is achieved by multiplying the original score by .9; ie 73 x .9 = 65.7%

The penalty for multiple days late is the relative percentage multiplied by the number of days late. 

A student’s submission that is not made within 5 days of the due date will fail that assessment item and may, therefore, fail the course overall. 

Where a student has sought more than one extension, the due date for calculating the penalty will be the due date for the most recently approved extension.

Submission of Medical Certificates

Students are responsible for ensuring that any medical documentation they submit is authentic and signed by a registered medical practitioner. Such practitioners can be identified via the AHPRA website. Also note that:

• Not all online medical services are staffed by registered practitioners
• If the registration status of the practitioner cannot be verified, then an alternative practitioner should be sought
• Students will be held fully responsible for all documentation they submit, even if done so in ignorance of the practitioner's registration status

Medical documentation may be subjected to an audit by the University.

SPH Assessment Guidelines

The School of Public Health assessment tasks have been designed to be challenging, authentic and complex. While students may use AI technologies, successful completion of assessment in this course will require students to critically engage in specific contexts and tasks for which artificial intelligence will provide only limited support and guidance.

A failure to reference AI use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.

To pass this assessment, students will be required to demonstrate detailed comprehension of their written submission independent of AI tools.