The internship is intended to provide the student with an opportunity to develop his/her own professional role through observation of others and by experiencing role-related tasks. Theories, concepts, and skills learned in the classroom are applied in appropriate settings under the guidance of an experienced industry leader serving as preceptor.

Contact Information

Sung W. Choi, Ph.D.
Internship Advisor

Autumn Kreider
Administrative Support Assistant

Table of Contents

General Program Requirements

  • At the undergraduate level, an administrative internship is required either a student’s junior or senior year.
  • Internship not required to be completed Master of Health Administration
  • Penn State does not require any formal affiliation agreements for our Health Policy & Administration student interns. If the host site has an affiliation agreement they require to be utilized, Penn State will consider that option. Please know however, that any agreement, especially a non-standard affiliation contract, may take several
    weeks to negotiate. Therefore, it’s extremely important to understand that requirement as early into the process as possible.
  • Penn State does not require insurance, however, if required by the host site the student is responsible for obtaining it.

Degree Specific Requirements

Bachelor of Science in Health Policy and Administration

  • Credits
    • Minimum Internship Credits Required: Three (3) credits if choosing to pursue internship. 
    • Maximum Internship Credits Allowed: Six (6) credits
    • Hours per Credit to Earn Internship: Three (3) credits per 320 hours
    • Length of time: 10 to 12 weeks full-time  or part-time
  • Student Acceptance
    • Minimum GPA 2.0 GPA (for most formalized programs)
    • Specific Classes Completed:
      • Prerequisite: HPA 101, HPA 301 or 301W, HPA 310, HPA 332 and HPA 390 or 390W with a “C” or better grade

Masters in Health Administration

  • Credits
    • Internship Credits Allowed: Three (3) credits if choosing to pursue internship
    • Hours per Credit to Earn Internship: Three (3) credits per 300 hours
  • Student Acceptance
    • Minimum GPA: 3.0 GPA

Course and Grading Criteria

Students will be graded on submission of:

  • weekly log
  • time sheets
  • work plan and assignments
    • HPA 395: PowerPoint presentation or equivalent deliverable
    • HADM 595- research and papers: academic research paper and professional research paper
  • evaluations by host site (agency) supervisor or mentors
    • mid-semester – MHA
    • end of the semester – HPA and MHA

The course syllabus will have more detailed explanation of the grading criteria.

Waiver of Internship Requirement

Exception to HPA 395 Students who have extensive health care experience may request departmental approval to waive the traditional internship (HPA 395). Examples of this are acquiring 10+ years of progressive work experience as a: practice manager, nursing home administrator, consultant, financial analyst, operations manager, hospital corpsman, etc. d: Request to waive the traditional internship (HPA 395), current job description/summary of duties, and a resume. All documents should be submitted to internship coordinator for initial review.

In waivers and substitution of the traditional internship, students will complete a department approved 400-level course or an independent study/research project overseen by a faculty member in the department.

Applying to for Academic Credit

The student and the agency supervisor jointly will develop an individualized learning plan that outlines the specific internship placement and the type of work to be done during the placement. This must be completed before the application/registration can be approved. The internship adviser must approve the learning plan. The internship adviser or professor-in-charge will make final approval of internship applications. Then program administrative support staff will assist the student with registration into HPA 395 or HADM 595.

Health Internship Learning Plan

For additional details about our internship, please view the College of Health and Human Development’s Student Internship Website.

Recent student placements and opportunities