Internships and Independent Study
Students may earn MHS credit for independent study/research, internships, and service learning projects.
Independent study is a program of reading and/or research to be selected in consultation with an adviser. Internships and service learning combine practical training with academic research. Under faculty supervision, students gain experience in a broad range of public and private health-related agencies.
Independent Study/Research
MHS 3850: Independent Study is designed for students who wish to conduct research or a directed course of reading under the supervision of a faculty member. The research may include an analysis of primary sources, an analysis of secondary sources, clinical research, or laboratory research. Keep in mind that even in the case of clinical or laboratory research, your work must focus on the social and/or cultural dimensions of health and/or health care.
See the full Independent Study policies in the MHS Advising Handbook. Plans for independent study should be initiated with a faculty supervisor the prior semester and finalized no later than the first day of start of the semester when the project will happen.
MHS independent study must be supervised by an MHS or MHS-affiliated faculty member who agrees to work with you (ideally one you know already) or by your non-MHS lab or clinical supervisor, with your MHS major/minor advisor serving as the official instructor of record. Junior or senior MHS majors/minors with a GPA of 3.0 or higher can enroll.
The final product of your independent study should be an academic paper of 5 pp per credit hour, or equivalent, as decided on by you and your supervisor. Majors can take a maximum 6 hours of MHS 3850; the maximum for minors is 3 hours. MHS 3850 counts toward the electives requirement for the MHS major or minor. It does not fulfill the Advanced Hours in MHS requirement. No AXLE or Capacity credit is given for MHS 3850.
To enroll, consult with your proposed supervisor and/or supervising MHS faculty member in designing your study, then submit an enrollment request through YES.
- Centromere Protein F as a Prognostic Indicator for Cancer
This was a scientific paper that included the student’s work in a lab identifying cancer cells and also a discussion of the disparities that exist in cancer research and treatment accessibility. - The Effects of Parental Depression on Adolescent Offspring
This paper looked at risk factors for developing mental disorders and coping strategies among children of depressed parents. - ICU Delirium and Cognitive Impairment
This paper investigated ethnocentrism in the NIH’s funding of research studies. - The Importance of End of Life Discussions with Children
This paper served as a precursor to an exploratory health communication study that addressed the importance of communication during the end of life for pediatric oncologic patients and their families. - The Intersection of Race and Mental Illness: Clinical and Police Encounters
Reduced access to and quality of medical care, provider discrimination, and lack of cultural sensitivity contribute to racial and ethnic mental health disparities. This leaves more unresolved cases of mental illness on the streets. As a result, cases become more severe, and people of racial/ethnic minorities find themselves in a police encounter. - Eating Disorders among College Student Athletes
This paper was a literature review of current research on factors related to eating disorder in U.S. college athletes. - Low Socioeconomic Status and Negative Health Outcomes: SNAP and Type 2 Diabetes
This paper investigated the limits of SNAP to cover the cost of healthy food options and the link between utilization of this program and the development of Type 2 diabetes. - Psychosocial Barriers Contributing to Adverse Mental Health Help-Seeking Behaviors in African-Americans
This paper looked at trust/mistrust, the role of religion, and the effects of culture on why African-Americans are less like than whites to seek mental health treatment. - The Opioid Epidemic, Chronic Pain, and Pain Management
This paper examined the historical use of opioids in the United States as well as the current opioid epidemic. A discussion of policy makers’ and medical associations’ push to curtail opioid use was included. - The Long-Lasting Effects of the U.S. Public Health Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male
The role of informed consent, the act of withholding treatment, and the medical mistrust that resulted were explored. Health consequences, such as the AIDS epidemic, of medical mistrust are chronicled.
Internships
Internships provide an opportunity to link classroom learning in MHS to real-world career-related experience. Any student who is at least a sophomore and is in good academic standing may earn academic credit in the College of Arts & Science for an internship during the fall, spring, or summer sessions. The College of Arts and Science provides guidance on internship credit and enrollment.
Students majoring in MHS may earn credit through a departmental (MHS 3880/3881) or interdisciplinary internships (INDS 3880/3884 or INDS 3890/91). For information on how to apply for academic credit for an internship, please contact arts-sci-internships@vanderbilt.edu
Students are responsible for identifying, contacting, and securing the permission of a faculty mentor before enrolling in an internship for academic credit. (Hint: your adviser or another instructor with whom you have a good relationship is a great place to start.) Enrollment in the internship course is contingent upon this prior arrangement and approval from the faculty mentor. MHS and MHS-affiliated faculty can supervise MHS 3880/3881 internships, though students may ask for special permission to work with a faculty member not affiliated with MHS. MHS 3880 may only be taken on a pass/fail basis. MHS 3881 is a co-requisite. Credit hours in MHS 3881 are based on the amount of reading assigned and the final paper that will be written. The recommended length of readings for MHS 3881 is 250 pages. per graded hour, which may include readings and research assigned to the student by supervisors at the worksite. The project must result in a written project that is at least 5 pages in length per graded credit hour. The paper is usually a summary of readings or a research paper.
Timing
Students interested in independent study, service learning, or an internship should discuss the project with their MHS adviser during the registration period. Forms and project descriptions are due before the first day of class. Students getting internship credit must also schedule a meeting via arts-sci-internships@vanderbilt.edu and get approval.