All MPH graduates from the Graduate Program in Public Health must demonstrate the following foundational competencies. These competencies are informed by the traditional public health core knowledge areas: biostatistics, epidemiology, social and behavioral sciences, health services administration, and environmental health sciences, as well as cross-cutting and emerging public health areas.
Evidence-based Approaches to Public Health
1. Apply epidemiological methods to settings and situations in public health practice
2. Select quantitative and qualitative data collection methods appropriate for a given public health context
3. Analyze quantitative and qualitative data using biostatistics, informatics, computer-based programming, and software, as appropriate
4. Interpret results of data analysis for public health research, policy, or practice
Public Health & Health Care Systems
5. Compare the organization, structure, and function of health care, public health, and regulatory systems across national and international settings
6. Discuss the means by which structural bias, social inequities, and racism undermine health and create challenges to achieving health equity at organizational, community and systemic levels
Planning & Management to Promote Health
7. Assess population needs, assets, and capacities that affect communities’ health
8. Apply awareness of cultural values and practices to the design, implementation, or critique of public health policies or programs
9. Design a population-based policy, program, project, or intervention
10. Explain basic principles and tools of budget and resource management
11. Select methods to evaluate public health programs
Policy in Public Health
12. Discuss the policy-making process, including the roles of ethics and evidence
13. Propose strategies to identify stakeholders and build coalitions and partnerships for influencing public health outcomes
14. Advocate for political, social, or economic policies and programs that will improve health in diverse populations
15. Evaluate policies for their impact on public health and health equity
Leadership
16. Apply leadership and/or management principles to address a relevant issue
17. Apply negotiation and mediation skills to address organizational or community challenges
Communication
18. Select communication strategies for different audiences and sectors
19. Communicate audience-appropriate (i.e., non-academic, non-peer audience) public health content, both in writing and through oral presentation
20. Describe the importance of cultural competence in communicating public health content
Interprofessional Practice
21. Integrate perspectives from other sectors and/or professions to promote and advance population health
Systems Thinking
22. Apply a systems thinking tool to visually represent a public health issue in a format other than standard narrative
Track-specific Competencies
Each track in the Program has individual, track-specific competencies: