All graduates develop the following 20 foundational competencies in the areas of data and analysis; leadership, management, and governance; policy and programs; and education and workforce development:
Data & Analysis
1. Explain qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods and policy analysis research and evaluation methods to address health issues at multiple (individual, group, organization, community and population) levels.
2. Design a qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods, policy analysis or evaluation project to address a public health issue.
3. Explain the use and limitations of surveillance systems and national surveys in assessing, monitoring and evaluating policies and programs to address a population’s health.
Leadership, Management & Governance
4. Propose strategies for health improvement and elimination of health inequities by organizing stakeholders including researchers, practitioners, community leaders and other partners.
5. Communicate public health science to diverse stakeholders, including individuals at all levels of health literacy, for purposes of influencing behavior and policies.
6. Integrate knowledge, approaches, methods, values and potential contributions from multiple professions and systems in addressing public health problems.
7. Create a strategic plan.
8. Facilitate shared decision-making through negotiation and consensus-building methods.
9. Create organizational change strategies.
10. Propose strategies to promote inclusion and equity within public health programs, policies and systems.
11. Assess one’s own strengths and weaknesses in leadership capacities, including cultural proficiency.
12. Propose human, fiscal and other resources to achieve a strategic goal.
13. Cultivate new resources and revenue streams to achieve a strategic goal.
Policy & Programs
14. Design a system-level intervention to address a public health issue.
15. Integrate knowledge of cultural values and practices in the design of public health policies and programs.
16. Integrate scientific information, legal and regulatory approaches, ethical frameworks and varied stakeholder interests in policy development and analysis.
17. Propose interprofessional team approaches to improving public health.
Education & Workforce Development
18. Assess an audience’s knowledge and learning needs.
19. Deliver training or educational experiences that promote learning in academic, organizational or community settings.
20. Use best practice modalities in pedagogical practices.
In addition, graduates develop the following program-specific specialized competencies:
1. Design health communication campaigns and interventions for public health organizations, NGOs, community-based organizations, and other stakeholders.
2. Develop collaborative strategies within and across organizations to advance public health change.
3. Develop leadership skills at the personal, organizational, national, and global levels to advance public health and health equity.
4. Apply implementation science frameworks and methods to the design, implementation and evaluation of public health programs, policies and interventions.
5. Apply ethical principles to assure the promotion of social justice in public health policy, practice and research.