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
- 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.
- Design a qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods, policy analysis or evaluation project to address a public health issue.
- 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
- Propose strategies for health improvement and elimination of health inequities by organizing stakeholders including researchers, practitioners, community leaders and other partners.
- Communicate public health science to diverse stakeholders, including individuals at all levels of health literacy, for purposes of influencing behavior and policies.
- Integrate knowledge, approaches, methods, values and potential contributions from multiple professions and systems in addressing public health problems.
- Create a strategic plan.
- Facilitate shared decision-making through negotiation and consensus-building methods.
- Create organizational change strategies.
- Propose strategies to promote inclusion and equity within public health programs, policies and systems.
- Assess one’s own strengths and weaknesses in leadership capacities, including cultural proficiency.
- Propose human, fiscal and other resources to achieve a strategic goal.
- Cultivate new resources and revenue streams to achieve a strategic goal.
Policy & Programs
- Design a system-level intervention to address a public health issue.
- Integrate knowledge of cultural values and practices in the design of public health policies and programs.
- Integrate scientific information, legal and regulatory approaches, ethical frameworks and varied stakeholder interests in policy development and analysis.
- Propose interprofessional team approaches to improving public health.
Education & Workforce Development
- Assess an audience’s knowledge and learning needs.
- Deliver training or educational experiences that promote learning in academic, organizational or community settings.
- Use best practice modalities in pedagogical practices.
In addition, graduates develop the following program-specific specialized competencies:
- Design health communication campaigns and interventions for public health organizations, NGOs, community-based organizations, and other stakeholders.
- Develop collaborative strategies within and across organizations to advance public health change.
- Develop leadership skills at the personal, organizational, national, and global levels to advance public health and health equity.
- Apply implementation science frameworks and methods to the design, implementation and evaluation of public health programs, policies and interventions.
- Apply ethical principles to assure the promotion of social justice in public health policy, practice and research.