MPH 2015
Governing Council Recommendations
Approved by SPH Governing Council
July 10, 2014
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Background
In September 2010, the Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) released its 2010-2015
Strategic Plan. The collaborative planning process involved envisioning the future to anticipate trends in
public health, health care, and graduate education. Three themes were identified to guide the plan: to
become a top-tier school of public health, to influence the future of public health, and to lead
collaborative efforts involving the Medical Campus and the University. The Strategic Plan outlined seven
goals to enhance the education, research, and practice activities of the School’s faculty, staff, students,
alumni, and community partners.
In September 2012, the Governing Council assembled the MPH 2015 Task Force to evaluate the MPH
curriculum to ensure that BUSPH is well-positioned to achieve its strategic goals as they relate to
education. The Task Force focused on the Master of Public Health (MPH) degree, the School’s largest
degree program, which accounts for over 80% of the School’s tuition revenue annually.
The MPH 2015 recommendations set the stage for a curriculum that meets the needs of our current
student body and begins a process for continuous quality improvement at the School. We have a strong
MPH program, excellent faculty and staff, and gifted students. BUSPH receives the highest number of
applications for any school of public health and draws applicants from the same pool as several schools
in the top 10. In fact, applications to the BUSPH MPH Program have more than doubled over the past 10
years, allowing us to become increasingly selective in our admissions process.
The timing of this review cycle coincides with national efforts to examine the future of public health
education across the educational continuum initiated by the Association of Schools and Programs of
Public Health (ASPPH). The future of the MPH, design features and content of the core curriculum of the
21st century MPH, was examined by an MPH Expert Panel chaired by Dean Robert Meenan and their
recommendations were released in January 2014 (MPH Expert Panel Report).
The recommendations outlined here ensure that BUSPH has an innovative, competitive and successful
MPH program that meets the following characteristics within the evolving environment for public
health:
 Effective: the degree program must effectively provide graduates with the knowledge and skill
sets that they will need for successful employment.
 Marketable: the degree program must compete successfully in an increasingly competitive
market for prospective students.
 Efficient: the degree program must deploy faculty, physical and other resources in an efficient
manner.
 Adaptable: the degree program must allow for additional growth in enrollments beyond the
current numbers.
 Strategic: the degree program should fit into the larger context of other educational programs
currently offered or which might be offered.
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Recommendations
The recommendations for the BUSPH MPH program are designed to ensure that our graduates are not
only competent in the knowledge and skills required for professional public health practice but are also
well-informed, intellectually interested, and prepared for life-long learning. We will continue to provide
excellent training for both a first job and a foundation for a successful career in public health.
Competency-based education is a foundational step to ensuring we are graduating accomplished public
health professionals. In 2012, BUSPH developed eight program competencies and each concentration
developed three concentration-specific competencies. Assessing whether and to what extent students
are mastering the competencies that are essential for public health practice allows the School to judge
its value to students and its impact on the public health workforce. Assessment needs to be continuous,
flexible and adaptable.
Over the past 2 years, we mapped the learning objectives for all required courses to program
competencies, allowing faculty to visualize where in the program students attain mastery of the
competencies as well as the level of mastery attained. As part of the process, we developed and applied
the following rubric, which we believe appropriately positions the desired levels of mastery for the MPH
between those appropriate for bachelors versus doctoral degrees.
Level of Mastery
1 - Comprehension
2 - Application
3 - Creation
Details
Students have basic knowledge and comprehension as assessed through
homework assignments, problem sets, quizzes, and/or examinations
Students are able to analyze and apply knowledge, skills and techniques
to practical situations, as assessed through assignments that require
students to apply concepts to broad questions about unstructured
problems such as cases or data sets
Students extend and apply their knowledge and skill in a professional
setting, as assessed through assignments in which students work on a
public health problem by evaluating relevant content and delivering a
professional work product or solution
We also instituted formal processes to assess student’s satisfactory academic progress and are in the
process of centralizing and integrating data on graduation rates, employment rates, student, alumni,
faculty, employer and practicum supervisor’s assessments of competencies, all of which will be used to
regularly assess the program. Will propose to evaluate whether curriculum recommendations proposed
here are effective and will establish a Competency Assessment Committee comprised of faculty and
staff to determine processes and metrics to assess program competencies on an ongoing basis.
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Program Components
The planned components of the BUSPH MPH include:
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A strong foundation in the values and functions of public health through an Integrated Core
Curriculum which provides the foundational knowledge and skills required for public health
professionals in the 21st century through an integrated, problem-oriented core curriculum;
In-depth training in the skills, tools and techniques in a Concentration through a focused,
sequential set of courses needed for successful professional practice. The concentration is the
distinguishing feature of our degree program and is designed to be adaptable to changes in the
field and need of the workforce;
Elective coursework to delve deeper into a selected concentration or to broaden one’s public
health perspective;
An enhanced Practicum to ensure that all graduates have the required practical experience for
successful employment;
A Culminating Experience where students demonstrate their abilities to integrate, synthesize,
and apply the knowledge and skills from their concentration as well as from other areas of
public health that are relevant to their professional goals;
A Career Development Program to ensure that all graduates have the necessary competencies,
techniques and professional confidence to effectively market themselves during the job search
process and beyond; and
Comprehensive systems to support and enhance Teaching, Advising, and Assessment.
Students will continue to have flexibility and options in designing a 48-credit MPH program that best
suits their professional goals. Students will continue to have the option to complete the program on a
part- or full-time basis and can switch between options.
All graduates will master the BUSPH MPH program competencies, their concentration-specific
competencies, and have relevant experiences and work products that demonstrate their professional
skills and capabilities. The program components, taken together, are designed to ensure that students
will graduate with the necessary competencies and professional confidence to be successful public
health professionals.
Recommendations for each of the program components are outlined below.
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Integrated Core Curriculum. The goal of the core curriculum is to provide a strong foundation of
knowledge and skills across the spectrum of disciplines in public health, allow students to see
connections among traditional public health disciplines through examples, case studies, and problembased learning, excite them to learn more, prepare them to interact effectively with public health
professionals, and for further study. The core curriculum provides frameworks for critical thinking and
public health practice and will be completed early in the program. The core must cover areas that are
important for public health professionals of the future, and must be flexible and adaptable to add new
content as needed. The content of the core curriculum will be guided by the needs of the field and
updated regularly.
Recommendations
 The core curriculum will be comprised of three integrated 4-credit courses. Each of the core
courses will draw on each of the disciplines of public health and all courses will include both
domestic and global content, examples, and cases (and are not simply a repackaging of existing
core courses).
 Quantitative methods in public health
 Health law, policy, and management
 Individual, community, and population health
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The core curriculum will be completed in the first semester of study for full-time students and in
the first year (or as soon as possible) for part-time students to allow for timely completion of the
program and the opportunity to change concentrations with minimal delay.
All MPH students will take the new integrated core courses so that all students approach their
upper-level classes with the same foundational coursework.
A director will be named for each core course to provide oversight and leadership on the
content, design, and delivery of the course. The core course director and staff will be
responsible for scheduling courses that reflect a commitment to the needs of students in each
of the program options (part- and full-time). The three core course directors will work together
to ensure that the three courses are aligned in terms of content, design, timing, and scheduling
of assessments to manage student workload.
As the introduction to the program, the core curriculum will ideally be taught by the best
teachers at BUSPH.
Notes:
 In addition to the required integrated core courses for MPH students, the School will need to
continue to offer one section of stand-alone core courses to meet the needs of MS and doctoral
students, cross-registrants, non-degree students, students in other degree programs across the
University, and students from the Consortium. MPH students, however, must be advised to
take the integrated core courses and not stand-alone courses. The necessity of offering these
stand-alone sections will be reviewed annually; over time, it may be beneficial for some
students to instead take the integrated core curriculum.
 Most dual degree students meet a core course requirement at the partner school; all will be
required to take the integrated core courses and the School will work with the partner schools
to ensure dual degree students will be advised appropriately.
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Concentration. The goal of the concentration is to develop knowledge, skills and attributes in a given
field through a focused, sequential set of courses designed to provide the skills, training, tools and
techniques for successful professional practice. The requirements for each concentration will consist of
a sequence of courses to build mastery, with options tailored to specific career paths, as determined by
the faculty. MPH 2015 represents the start of a process that allows for consideration of new
concentrations as the needs of the workforce change.
Recommendations
 All concentrations will:
o Be structured to address the world’s most pressing public health problems. They will
reflect the needs of the field and relate to public health careers;
o Consist of 20 to 28 credits of required coursework with clearly defined sequencing of
courses to build depth;
o Include a 4-credit first concentration course (level 1) that full-time students generally
take in their first semester of study along with the core curriculum. Part-time students
will take the first concentration course after or while completing the core curriculum;
o Have one or more level 2 courses that require level 1 as a pre-requisite, and one or
more level 3 courses that require a level 2 course as a pre-requisite to build depth; and
o Have a projected enrollment of at least 10 new MPH students per year (fall and spring
admission cycles combined).
 Students will select one concentration at the time of admission. Dual concentrations will be
replaced by interdepartmental, interdisciplinary concentrations aligned to workforce demands.
Students may continue to use elective credits to fill gaps and interest areas that fall outside of
their concentration requirements.
 Students will be allowed to change concentrations following the same approval process that is
currently used. Admissions marketing about concentration requirements and career pathways
will be enhanced to reduce the number of students switching concentrations.
 Concentrations may have formal tracks that are designed to prepare students for specific job
opportunities. Selection of a track will be require registration (after completion of the first
concentration course) to allow the School to anticipate demand in courses to plan for the
requisite number of sections.
 Concentrations may offer informal emphasis areas. Students will not be required to select or
register for an emphasis area, as these are informal and made available to students through
advising.
 Common themes that cut across multiple concentrations (e.g., epidemiology, management,
social determinants, policy and advocacy) will utilize the same courses where appropriate to
ensure consistency, promote collaboration and efficiency, and maintain the integrity of the
program. Concentration-specific adaptations of the same course, which are inefficient and
counter to our goal to build interdisciplinary skills in our students by isolating them within
concentrations, will be eliminated.
 A director will be named for each concentration/track to provide oversight and leadership on
the structure, content, scheduling (timing and number of available seats) and sequencing of the
courses required for each concentration which will be linked to specific outcomes needed for
professional practice in that area.
 The concentration directors will work together to ensure that thematic areas that cross
concentrations are consistent and serving the concentration-specific needs of students. The
concentration directors and staff will be responsible for scheduling courses that reflect a
commitment to the needs of students in each of the program options (part- and full-time).
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Electives. The goal of elective courses is to delve more deeply into one’s selected concentration, to
complement a different aspect of a selected concentration, or to fill gaps or interests that best position
a student to achieve his or her professional goals. The number of credits available for elective courses
will vary depending on the requirements of the concentration and whether a student elects to take the
practicum and/or culminating experience for credit.
Recommendations
 Students will have approximately 12 credits to apply to elective courses.
 Students may register for any course offered at the School of Public Health, assuming they meet
the stated prerequisites, as an elective. Students may also take elective courses through other
graduate schools at Boston University, the Boston Consortium, or other accredited universities
in the United States and should consult the School’s transfer credit policy before registering for
those courses.
 Faculty advisors, curriculum coordinators, and staff in the Practice and Career Services Office
will continue to provide advice to students regarding selection of electives that are most
appropriate given the student’s professional goals.
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Practicum. The goal of the practicum is to ensure that all students have the opportunity to develop
professional experience by applying what they are learning to build practical skills and professional
confidence while contributing to the solutions of current public health problems. The practicum
experience also offers the opportunity for networking often leading to jobs after graduation.
Recommendations
 Students will generally complete a minimum of 240 hours in the practicum. Students will have
flexibility and options to complete this requirement. Options will be considered to tailor the
practicum experience to meet the specific needs and goals of the student. The options will be
further refined over time and may include new course/practicum combinations modeled after
the Kenya and Ethiopia programs that can be made available both domestically and
internationally. The expanded practicum will allow a greater opportunity for students to apply
their academic learning in a real-world setting to develop competence as public health
practitioners, especially in cross-cutting competencies such as communication, team-work, and
systems thinking and to contribute to the mission of the host agency in a substantial and
meaningful way.
 Students will continue to register for the practicum, may elect to take the practicum for 0 to 4
credits, and be graded on a pass/fail basis. Successful completion (pass) of the Practicum will be
required for graduation.
 The practicum will be generally tied to the concentration and targeted towards the student’s
professional goals.
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Culminating Experience. The goal of the culminating experience is to provide an opportunity for
students to integrate, synthesize, and apply knowledge and skills developed in the program to
demonstrate mastery of the program and concentration-specific competencies. Through the
culminating experience, students will develop work products that can be used in job interviews or
graduate school interviews to demonstrate their capabilities. The culminating experience will be
tailored to specific competencies as appropriate for the student’s concentration and professional goals.
Recommendations
 Each concentration will devise a culminating experience that satisfies the following:
o It must be a discrete experience with a discrete product that can be evaluated by a faculty
member. The rubric for assessment must be specified and include criteria to assess
individual students. An academic product can take the form of a program plan, program
evaluation, research proposal, grant application, critical review, policy paper, or research
report.
o The product must demonstrate the student’s ability to apply knowledge and skills from their
concentration as well as from other areas of public health relevant to their culminating
experience project. The culminating experience must, at a minimum, demonstrate that the
student can define a public health issue and its significance, and acquire and use
appropriate sources of information and data to critically analyze the issue.
o Students will follow a specific process to complete the culminating experience including
submission of a work plan and product proposal that will be reviewed and approved by a
faculty advisor prior to the initiation of the work.
o The culminating experience may be done individually or with a team. However, each
individual’s contribution to the work product must be clearly delineated and each student
will be evaluated on his or her specific contribution against relevant outcomes.
o Students will demonstrate effective communication of their work to at least one specified
relevant audience.
o The product should reflect the student’s ability to make choices that reflect a consideration
of ethics and take into account the values, practices and priorities of relevant communities,
cultural groups, and organizations.
o As part of the experience, students will demonstrate self-reflection on their own
professional development and learning (rubric to be developed).
 Students will register for the culminating experience in their final semester and can elect to take
the culminating experience for 0 to 2 credits. Students will be graded on a pass/fail basis and
successful completion (pass) of the culminating experience will be required for graduation. A
rubric will be used to assess each culminating experience and rubrics will be used as one source
of evidence in the evaluation of the MPH program (See Teaching and Assessment).
 There will be no waivers for the culminating experience. There will be flexibility in the ways in
which students can demonstrate their abilities to integrate, synthesize, and apply the
knowledge and skills from their concentration as well as from other areas of public health that
are relevant to their professional goals.
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Career Development Program. The goal of the career development program is to ensure that all
graduates have the necessary competencies, techniques, and professional confidence to effectively
market themselves during the job search process and into their public health careers.
Recommendations
 The career development program will be run by the staff in the Career Services Office who will
integrate employers, alumni and outside experts as needed, and will include:
o Completion of several modules, including:
 self-assessment to determine values, interests, and motivators,
 marketing strategies developed through researching sectors, industries and employers,
 networking strategies and techniques, (including development of a professional profile
for LinkedIn),
 interviewing and negotiating strategies, and
 managing a public health career, emphasizing the skills involved are not just about the
first job that a student has after graduation but will be applicable throughout their
careers.
o Participation in alumni and recruiter panels; and
o Individualized professional goal setting.
 Students will register for the program (0 credits) and will be graded on a pass/fail basis and
successful completion (pass) of the career development program will be required for
graduation.
 Alternative options for completing the career development program will be considered to meet
the needs of students with relevant professional public health experience.
 The career development program will be offered for cohorts of up to 60 students each and will
be offered fall, spring, and summer semesters, at various times, including weekday and
weekend options. While it may be ideal for full-time students to complete the career
development program in their second semester, students will benefit from the career
development program in their third and/or last semester as long as the message about being
strategic with course selection and practicum searches (through continued coordination with
the Practice Office) is instilled early. Thus, students may enroll in the career development
program in the semester of their choosing.
 Students will participate in a customized concentration-based career presentation given by
Career Services staff every semester. The Career Services Office may create an online version to
facilitate scheduling. The goal is for students to understand their career options based on their
concentration, what employers are seeking (knowledge, competencies, skills) and to identify
gaps they may need to fill through electives, practicum, internships and volunteering.
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Teaching, Advising, and Assessment. Effective teaching and learning methods, consistent advising
and appropriate assessment are essential components of staying competitive and becoming a top-tier
school of public health.
Supporting faculty in their continued development around teaching and advising is an important part of
the School’s long-term success and marketability.
Recommendations
 Faculty time spent on the development and modification of courses and programs needs to be
recognized and budgeted.
 Standardized guidelines for assignments, roles, responsibilities and reimbursement of
curriculum support staff, TAs and graders across departments should be developed and
implemented.
 A comprehensive teaching website that includes information on all of the School’s educational
resources including, how to support student’s different learning styles, online modules on basic
skills (fundamental math, Excel, citations), tips on best utilizing TAs and graders, etc. should be
develop and maintained.
 Methods of evaluating and improving teaching should be explored and implemented across the
School.
 Faculty and staff should be trained and supported around academic and career advising.
 A BUSPH Digital Learning Initiative, staffed with faculty and staff to support new educational
technology and pedagogy should be developed.
 Searches for full-time faculty positions with teaching responsibilities should include a teaching
session in the interview process so that the selection committee and others can observe a
candidate’s ability to function effectively in a classroom setting.
 A system to assess program elements and student achievement of competencies should be
developed, implemented and maintained
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Implementation
The MPH 2015 recommendations will require many changes in the school’s largest and most important
education program. Successful change efforts of this magnitude require a formal implementation plan.
That plan should be developed using an open, inclusive, iterative and transparent process. A successful
change process will also require shared ownership and responsibility among faculty, chairs and
administrators.
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An MPH 2015 Implementation Task Force will be established to develop a detailed implementation
plan.
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The MPH 2015 Implementation Task Force will be chaired by the Associate Dean for Education and
will be comprised of a maximum of 10 members, including at least one chair or faculty member
from each of the school’s eight concentrations. The members will be nominated by the department
chairs in consultation with their faculty.
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The MPH 2015 Implementation Task Force will report to the Governing Council on a regular basis.
The chair of the Task Force will brief the Chairs Group and the Faculty Senate on a regular basis and
will carry their comments and concerns back to the Task Force and the GC. The Task Force will also
hold monthly open briefing sessions for faculty.
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The Task Force will develop a detailed implementation plan and submit it to the GC for review and
approval. The plan will be distributed for review and comment as per the school’s formal policy
approval process.
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The implementation plan will specify competencies, map them to courses and determine the design
of the core courses, concentrations and other program elements.
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The MPH2015 implementation plan will detail activities, roles and responsibilities of faculty and staff
involved, timelines (including approvals by concentration directors, Education Committee,
Governing Council, University, etc.) and resource requirements.
Evaluation
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An MPH 2015 Evaluation Task Force will be formed to design and conduct an evaluation of
implementation and impact. It will report to the Governing Council.
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The Evaluation Task Force will be chaired by a faculty member who is an expert in education
evaluation and will be comprised of five members with relevant expertise. The members will be
nominated by the department chairs in consultation with their faculty. None of the members will
have served on the Implementation Task Force.
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The Evaluation Task Force will develop an evaluation plan that includes a clear statement of the
goals of the MPH 2015 reforms and the measures that will be used in evaluating them. The
evaluation plan will consider both process and outcome measures. It will be submitted to the
Governing Council for approval.
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The evaluation will be formative and summative and will be submitted to the Governing council.
Budget
The plans developed by the MPH 2015 Implementation and Evaluation Task Force will entail resource
costs, including faculty and staff time, communications and marketing expenses, etc. While it is not
possible to fully specify the type and magnitude of those costs in advance, it is important to ensure that
adequate resources will be available to support these strategically important efforts and that faculty and
staff time will be accounted for. The school has already expanded resources for this effort by increasing
the number of faculty from 138 to 155 over the past three years, many of whom are clinical faculty
focused on teaching. In addition a minimum of $500,000 in SPH reserve funds are hereby designated for
the purpose of covering various implementation and evaluation costs over the next three years.
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