Program Goals and Objectives

A. The Penn MPH program will provide an interdisciplinary academic program of study that fosters skill acquisition and competency in key areas of public health practice, both current and emerging. This goal will be accomplished by:

A.1. Building upon the resources of the university to implement and to support growth and expansion of the MPH program;

A.2. Facilitating the articulation of a shared public health/health promotion and disease prevention approach within the School of Medicine and throughout the University;

A.3. Generating a university-wide, multidisciplinary community of faculty with diverse expertise in areas foundational to public health research, learning and service;

A.4. Enhancing the program with the development of public health specific electives and modules that address current and emerging competencies;

A.5. Developing opportunities for combined degree programs through interschool dual degree options with the MPH Program;

A.6. Providing a mechanism by which faculty and students can provide regular and systematic feedback to the program for the purpose of program enhancement and improvement;

A.7. Applying admissions criteria designed to attract highly qualified students with demonstrated potential to become public health leaders;

A.8. Monitoring and evaluating student progress through creation and regular review of the implementation of student plans of study;

A.9. Offering both full-time and part-time options to complete the MPH program;

A.10.Adapting the curriculum to accommodate working professionals through flexible course options, independent study options and late afternoon classes.

B. Penn MPH Program graduates will acquire a comprehensive understanding of the public health paradigm for health promotion and disease prevention and will be able to conceptualize, implement, and evaluate population health interventions. This goal will be accomplished by:

B.1. Tracking core competencies across the curriculum to assure relevance of the curriculum to current and emerging population health needs;

B.2. Facilitating student access to a rich depth and breadth of public health expertise among interdisciplinary faculty;

B.3. Committing to a multidisciplinary approach to public health training;

B.4. Providing practical community-based experiences through the capstone and field elective offerings to expand learning opportunities for understanding the needs of communities of interest

B.5. Facilitating collaborations with community groups;

B.6. Integrating evidence-based learning in the curriculum;

B.7. Assessing and evaluating students’ development of public health competencies including student self-assessment;

B.8. Demonstrating the integration of public health competencies and abilities through the culminating capstone experience;

B.9 Applying appropriate instructional technologies to enhance learning;

C. The Penn MPH program will facilitate interschool and interdisciplinary collaboration designed to promote public health research planning and implementation. This goal will be accomplished by:

C.1. Linking with the rich depth and breath of public health-related research opportunities across multiple schools within the university;

C.2. Creating a database of public health research initiatives and interests designed to facilitate interschool and interdisciplinary collaboration;

C.3. Increasing opportunities for collaboration by strengthening ties with Deans, Institute and Center Directors at Penn, and those external to Penn.

D. Penn MPH program graduates will demonstrate knowledge and application of basic principles and methods of population health research to advance scientific knowledge of the health of human populations locally, nationally and around the world. This goal will be accomplished by:

D.1. Promoting and developing opportunities to support students in the pursuit of scientific investigation and providing experienced mentors;

D.2. Posting and distributing information to all MPH students on available funded research opportunities;

D.3. Encouraging students to present and disseminate research findings in seminars, community forums, public health related meetings and on the MPH program website;

D.4 Facilitating access to courses in the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics for students with an interest in advanced training in these key competency areas of public health research;

D.5 Sponsoring a wide variety of public-health related seminars and workshops.

E. The Penn MPH program will stimulate interactions and collaborations with local community agencies and national public health academic and professional communities. This goal will be accomplished by:

E.1. Working with community stakeholders and academic and service sectors to build and strengthen opportunities to work in collaboration to address public health needs;

E.2. Participating in community organizations;

E.3 Participating in local and national academic and practice-oriented public health coalitions and organizations;

E.3 Establishing permanent relationships with local, state and national public health agencies and institutions.

F. Penn MPH program graduates will employ collaborative public health approaches in community-based activities that foster relationships of mutual trust and enhance and assure conditions for healthy living. This goal will be accomplished by:

F.1. Providing community-based opportunities for fieldwork and practica;

F.2. Providing experienced community and academic mentors to evaluate the students’ performance in community-based methods;

F.3 Linking with ongoing Penn community and broader community based participatory research initiatives (CBPR) e.g. through collaboration with the Center for Community Partnerships, Community Outreach, the Center for Cancer and Population Health, National Center for Fathers and Families, the Penn-Cheyney EXPORT Center for Inner City Health (EXPORT is an acronym for Excellence in Partnerships for Research on Health Disparities and Training) and many other relevant Penn entities.