Foundations in Public Health: An Integrated Core Course to Cover Critical Content

The UTMB MPH Program has integrated three of the core disciplines in public health into a six credit hour Foundations in Public Health Course. The fundamentals of Environmental Health, Health Policy, and Social and Behavioral Sciences are covered in the fall required core course that is paired with individual courses in Biostatistics and Epidemiology for all incoming MPH students. The curricular change was made in response to discussions taking place as part of the Framing the Future Task Force and in anticipation of revised criteria from the Council on Education for Public Health.

The integrated course has been offered since Fall 2013 and during the three iterations has become progressively more focused on the Critical Content of the Core for a 21st Century MPH Degree that is delineated in the Framing the Future report. The fundamentals of the three core disciplines are covered in an integrated manner through active learning techniques. The knowledge and skills of public health practice are developed with a focus on specific disciplinary topics through case studies, community based projects, debates, and other interactive activities. Students in the most recent cohort, for example, debated policy for food advertising in school districts, completed a community needs assessment for a local faith based organization, and engaged in a case study of budgeting scenarios for a public health agency.