August 28, 2008
Core Competency Model for the Master of Public Health Degree Explained
Core competencies have been used to redefine curricula across the major health professions in recent decades. In 2006, the Association of Schools of Public Health identified core competencies for the master of public health degree in graduate schools and programs of public health. The authors of "Development of a Core Competency Model for the Master of Public Health Degree," published in the September 2008 issue of the American Journal of Public Health, provide an overview of the model development process and a listing of 12 core domains and 119 competencies that can serve as a resource for faculty and students for enhancing the quality and accountability of graduate public health education and training. The primary vision for the initiative is the graduation of professionals who are more fully prepared for the many challenges and opportunities in public health in the forthcoming decade.
Authors are Judith G. Calhoun, Department of Health Management and Policy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; Kalpana Ramiah and Elizabeth McGean Weist, Association of Schools of Public Health; and Stephen M. Shortell, dean, UC Berkeley School of Public Health.
