Doctor of Public Health (Dr.P.H.) Competencies - Leadership, Practice, and Research
Each concentration identifies competencies for each degree offered. These competencies reflect the full range of knowledge, skills, and other attributes that a student will acquire as a result of completing the requirements for a particular degree.
Upon graduation, a student completing the Dr.P.H. curriculum in leadership, practice, and research will be able to:
Dr.P.H. Foundational Competencies (as required by the Council on Education for Public Health)
- 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;
- 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, sectors, 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;
- 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 and/or intersectoral team approaches to improving public health;
- assess an audience's knowledge and learning needs;
- deliver training or educational experiences that promote learning in academic, organizational, or community settings; and
- use best practice modalities in pedagogical practices.
Dr.P.H. in Leadership, Practice, and Research Concentration Competencies
- analyze principles for effective communication in traditional and social media and develop skills for effectively representing organizations in the media;
- use statistical computing packages to organize, analyze, and report data;
- generate appropriate methods of formative and summative evaluation in training or educational experiences;
- design reliable and valid measurement instruments; and
- create a measurable, equitable, community-centered advocacy campaign plan to advance a public health issue.
