Academic Standards & Competencies
Each student must meet or exceed the academic standards of Dartmouth and its programs, with or without appropriate adjustments.
Academic standards refer to acceptable demonstrations of mastery of program requirements as judged by faculty members, examinations, and other measurements of performance.
Program requirements include satisfactory completion of all courses in the student’s academic program as described in the student handbook and demonstration of acceptable levels of mastery of each competency in the broad categories listed below.
Every MPH graduate must meet a set of competencies established by the accrediting body for all schools and programs of public health -- The Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) There are 34 CEPH competencies, plus 5 competencies specific to the Dartmouth MPH program.. The competencies are below.
- Explain public health history, philosophy and values (CEPH Knowledge 1)
- Identify the core functions of public health and the 10 Essential Services (CEPH Knowledge 2)
- Explain the role of quantitative and qualitative methods and sciences in describing and assessing a population’s health (CEPH Knowledge 3)
- List major causes and trends of morbidity and mortality in the US or other community relevant to the school or program, with attention to disparities among populations, e.g. socioeconomic, ethnic, gender, racial, etc. (CEPH Knowledge 4)
- Discuss the science of primary, secondary and tertiary prevention in population health, including health promotion, screening, etc. (CEPH Knowledge 5)
- Explain the critical importance of evidence in advancing public health knowledge (CEPH Knowledge 6)
- Explain effects of environmental factors on a population’s health (CEPH Knowledge 7)
- Explain biological and genetic factors that affect a population’s health (CEPH Knowledge 8)
- Explain behavioral and psychological factors that affect a population’s health (CEPH Knowledge 9)
- Explain the cultural, social, political and economic determinants of health and how the determinants relate to population health and health inequities (CEPH Knowledge 10)
- Explain how globalization affects global burdens of disease (CEPH Knowledge 11)
- Explain an ecological perspective on the connections among human health, animal health, and ecosystem health (e.g., One Health) (CEPH Knowledge 12)
- Apply epidemiological methods to settings and situations in public health practice (CEPH Skill 1)
- Select quantitative and qualitative data collection methods appropriate for a given public health context (CEPH Skill 2)
- Analyze quantitative and qualitative data using biostatistics, informatics, computer-based programming, and software, as appropriate (CEPH Skill 3)
- Interpret results of data analysis for public health research, policy or practice (CEPH Skill 4)
- Compare the organization, structure, and function of health care, public health and regulatory systems across national and international settings(CEPH Skill 5)
- Discuss the means by which structural bias, social inequities and racism undermine health and create challenges to achieving health equity at organizational, community and systemic levels (CEPH Skill 6)
- Assess population needs, assets, and capacities that affect communities’ health (CEPH Skill 7)
- Apply awareness of cultural values and practices to the design, implementation, or critique of public health policies or programs (CEPH Skill 8)
- Design a population-based policy, program, project or intervention (CEPH Skill 9)
- Explain basic principles and tools of budget and resource management (CEPH Skill 10)
- Select methods to evaluate public health programs (CEPH Skill 11)
- Discuss the policy-making process, including the roles of ethics and evidence (CEPH Skill 12)
- Propose strategies to identify relevant communities and individuals and build coalitions and partnerships for influencing public health outcomes (CEPH Skill 13)
- Advocate for political, social, or economic policies and programs that will improve health in diverse populations (CEPH Skill 14)
- Evaluate policies for their impact on public health and health equity (CEPH Skill 15)
- Apply leadership and/or management principles to address a relevant issue (CEPH Skill 16)
- Apply negotiation and mediation skills to address organizational or community challenges (CEPH Skill 17)
- Select communication strategies for different audiences and sectors (CEPH Skill 18)
- Communicate audience-appropriate public health content, both in writing and through oral presentation to a non-academic, non-peer audience with attention to factors such as literacy and health literacy(CEPH Skill 19)
- Describe the importance of cultural humility in communicating public health content (CEPH Skill 20)
- Integrate perspectives from other sectors and/or professions to promote and advance population health (CEPH Skill 21)
- Apply a systems thinking tool to visually represent a public health issue in a format other than standard narrative (CEPH Skill 22)
The CEPH competencies are informed by the traditional public health core knowledge areas, (biostatistics, epidemiology, social and behavioral sciences, health services administration and environmental health sciences), as well as cross-cutting and emerging public health areas.
In addition to the above required foundational competencies, the Dartmouth MPH program has developed five unique competencies to address knowledge and skills needed to improve population health and health care. These unique competencies fall under two categories: Making Sense of Health Care and Making Change in Health Care.
Making Sense of Health Care
Medical Care Epidemiology
1. Explain the consequences of unwarranted variation in health care utilization and spending, and disparities in outcomes.
2. Apply healthy skepticism to inform improvements in public health and health care by critically appraising research findings
3. Describe how the major payment systems for health care affect delivery, value, and equity.
Making Change in Health Care
4. Explain how the coproduction of health services (including shared decision making) impacts the quality, safety, equity, and value.
5. Explain how quality improvement methods enable a systems thinking approach for understanding context, testing change, and measuring improvement.
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Courtney Theroux
DIRECTOR, ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT
Amanda Williams
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, ADMISSIONS AND RECRUITMENT
Hannah Kassel
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, ADMISSIONS AND RECRUITMENT
Mia Soucy
ADMISSIONS MANAGER