Faculty & Staff

 By Sandro Galea, chair, Dept. of Epidemiology and Curriculum Renewal Task Force

For more than a year we have been engaged in a School-wide initiative to renew our MPH curriculum for Fall 2012.  Dean Fried launched this initiative over a year ago and more than 150 faculty, students, and staff have since been actively involved.

A Curriculum Renewal Task Force (CRTF) was charged by Dean Fried to develop the curriculum’s overarching elements.  Task Force members’ work has been guided by the latest literature on pedagogy, by our experience as a School, and by emerging best practices in the field.  Our goal is to work with the Dean’s Office to structure a renewed MPH curriculum and to launch a discussion at the School and in the broader public health community on essential attributes of a modern public health education.

In May, the Task Force presented the larger Mailman community with a draft curriculum map that was discussed at several faculty-wide open houses. Subsequently, nine School-wide subcommittees were formed to help shape each of the elements in the renewed curriculum.

In addition to developing the key elements, the subcommittees are working on identifying ways to integrate e-learning into the MPH experience, planning for the implementation of the renewed curriculum, and designing a system for annual curricular review. The nine subcommittees will continue to meet over the next 24 months and spearhead development of syllabi, the integration of e-learning resources, and faculty development.  A Curriculum Renewal Executive Committee, chaired by Dean Fried and comprised of departmental chairs and senior deans oversees the work of the CRTF and of the subcommittees.

Efforts to renew the MPH curriculum have been guided by the following principles:

• Accomplish the School’s mission of excellence in education in the context of leading on the next generation of public health education
• Align with the School’s Strategic Vision and societal needs
• Educate students who can be leaders in domestic and global public health research and practice
• Educate students in how to apply advanced technical skills and critical thinking ability to improve population health
• Create and implement an integrated interdisciplinary School-wide curriculum that ensures all of our graduates are aware of the breadth of expertise that constitute public health
• Ensure continued excellence of departmental and disciplinary training
• Seek optimal balance between departmental strengths and integrated core public health curriculum

Key components of the renewed curriculum will be: Core Curriculum, Disciplinary Specialization, Integration of Science and Practice, Integrated Practical Experience, Leadership and Professionalism, and Certification.  A brief description of each component is below.

Core Curriculum: The core MPH curriculum will be comprised of series of interdisciplinary and integrated modules that expose all MPH students to the foundations of public health and the essential attributes of public health across the departmental disciplines. Key themes will include: foundations of public health, determinants of public health, systems and policy, and methods of assessing and changing health. The core curriculum will be taught cross-departmentally to all students in the MPH program.

Disciplinary Specialization: We will continue to offer specialization in the Mailman School’s six departments: Biostatistics, Environmental Health Sciences, Epidemiology, Health Policy and Management, Population and Family Health, and Sociomedical Sciences. The renewed curriculum aims to improve integration across courses that lead to disciplinary specialization.

Integration of Science and Practice:  Students will engage in an Integration of Science and Practice learning experience throughout the duration of their MPH studies. This will bring students from across disciplines together in small teams to apply their interdisciplinary and departmental knowledge to address real public health challenges.  Guided by faculty leaders, students will tackle the scientific and practical implications of potential solutions to these challenges throughout their tenure at the Mailman School.

Integrated Practical Experiences: All MPH students are required to fulfill a practicum that integrates their departmental and certificate specializations and requires them to transfer classroom learning to the local or global context.  The IPE will integrate the practicum experience with students’ disciplinary and certificate engagement through structured pre- and post-practicum courses and seminars.

Leadership and Professionalism: This curricular component is designed to give all Mailman students the skills necessary to lead interdisciplinary teams in the public health practice, research, or private sector roles that they are likely to engage in upon graduation.

Certificates:  In addition to their departmental specialization, all MPH students will register in a Certificate stream that will provide them with a credential in an interdisciplinary field.  A range of certificates will be available to students (e.g., global health, lifecourse and aging). Courses at the Mailman School and throughout Columbia University will contribute to the Certificate stream learning.

Educating Leaders of Public Health

The Mailman School aspires to provide a premier education that prepares students over the course of their careers to be leaders in the field of public health.  The launch of a renewed and innovative Mailman curriculum, grounded in an interdisciplinary approach, is a key step in that direction.