These MPH Foundational Competencies, updated in May 2024, were established by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) as a framework for monitoring the quality of student learning, promoting student success, and advancing the field of public health. The 22 foundational competencies are organized across eight themes of professional practice.
Evidence-Based Approaches to Public Health
1. Apply epidemiological methods to settings and situations in public health practice.
2. Interpret results of data analysis for public health research, policy, or practice.
3. Analyze quantitative and qualitative data using biostatistics, informatics, computer-based programming, and software.
4. Select quantitative and qualitative data collection methods appropriate for a given public health context.
Public Health and Health Care Systems
5. Compare the organization, structure and function of health care, public health and regulatory systems across national and international settings.
6. 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.
7. Assess population needs, assets, and capacities that affect communities’ health.
Planning & Management to Promote Health
8. Discuss multiple dimensions of the policy-making process, including the roles of ethics and evidence.
9. Propose strategies to identify stakeholders and build coalitions and partnerships for influencing public health outcomes.
10. Advocate for political, social, or economic policies and programs that will improve health in diverse populations.
11. Evaluate policies for their impact on public health and health equity.
Policy in Public Health
12. Discuss multiple dimensions of the policy-making process, including the roles of ethics and evidence.
13. Propose strategies to identify stakeholders and build coalitions and partnerships for influencing public health outcomes.
14. Advocate for political, social, or economic policies and programs that will improve health in diverse populations.
15. Evaluate policies for their impact on public health and health equity.
Leadership
16. Apply leadership and/or management principles to address a relevant issue.
17. Apply negotiation and mediation skills to address organizational or community challenges.
Communication
18. Select communication strategies for different audiences and sectors.
19. Communicate audience-appropriate (i.e., non-academic, non-peer audience) public health content, both in writing and through oral presentation.
20. Describe the importance of cultural competence in communicating public health content.
Inter-professional Practice
21. Integrate perspectives from other sectors and/or professions to promote and advance population health.
Systems Thinking
22. Apply systems thinking tools to a public health issue.