Introduction: Campus and Online Students
This course serves as the required integrative learning experience (ILE) for students in the MPH program. Students will demonstrate synthesis of foundational and concentration-specific competencies through an individual project that addresses the needs of a public health agency. Students will produce a high-quality written report for their agency.
Students may engage in projects identified by their Applied Practice Experience Preceptors or may select a project identified by the MPH program. Per CEPH, “the written product is developed and delivered in a manner that is useful to external stakeholders, such as non-profit or governmental organizations.”
In addition to working on their capstone projects, students will engage in career and professional development activities through readings, lectures, and guest speakers.
Students are registered for Capstone in the final semester of their program. Students will participate in a Public Health Day presentation during the capstone course.
Details of Capstone can be found on the PHC 6940 syllabus.
Overview of the Capstone Project
Each student will identify a project that has a scope of work that can be completed in one semester. To optimize the student’s public health experience in our program, we strongly recommend that the project be related to, emanate from, or culminate the efforts and work of the Applied Practice Experience, but is not the same product as the work products developed in APE. Projects should be specific to the student’s MPH track, but they may take on several different structures and formats based on the specific experiences. Completed projects should demonstrate acquisition of MPH general and track-specific competencies. Examples of projects include, but are not limited to:
- Program project grant
- Empirical manuscript
- Community (needs, context, or situation) assessment
- Program evaluation
- Training manual/curriculum
- Health policy statement assessment
Faculty Advisor Roles and Responsibilities
Faculty advisor involvement in capstone is undergoing modifications.
The Faculty Advisor works with the student to conceptualize the capstone project. The student submits the Student-Advisor contract to the course instructor.
The Faculty Advisor reviews and provides feedback for each draft portion of the capstone project. The capstone instructor helps facilitate this process and serves as a second reviewer of the drafts.
The final written report is graded by the Faculty Advisor.
Faculty Advisors attend Public Health Day and grade the Public Health Day presentations are presented by their advisees.