With implementation of the 2016 Criteria well underway, CEPH staff have been collecting and analyzing data. One of the major intended outcomes of the criteria revision was increased flexibility and innovation. One possible indicator of the extent to which schools, in particular, have taken advantage of increased flexibility is tracking the areas of concentration offered—since the revised criteria removed the requirement to offer MPH concentrations in five core areas, CEPH hypothesized that there would be changes in the types of concentrations offered. Since school and program faculty are colleagues and may recruit from similar student pools, CEPH hypothesized that changes might also be visible in programs’ concentration offerings.
Staff analyzed data from substantive change forms from 2014-2018 and categorized concentration names as core and non-core concentrations as defined by the 2011 criteria. Core concentrations include epidemiology, biostatistics, social and behavioral sciences, environmental health, and health services administration. Examples of non-core concentrations include general public health, health informatics, and global health.
The data show that 1) more concentrations are being added than dropped and 2) the proportion of non-core concentrations added year over year has increased since implementation of the 2016 criteria. Data also show that more core concentrations have been dropped than non-core concentrations since implementation of the 2016 criteria. Staff look forward to seeing what future data show us!
Written by: Alexandra DiOrio, MPH