Based on the Evidence-Based Public Health model, the new UAB MPH Core will give students the tools they need to become competent leaders in the field of Public Health.

Dean Paul C. Erwin of the UAB School of Public Health proposed to use the Evidence-Based Public Health model as a basis for the new UAB MPH Core curriculum, in response to enhanced competency requirements from the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH, the accrediting body for schools and programs of public health). Prior to his academic career, Dr. Erwin spent 16 years as the Regional Health Officer and then as the director of the East Tennessee Regional Health Office for the Tennessee Department of Health. He brings those years of public health practice experience to his work with a team of leading researchers to provide hands-on training in Evidence-Based Public Health to the public health workforce nationwide.

Evidence-Based Public Health provides the critical link between public health education, research, and practice. This model ensures that public health practitioners employ evidence-based best practices to assess the needs of communities, determine key health issues, propose appropriate programs and policies, and rigorously evaluate and effectively manage public health efforts. Through a series of courses based on the Evidence-Based Public Health model, students in the new UAB MPH Core will witness first-hand how the research expertise of our faculty gets translated into cutting-edge programs and policies that support the health and well-being of our communities. Graduates from any concentration in our Master of Public Health program will leave UAB with the core set of public health skills today’s employers demand.

“We know the Evidence-Based Public Health model is effective for the current workforce, and since the MPH is a terminal practice degree, it only makes sense to create a core curriculum that will allow our graduates to immediately make an impact towards improving the public’s health,” noted Dean Erwin.

Learn about the new courses and read the FAQs on our MPH Core Curriculum page.