EXPERIENTIAL COMMUNITY-IMMERSIVE LEARNING
Public health competency-based curriculum for developing world health challenges & solutions

•    GLOBAL FACULTY AND PRACTITIONERS
From universities such as Harvard University, Stanford University, McGill University, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, University of New South Wales, Makerere University, Griffith University, The American University of Paris, and nationally reputed institutions such as BRAC and International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr'b) and others

•    A GLOBAL CLASSROOM OF PUBLIC HEALTH LEARNERS
Over 600 graduates from 34 countries since inception in 2005

•    INNOVATIVE PUBLIC HEALTH LEARNING METHODOLOGIES
Cutting-edge, real-world applied learning through rigorous urban and rural fieldwork

•    PUBLIC HEALTH COMPETENCY-BASED LEARNING
Simulating, practising and using real-world public health skills within diverse public health contexts

•    POST-MPH EMPLOYMENT AND HIGHER STUDIES
Graduates are recruited by NGOs and INGOs, UN organizations and academic institutions across the globe. Over 60 graduates enrolled or completed doctoral and postdoctoral studies at leading universities

•    HEALTH SERVICE DELIVERY AND LEARNING LABS
Learning opportunities at clinics, district hospitals, and communities in urban and rural areas are made possible through partnerships with various entities such as the government, private sector, NGOs, and health programs covering different areas such as maternal and child health, tuberculosis, WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene), and climate change

To effectively tackle the current and emerging 21st-century public health challenges, students must equip themselves with the precise public health technical, “soft” and managerial skills demanded. BRAC JPGSPH’s Experiential Community-Immersive Teaching and Innovative Learning Methodologies form a Public Health Competency-based Curriculum to develop the following Professional Skills:

Public Health Technical Competencies:

■ Basic Epidemiology, Biostatistics, Applied Medical Anthropology
■ Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Research Methodology
■ Data Analysis and Interpretation
■ Literature Review
■ Public Health Ethics
■ Community Need Assessment   

Public Health Soft Skills:

■ Public Health Empathy
■ Self-Reflective
■ Self-Management
■ Learning Aptitude
■ Cross-cultural
■ Teamwork and Collaboration
■ Critical Thinking
■ Problem-Solving
■ Basic Writing and Presentation 

Public Health Management Competencies:

■ Basic Community-Centric Design
■ Systems and Solutions Thinking
■ Monitoring and Evaluation
■ Service-Delivery Conceptual
■ Basic Human Resources Conceptual, Budgeting, and Marketing-Communications
■ Conceptual Skills

Post-MPH Employment

Graduates have been recruited by international and national public health organizations including:


From ministries to universities, NGOs to UN agencies, the MPH alumni from BRAC JPGSPH are contributing to public health all over the world. The MPH alumni hold high-ranking positions in these organizations such as:

o    Public Health Specialist
o    Health Program Manager
o    Epidemiologist
o    Research Scientist
o    Data Analyst
o    Medical Officer
o    Health Policy Advisor
o    Global Health Consultant
o    Public Health Researcher
o    Director of Health Programs

Graduates have enrolled in or completed doctoral and post-doctoral studies at leading institutions including:

The MPH program at BRAC JPGSPH begins in January and is a full-time course lasting 12 months. It is designed to provide students with a comprehensive education, as it consists of 51 credits. These credits are divided between 15 core courses and 1 Summative Learning Project (SLP) or dissertation. This structure ensures that students receive a well-rounded education, covering the essential knowledge and skills in the field, as well as opportunities for independent and in-depth study through the SLP or dissertation. The full-time nature of the program and its 12-month duration make it an intensive and challenging course, but also one that offers a fast track to professional development and career advancement.

Here is a breakdown of the courses.

MPH 501: Introduction to Public Health (2 credits)
This course introduces the vision, values and community-centred ethos of 21st-century developing country public health needs, and a holistic model of health, with personal health as a critical dimension of public health and its complementarity with social dimensions of health. There is intensive urban and rural public health context learning and groups of students work to find solutions to public health problems.

BRAC Health Management Experiential Learning
The experiential learning exercise engages students to apply their Public Health vision, values, practices, and community-centered ethos to real-world rural health program management. Students will now leverage their accumulated community-health learnings to practically comprehend the service delivery and related management functions within BRAC Health’s Maternal, Neonatal, Child, Adolescent Health (MNCAH) program.

MPH 512: Anthropological Approaches to Public Health (3 credits)
In this course, students critically explore how elementary personal, gender, cultural and socio-economic perceptions influence contemporary developing world health environments. In particular, how indigenous and biomedical approaches to health and well-being promote or constrain community health outcomes. The course challenges conventional biomedical notions of health with more holistic conceptions which include emotional, mental and spiritual dimensions of health. The course takes on a solution centric approach whereby the sessions are designed around working with communities and the development of innovative small-scale solutions, which engage students in learning by doing.

MPH 511: Qualitative Research Methods (2 credits)
Employing a “learning by doing” approach, this course enables students to practically apply critical concepts of applied anthropology and the tools for designing qualitative inquiry in public health. Students hone critical skills in formulating research questions, identifying what kinds of methods are best suited to address these questions and analyzing, interpreting and communicating qualitative research findings. Practical skills in planning and conducting various qualitative methods are developed through classroom instructions and hands-on exercises. Systematic approaches to writing and organizing field notes, coding and analyzing qualitative data, and assessing the validity of qualitative findings, are also emphasized.

MPH 522: Epidemiology (3 credits)
This course is designed as an intensive, hands-on learning experience that will foster the development of basic skills in epidemiology. Students will build and refine methodological skills and epidemiological reasoning through a process of scientific inquiry into public health issues with the goal of developing problem-solving skills for improving the health of the global population.

MPH 521: Biostatistics (3 credits)
This course is intended to provide the basic and intermediate foundations of biostatistics as applied to public health. The students will learn various statistical theories and how to apply those theories to public health problem-solving and inquiry. They will also learn how to use statistical software STATA to obtain statistical output, interpret statistical output, and present it in scientific literature.

MPH 520: Quantitative Research Method (3 credits)
Students learn how to use and apply epidemiological, statistical and quantitative research tools on public health problems through practical case studies, both global, and local, and critical analysis of data sets on real-world health problems. Students visit the field for their learning.

MPH 530: Health Systems Management & Experiential Learning (5 credits)
This course provides students with diverse frameworks, and global and local cases to examine the complexities of pluralistic health systems. Community-centric approaches, leadership and management, program management of facilities, policies, budgets, public health diplomacy and core management functions and health facilities operations are integrated into this module. Fieldwork is dedicated to learning from different health facilities. Students solve problems and work on innovative simple solutions to improve maternal, neonatal and child health (MNCH) service delivery.

MPH 531: Health Economics & Health Care Financing (2 credits)
Students are exposed to concepts on health economics and healthcare financing, and as part of the contextual learning, evaluate the impact of health insurance schemes on disadvantaged communities. Using a community-centred and pro-equity approach, students produce an innovative solution model on insurance package options for the poorest.

MPH 691: Monitoring and Evaluation of Public Health Programs (1 credit)
This course provides students with the ability to understand key concepts and professional skills to monitor and evaluate a public health problem. Core components covered are monitoring and evaluation, indicators, design, data collection and analysis and how to integrate real-time information into program implementation. Students visit and review selected programs and visit sites run by BRAC.

Certificate Course: Introduction to Implementation Research
The Introduction to Implementation Research Module orients the learners to the concept of Implementation Research (IR) and its use in understanding and addressing barriers to effective and quality delivery of health interventions and strategies and policies in the health systems. In particular, this module offers an introductory understanding of the concepts, process, key practical issues and considerations related to designing and implementing implementation research. Applied skills related to planning and implementing implementation research are developed through case-based interactive group exercise and discussion.

MPH 620: Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases (3 credits)
Students are oriented to numerous important viral and bacterial diseases, distribution, surveillance and control strategies prevalent in developing countries. Through experiential hands-on learning, students undertake field visits to icddr,b’s famous Matlab surveillance area and BRAC’s globally recognized DOTS Tuberculosis & Malaria Control program, to learn implementation of epidemiological studies on infectious diseases.

MPH 690: Principles of Health Communications (1 credit)
Key concepts in public health and communications, marketing theories and its practical application in the health sector is taught in this course. Public health communications practitioners working in development agencies are interviewed to understand key lessons and challenges in a changing digital technology and social media world.

MPH 660: Gender Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (2 credits)
Students learn global and local anthropological and epidemiological theories, concepts and evidence on how social, political and economic factors impact gender, sexual and reproductive health and sexuality and rights. For the MNCH component, students visit a hospital and investigate particular bottlenecks and develop solutions.

Program Management Learning
Students aim at understanding Respectful Maternity Care (RMC) Practice, ANC service and environment of the Labor Ward at Upazila Health Complex (UHC) and design a pilot project for a solution on a focused component to improve RMC practice at UHC level.

MPH 670: Public Health Nutrition (2 credits)
This course introduces global and local contexts of child and maternal nutrition and the prevention and management of nutrition in public health programs. Fieldwork provides an opportunity for students to utilize their basic research skills and reflect on program successes and challenges of managing malnutrition by interviewing patients and service providers at icddr,b hospital facilities.

MPH 681: Aging and Health (2 credits)
Concepts on non-communicable diseases, ageing populations, and implications of ageing populations for developing countries and service delivery needs are taught in this course. Students visit and interview aged care service providers working in NGOs, the Government of Bangladesh and the private sector.

MPH 541: Environment, Health and Climate Change (3 credits)
This course familiarizes the students with the nexus between environment and health, and the emerging challenges of climate change and disaster management for vulnerable populations. Case studies and field exposure directly relevant to developing country contexts are covered. Field visits are made to urban industrial catchment and riverbank areas to understand community needs and interventions required.

MPH 700: Summative Learning Project (SLP) (14 credits)
As the culminating learning project, groups of students work on a public health area, undertaking primary research on or evaluation of a program, to understand key public health problems and find solutions.

The MPH programme at BRAC JPGSPH commences in January and is a full-time course lasting 12 months. It is designed to provide students with a comprehensive education, as it consists of 51 total credits. These credits are divided between 15 core courses and 1 Summative Learning Project (SLP) or Dissertation. This structure ensures that students receive a well-rounded education, covering the essential knowledge and skills in the field, as well as opportunities for independent and in-depth study through the SLP or Dissertation. The full-time nature of the program and its 12-month duration make it an intensive and challenging course, but also one that offers a fast track to professional development and career advancement.

Here is a breakdown of the courses.

Supporting learning

BRAC JPGSPH is dedicated to aid the learning process of its students. The school provides various kinds of support to students who are struggling with particular modules/courses or who are facing particular circumstances that may make academic success more challenging. BRAC JPGSPH students have access to the following aid:

- Learning development tutors
- Tutorials
- Library support
- Support with English
- Academic skills support
- Wellbeing and mental support