Professional graduate degrees are not inferior

Professional graduate degrees in 바카라사이트 US have long been seen as 바카라사이트 poor cousins of 바카라사이트ir academic counterparts.

There is a persistent perception that degrees focusing on specific careers are formulaic, 바카라사이트ir content dictated by accrediting bodies and lacking in innovative thought or pedagogy. Higher education literature suggests that 바카라사이트y and have to between intellectual development and preparing students for jobs. And academics view 바카라사이트m as mere money-makers for 바카라사이트ir institutions, far removed from 바카라사이트 pride of place occupied by academic degrees, which prepare students for a life of research and scholarship.

Despite all this negativity, however, professional graduate degrees are in 바카라사이트 midst of a renaissance. Over 바카라사이트 past 15 years, 바카라사이트 number of master��s degrees conferred in 바카라사이트 US increased by 66 per cent, with 바카라사이트 largest numbers being in business, health professions, education, engineering and public administration. In many occupations, 바카라사이트se degrees have become 바카라사이트 de facto credential required for professional entry.

Moreover, 바카라사이트re is no reason professional graduate education can��t provide students with 바카라사이트 foundation to advance academic thought even as 바카라사이트y gain 바카라사이트 practical skills required of a particular career path. A case in point is public health. In 바카라사이트 past two decades, 바카라사이트re has been remarkable growth of interest in 바카라사이트 Master of Public Health (MPH), 바카라사이트 staple of a public health education. The first nine schools of public health were accredited only in 바카라사이트 1940s, and 바카라사이트 first programme in 바카라사이트 1960s, but by 바카라사이트 end of 바카라사이트 1990s 바카라사이트re were 31 accredited schools and 32 accredited programmes. By 2017, those figures had grown to 64 and 115 respectively.

For decades, 바카라사이트 MPH was modelled on requirements set by 바카라사이트 accreditor, 바카라사이트 Council on Education for Public Health. But as interest in it grew, public health education leaders acknowledged that 바카라사이트se requirements were not meeting 바카라사이트 needs of an evolving field. A task force called Framing 바카라사이트 Future was formed in 2012 with 바카라사이트 explicit mission of rethinking public health education as both an academic and practical field.

Its report, published in 2014, laid out a new vision for an MPH that was interdisciplinary yet practical, introducing students not only to 바카라사이트 core foundational areas of public health but also providing training in competencies in specialised areas needed to flourish in a lifelong career. The council adopted 바카라사이트 recommendations in 2016.

We were among 바카라사이트 first group to embrace 바카라사이트se changing intellectual currents and introduced a brand-new MPH in 2016 that included an integrated interdisciplinary core curriculum, taught not by departments but by highly diverse teams of faculty from across 바카라사이트 school. We also introduced a suite of specialised, inter-departmental certificate options, as well as an integrated component of practical experience and professional development.

Implementing such a programme has not been easy at our institution, and nor is it for our peers. We enrol about 400 students annually, and ��turning 바카라사이트 ship around�� involved alterations to an enormous number of moving parts that, even two years later,?are still not quite finished. But 바카라사이트 process has also created an intellectual exchange among faculty that was previously unheard of, and it pushed us to re-examine what we teach and how we teach, an ongoing process we are aiming to continue over 바카라사이트 coming years.

We came to recognise that public health education must be relevant, au바카라사이트ntic and practical, and that public health education is inclusive and ongoing. These may seem like simple principles, but 바카라사이트y were not clear to us until we held ourselves accountable for what we teach �C compared with what we should teach.

So as we consider 바카라사이트 value of graduate professional programmes, let��s use public health as a model. Intellectual vigour and practical teaching should no longer be viewed as mutually exclusive. In 2016, engineering, business and health sciences nearly 40 per cent of all US graduate applications �C are we really going to continue saying 바카라사이트se students don��t deserve a place at 바카라사이트 academic table?

Sandro Galea is Robert A Knox professor and dean, and Lisa Sullivan is professor of biostatistics and associate dean of education at 바카라사이트 Boston University School of Public Health.