摘要：We are transforming the educational strategy at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health guided by 5 principles: (1) development of T-shaped competencies (breadth across fields, depth in primary fields), (2) flexible and modular design accommodating different needs through the lifecycle, (3) greater experiential learning, (4) 3 levels of education (informative, formative, and transformative learning), and (5) integrated instructional design (online, in person, and in the field). We aim to create an arc of education resulting in continuous learning. We seek to bridge the research versus education dichotomy and create research–teaching congruence, adapting the values of peer review and quality assessment that we routinely accept for grant and article review to education. The past century has witnessed a momentous transformation in human health, as epitomized by the near doubling of life expectancy. Not surprisingly, there has been a concomitant explosion of interest in public health education, especially in recent years. In North America alone, over the past decade the number of Council on Education for Public Health–accredited graduate schools of public health has jumped to 52 from 32, and accredited schools and programs now number 160 and include a growing number of Council on Education for Public Health–accredited programs outside North America. There is also increasing interest in other regions of the world. As more students are attracted to the field, our mandate as educators is crucial: to pay close attention to what we teach and how we teach it. Today, however, the way we educate public health professionals falls short of the needs of a changing world. Although a large part of the progress in public health during the past century can be attributed to advances in knowledge nurtured in universities, that momentum may wane if we fail to adapt our curricula and pedagogical styles both to the new array of public health challenges that confront us (e.g., the health consequences of globalization) and to advances in cognitive science and technology—a convergence that holds substantial promise for enlivening educational experience inside and outside the classroom. To mark its centennial in 2013, the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH; recently renamed the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health) has launched a newly designed educational strategy that combines the most current insights into learning with the most far-reaching technological platforms. This includes the comprehensive redesign of the Master of Public Health (MPH), Master of Science (MS), Doctor of Public Health (DrPH), and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) programs. Our approach reflects recommendations contained in the 2010 Lancet report titled “Health professionals for a new century: transforming education to strengthen health systems in an interdependent world” 1 —the product of the Commission on Education of Health Professionals for the 21st Century, cochaired by one of us (J. F.) and Lincoln Chen. At HSPH, our goal is to deepen the educational experience by combining the values of excellence and relevance—not only for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows but also for current practitioners and leaders in a field in which learning never truly ends. Since the publication of the Lancet report, numerous educational institutions around the world have explored ways to implement its recommendations.
