Background.  Every master’s degree candidate is required by the Administrative Board of the Graduate School to demonstrate mastery of his or her field -- hence the name of the degree -- either through a comprehensive exam (oral, written, or both) or through an alternative departmental or curricular assessment procedure.  This requirement of demonstrated mastery is a longstanding and universal tradition of graduate education, as well as a formal requirement of the Graduate School.  Accrediting bodies like the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) also require that our graduates have demonstrated their mastery of the core concepts of public health.

The Health Care and Prevention MPH concentration chooses to satisfy the comprehensive examination requirement by administering a one-day written, open-book comprehensive examination through which students can show that they have mastered the competencies taught in the Health Care & Prevention core courses.  A student's demonstration of her or his command of the field is something to be celebrated, and the comprehensive exam is one of the last opportunities to show such command of the subject matter of public health. 

Content and expectations.  The Health Care and Prevention comprehensive examination includes five questions addressing the program's core competency areas.  Students are required to complete essays that answer three of the five questions.

Passing answers will demonstrate a sophisticated and thorough grasp of the concepts, background, and tools necessary to answer the questions.  Students are welcome to consult references as they compose their answers, and should provide citations to any references they use.

Administration procedures.  Students will notify the Registrar of their intent to take the examination three weeks prior to its scheduled date of administration.

On the morning of the examination date, students will go to the Registrar's Office to pick up an envelope containing the comprehensive examination questions.

Students must return their completed examinations to the Registrar's Office before 5:00 pm, without exception.

The Director and Co-Associate Directors of the HC&P program will grade examinations and will notify students of their grades (pass or fail) within three weeks of the date of the examination.

For further information, please see p. 20 of the HC&P Student Handbook.