Abstract
BackgroundIn this paper, we describe the development process of the first undergraduate public health baccalaureate program, in the Ashkelon Academic College in Israel. Expansion of degree-granting colleges in Israel is part of the democratization of higher education providing access to and increasing educational opportunities for groups underrepresented in universities. The main objectives of the program at Ashkelon Academic College have been to open accessible and affordable career opportunities for current workers in the health system and for new entries to health careers for academic advancement in a peripheral and relatively poor region of the country.Case PresentationThe program focuses on well-established and literature-based learning goals of public health education but also includes basic medical sciences, incorporation of arts and sciences into public health, development of critical thinking and quantitative skills, experiential field learning, and integrative learning for facing global health challenges. The curricula of the program is composed of seven modules including introductory courses, methodology courses, health organization courses, epidemiology courses, courses related to core content of public health, elective courses and practicum. The first class will graduate in 2017; this will allow for final approval of the Council of Higher Education of Israel and possible revision of curriculum. A second BA program is now seeking approval in Israel and cooperation with post-graduate schools of public health is developing.ConclusionsOur program is in keeping with trends in Europe and the USA to broaden public health education, to reduce inequality of career opportunity, to expand the workforce, and to promote public health.
Highlights
ConclusionsOur program is in keeping with trends in Europe and the USA to broaden public health education, to reduce inequality of career opportunity, to expand the workforce, and to promote public health
In this paper, we describe the development process of the first undergraduate public health baccalaureate program, in the Ashkelon Academic College in Israel
Our program is in keeping with trends in Europe and the USA to broaden public health education, to reduce inequality of career opportunity, to expand the workforce, and to promote public health
Summary
Our program is still new, and we still face major challenges, in student recruitment, employment following graduation, and career development with continuation to master’s and perhaps PhD levels for which some students are showing aptitude and motivation. More than half of our current students studying who are in their final year of the program are planning to apply for master’s and hope to go onto PhD programs in existing public health schools in Israel. Our new bachelor level training in public health is consistent with similar education programs in the USA and in Europe. The University of Haifa in Israel has already applied to the CHE and is in the process of developing an undergraduate program in the field of health promotion.
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