Quality Improvement Track

Highlights

Our full-time Quality Improvement Track integrates rigorous academic coursework with professional healthcare employment (supported by CPT), preparing graduates to lead QI initiatives, strengthen health systems, and improve outcomes in clinical and community settings. Graduates will emerge as nursing leaders who can apply systems thinking to identify care gaps, design and evaluate evidence-based improvement initiatives, use data to drive decisions, collaborate with stakeholders, and foster a culture of continuous improvement in healthcare organizations.

Key Features of the Track

• Full-Time Enrollment with Work Integration

  Students are required to maintain full-time student status while working in healthcare settings throughout the program. This structure allows nurses to integrate academic learning with professional practice. Working as a licensed nurse in a U.S. hospital, under Curricular Practical Training (CPT) authorization, is a required element of this program.

• Quality Improvement - Focused Curriculum

  The curriculum combines foundational MPH coursework (epidemiology, biostatistics, environmental health, research methods, program evaluation, health policy, and social/behavioral sciences) with a specialized sequence in Quality Improvement in Public Health. Students explore QI methodologies, system analysis, and leadership strategies to improve healthcare delivery and population outcomes.

• Applied and Experiential Learning

  Core courses, such as Community Health Promotion – QI, Quality Improvement in Public Health, and the four-part Clinical Reflections series, guide students in applying QI tools within both clinical and community contexts. Weekly reflective practice, mentorship with public health leaders, and direct engagement with system-level challenges help students link theory to practice.

• Innovative Electives

  Courses like Storytelling for Quality Improvement and Systems Change equip students with communication and advocacy skills to drive change through narrative and leadership.

• Capstone Experience

  The program culminates in a Public Health Field Study (PBHC 600), where students design, implement, and evaluate a quality improvement initiative, integrating their academic learning with field-based leadership.