Course Offerings and Schedule

Assess

This course enables students to assess health and health determinants using data and scientific research.

• 380.601.79 Critically Evaluating the Science for Policy and Practice (2 credits)
  June 2-13, 2025 | M/W/F – 10:00 a.m. - 11:50 a.m.
  Discusses sources of data and methodological approaches used in studies of maternal, neonatal, and reproductive health. Critically evaluate scientific literature in the field and the inferences that can be made from this literature. Evaluates selected research articles in maternal, neonatal, and reproductive health in global and domestic settings. Discusses policy and program implications as well.

   

Develop Policy

These courses equip students to develop and advocate for evidence-based policies to respond to population health needs.

• 380.607 Youth Voice in Public Health (1 credit)
  June 3-10, 2025 | Tues – 10:00 a.m. - 11:50 a.m.
  This is a hybrid course. Students in the 380.607.49 section of the course participate synchronously online, and students in the 380.607.11 section of the course participate synchronously onsite. All students are expected to be present and engage in course discussion during the class times indicated.
  Examines how project-based and surveillance data can be used by policymakers and program administrators to determine needed public health services for youth. Defines the major types of data available for decision making and gaps in available data systems including the determinants of health inequities. Highlights the need for young people to collect, interpret and define data for decision-making in public health and explores the developmentally appropriate conditions for authentic youth engagement in the process. Features young people and adult leaders from the Center's Youth Advisory Board in leadership roles.
   
• 380.706.79 Using Data to Inform Family Planning Policies (2 credits)
  June 3-12, 2025 | T/Th – 8:00 a.m. - 9:50 a.m.
  Introduces the strategic development, organization, and management of nationally-organized, voluntary, family planning programs in low-income countries. Covers rationales that are advanced for national family planning policies and programs; using data to identify possible interventions; and the role of evidence, ethics, and stakeholder priorities in the development of family planning policies and programs.
   
• 380.708.79 Strategic Leadership Principles and Tools for Health System Transformation in PFRH (2 credits)
  June 2-13, 2025 | M/W/F – 7:00 a.m. - 9:20 a.m.
  Introduces principles of strategic leadership in the context of facilitating health systems change in low resource settings. Introduces mental models and the household production of health, systems thinking and strategic leverage, personal mastery and commitment to change, action-learning principles and practice, shared vision and creative tension, the theory of constraints and root cause analysis, strategy design and key moves, implementation with accountability, and linking data to action. Develops leadership skills via interactive workbook exercises, small group work and class presentations.
   
• 552.622.89 Creating, Implementing and Monitoring Budgets for Projects and Programs (1 credit)
  June 2-13, 2025 | Asynchronous online course
  Creating and understanding budgets is a fundamental leadership skill. Budgets promote efficient use of resources, inform decisions about investments, and support strategic decisions aligned with organizational vision and priorities. Addresses strategies for creating budgets for projects and programs. Stresses the essential role of budgets in promoting the health of organizations and resource management. Explores how budgets are used to facilitate project and program management, including assessing whether high-quality outcomes are being achieved on time and within resource constraints or whether changes to the work plan, budget, or available resources are needed.
   

Assure

These courses discuss policy impact and methods of evaluation to assure implemented policies and programs achieve their purpose.

• 380.709.79 Introduction to Program Evaluation in PFRH (1 credit)
  June 5-17 | Th 6/5, Th 6/12, Tues 6/17  - 10:00 a.m. - 11:50 a.m.
  Are you interested to learn how to determine whether a program is effective? This course teaches students to describe a program from the lens of an evaluator and the skills and knowledge needed to conduct a program evaluation. Familiarizes students with the basic concepts of program evaluation. Teaches skills in writing goals and SMART objectives, as well as developing logic models and creating a plan for a process evaluation.

Our expert instructors are listed on the faculty page. Please go to the registration page to enroll in courses. Cost information can be found on the tuition page.

Summer Institute Student Testimonials 

"Best teaching by highly skilled and experienced faculty who are passionate about training future leaders who will make a difference. Examples are taken from real life."

"The course offered practical applications and sample critiques, allowing us to understand how theoretical knowledge can be applied in the critical evaluation of different research. This enhanced our understanding and equipped us with skills relevant to the field."

"[The strengths of this course were] the real-life practicality of the assignments and the willingness of professors to meet outside of class to offer support."