Gain the academic skills needed to conduct educational research, lead educational programs, institutions, curricula, and organizations in the health and medical professions.
Health Professions Education provides the next generation of health professions faculty advanced training in education. Our graduate programs aim to provide students with the necessary tools to further develop interprofessional health profession course and curricular design, research, and assessment skills. Learners will build on existing health professional competencies gained through their professional education. Topics such as educational theory and using educational research to advance knowledge in teaching and the learning in health professions are core to this program. The primary discipline will serve as one lens through which educational theory and phenomena can be examined.
Graduates will continue their careers with the tools necessary to adequately prepare health professions students to impact the health of our diverse society.
PhD in Health Professions Education ▾
The PhD in Health Professions Education is a 60 credit, 3-year intensive doctoral program of study for health professionals who hold more than 2 years of practice experience and a master's degree or terminal professional degree equivalent. The focus is education leadership, research, and teaching skills.
The instruction will occur predominantly online utilizing distance learning technologies in addition to a mandatory on-site residency to be taken in tandem with the beginning of the program and conclusion. The mandatory In person (residency) will require students to attend four consecutive days of face-to-face lectures, training, discussions, and presentations at UMB’s campus in Baltimore, MD.
Program Completion Timeline
- The degree is designed for completion within three academic years, and its online format increases its accessibility to students.
- Participants can start the program in the fall term only.
Learn more about the PhD program in Health Professions Education
MS in Health Professions Education ▾
The MS in Health Professions Education is a 32-credit degree credential with two tracks: educational research and educational leadership. This program aims to provide students with the necessary tools to further develop interprofessional health profession course and curricular design, research, and assessment skills.
Coursework is delivered fully online and designed for full-time working professionals in healthcare, allied health, social work, pharmacy, physician assistant, and public health fields; as well as others who are integral to the healthcare educational mission.
Program Completion Timeline
- The degree is designed for completion within two academic years, and its online format increases its accessibility to students.
- Participants can start the program in the fall term only.
Health Professions Education Leadership Graduate Certificate ▾
The 12 credits earned from your certificate can be used toward the MS and PhD in Health Professions Education.
The graduate certificate in Health Professions Education Leadership is a 12-credit, four-course program offered 100% online environment. The curriculum aimes to help students gain a better understanding of how people learn, selections of instruction and assessment within curricula, the development of curriculum and other leadership theories needed to advance the field of health professions education.
Each course is 8-weeks in length, asynchronous, with instructional methods including pre-recorded lectures, readings, and reflections, along with active learning elements including discussion boards and individual and group assignments. Intentionally designed for full-time working professionals, your classmates will likely have careers in healthcare, allied health, social work, pharmacy, physician assistant, and public health fields; as well as others who are integral to the healthcare educational mission.
Program Completion Timeline
- All four courses will be offered at least once each year to enable you to complete the program in 9 months
- Although most students complete the program in 9 months, you will be allowed up to 3 years to complete the program.
Learn more about the Health Professions Education Leadership certificate.
Health Professions Education Teaching Graduate Certificate ▾
The 12 credits earned from your certificate can be used toward the MS and PhD in Health Professions Education.
The graduate certificate in Health Professions Education Teaching is a 12-credit, four-course program offered 100% online environment. This curriculum was created for students who are interested in gaining evidence-based knowledge, skills, and approaches required to teach the next generation of health professions learners.
Each course is 8-weeks in length, asynchronous, with instructional methods including pre-recorded lectures, readings, and reflections, along with active learning elements including discussion boards and individual and group assignments.Intentionally designed for full-time working professionals, your classmates will likely have careers in healthcare, allied health, social work, pharmacy, physician assistant, and public health fields; as well as others who are integral to the healthcare educational mission.
Program Completion Timeline
- All four courses will be offered at least once each year to enable you to complete the program in 9 months
- Although most students complete the program in 9 months, you will be allowed up to 3 years to complete the program.
Learn more about the Health Professions Education Teaching graduate certificate.
Professional associations for each of the Health Professions on campus were contacted, and recurring themes regarding faculty shortage concerns were evident. The National League of Nursing has studied faculty workforce issues extensively and notes that each year since 2009 an increasing number of qualified students are turned away due to faculty shortages. Furthermore, the Labor Bureau of Labor and Statistics of Employment Projections, states that for 2012-2022, 35 percent more faculty members will be needed to meet expected demand for nursing alone. Also, 10,200 current nursing faculty members are expected to retire, mostly by 2022, creating a need for 34,200 new nursing instructors.
Graduates of the degree will be prepared to apply the skills that they have acquired to employment in the academic centers, as well as local, state and government positions in healthcare and education. Graduates’ skills will be in demand. For example, the National League of Nursing has studied faculty workforce issues extensively and notes that each year since 2009 an increasing number of qualified students are turned away from programs due to faculty shortages. The Labor Bureau of Labor and Statistics of Employment Projections states that by 2022, 35% more faculty members will be needed to meet expected demand for nursing education. But nursing is not the only health profession facing these shortages. The significant growth of physician assistant (PA) programs continues to create challenges for programs and educational institutions in recruiting and retaining qualified faculty.
Based on national data collected annually by the Physician Assistant Education Association, physician assistant program directors continue to rank the lack of available applicants as a significant barrier to filling open faculty positions. Physician Assistant faculty are in high demand yet few are academically prepared for the teaching, scholarship or service expected of the professoriate. The Bureau for labor and statistics anticipates the need for Pharmacists to grow by 6%, Dentists by 19%, and Social Workers by 16% through 2026. Each year qualified applicants are turned away from training programs due to lack of faculty in these disciplines. An advanced degree in Health Professions Education can contribute to the development of faculty with the skills needed for evidence-based teaching, research, and service expected of the professoriate.
Completion of the Health Professions Education curriculum may enable graduates to use the compentencies learned to do the following in their careers:
- Demonstrate high quality and effective teaching methods.
- Demonstrate proficiency in curricula design, delivery and assessment at the course and program level
- Work effectively in cross-disciplinary teams.
- Advance education theoretical research and models, generate and disseminate scholarship of teaching and learning.
- Demonstrate the ability to integrate educational research techniques to improve and demonstrate educational program and institutional effectiveness and sustainability.
- Demonstrate academic and executive administration and leadership qualities needed to lead the program, institutions, agencies, and organizations in the health and medical professions.
- Participate in community engagement to improve educational quality.
