Certificate in Methods in Monitoring and Evaluation

Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) is critical as donors, governments, and other relevant stakeholders attempt to validate their investments and improve public health program performance. Students with a Certificate in Methods in M&E can expect to acquire the necessary skills to assess the performance, effectiveness, and impact of global public health programs. The courses offered will enable students to work effectively with global public health organizations involved with M&E and program implementation. The Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine is recognized for its expertise in M&E, and for producing students with strong marketable skills in this area. Students with this certificate will be prepared for jobs within the public and private sector that focus on M&E across a broad range of public health areas. Jobs in this area include M&E specialists and advisors, technical advisors, data analysts and program managers.

Offered by: Tropical Medicine

Faculty Lead:  Josh Yukich, PhD

Methods in M&E Certificate Enrollment Form

Certificate Purpose

Students will meet the following learning objectives to earn a certificate in M&E:

  1. Utilize and apply the basic terminology and definitions of M&E including basic epidemiological measurements, impact evaluation, indicators, precision, bias, internal and external validity, logical frameworks and public health program goals, measurable objectives, inputs, outputs, outcomes and impacts;
  2. Calculate basic measures commonly used in M&E;
  3. Draw appropriate inferences from M&E data;
  4. Work with stakeholders to conduct evaluations and improve programs; and
  5. Communicate M&E information and findings to other lay and professional audiences.

Eligible Students

Students enrolled in a MPH, MSPH, MPH&TM degree program at Tulane SPHTM.

Certificate Competencies

Students obtaining a certificate in M&E can expect to acquire teh following competencies:

  • Understand the theory and role of M&E of global public health programs, and explain the importance of M&E data for informing public health programs and decision making (courses providing competencies include GCBH 6280, GHSD or GCHB 6270, and TRMD 6200);
  • Ability to monitor and assess the implementation, effectiveness, and impact of public health programs (courses providing competencies include: GHSD or GCHB 6270, TRMD 6200, TRMD 7440, GCHB 8250, BIOS 6040, BIOS 6800, EPID 7120); and
  • Ability to work effectively with donors, governments, implementing organizations and other relevant stakeholders to validate investments and improve global public health program performance (courses providing competencies include: GCHB 6270 and TRMD 6200).

Number of Credits Required for Completion: 15

Prerequisite Courses
  • BIOS 6030 Introduction to Biostatistics
  • EPID 6030 Introduction to Epidemiology

Plus one of the following:

  • EPID 6230 Computer Packages for Epidemiology
  • BIOS 6230 Computer Packages for SAS
  • BIOS 6270 Introduction to R
  • BIOS 6280 Introduction to STATA
Required Courses
  • GCHB 6270 Monitoring of Program Intervention in Global Health (Spring)* 3
  • IHSD 6200 Evaluation of Program Intervention in Global Health (Spring Period 2)* 3 or TRMD 6200 Impact Evaluation in Global Health (Fall)* 3
  • EPID 7120 Epidemiological Methods II (Fall and Spring)** 3
    • Prerequisites: BIOS 6030 and EPID 6030, and one of the following: EPID 6230, BIOS 6230, BIOS 6280
  • BIOS 6040 Intermediate Biostatistics (Fall and Spring)** 3
    • Prerequisites: BIOS 6030 and EPID 6030, and one of the following: EPID 6230, BIOS 6230, BIOS 6270, BIOS 6280

In addition to the main requirements of the certificate as stated above, students are expected to take three additional credits in a topical area relevant to M&E. These three credits, which may be made up of one or several courses determined and documented in advance ,in collaboration with the certificate leader, are intended to provide deeper and/or topic specific training in an area relevant to M&E. This training might come in the form of measurement in a topical area, additional methodological training appropriate for M&E experts, or in applications of M&E approaches to specific public health problems or areas. Examples of classes include GCHB 8250 Advanced Research Methods in Global Health, TRMD 7440 Household Sampling Applications in Developing Countries, and GCHB 7140 Monitoring and Evaluation of HIV/AIDS Programs. These credits will enrich this largely methods focused certificate by providing additional training in th.e M&E of a topical area of interest to the student and/or by expanding their knowledge of relevant M&E methods.

Students should consult with their academic advisor to determine which certificate best fits their professional and academic goals and how best to plan their graduate course schedule.