MS in Health Professions Education

The MS in Health Professions Education program offers both fully remote and face-to-face programs designed for students who are interested in building their teaching and educational skills in a medical, biomedical, or health professions field.

The goal of the master’s and certificate programs is to prepare educators in the health professions who can:

  • Design and implement innovative curricula and educational programs for learners within the health professions.
  • Demonstrate skills in a variety of classroom-based and clinical teaching methods and apply these to actively engage and support learners in a range of health professions settings.
  • Prepare, deliver, and analyze evaluations of health professions students and educational programs.
  • Provide mentorship and leadership for both educational programs and initiatives within the health professions.
  • Evaluate, synthesize, and apply educational research in various health professions educational settings.
  • Model and facilitate lifelong learning.

This program will prepare students to emerge as leaders in education in their health professions field. Students will be capable of preparing novel health professions curricula specific to local needs, including competency-based goals and objectives, innovative and proven teaching methods, and a variety of evaluations of measurable and meaningful learning outcomes. Graduates will also be capable of offering local expertise and mentorship in both classroom and clinical teaching.

The program is a 32-credit Master of Science degree that includes a 16-credit certificate program. Master’s students have the option of completing the program in one year as a full-time student, or in two to three years as a part-time student. We welcome a very broad range of health professionals, and the master’s and certificate programs are open to applicants who have already completed a degree sufficient for clinical or academic employment within a health professions field (e.g., bachelor’s degree from a nursing, physician assistant, or other clinical discipline, master’s or doctorate in a health professions field or clinical medicine, etc.). Students still in pursuit of a terminal health professions degree will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

This master’s program is designed to allow students to tailor their learning to meet their own needs and career trajectory. Students will take core classes at the BU Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine’s Graduate Medical Sciences (GMS) and at the Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development. Electives are also available through additional schools within Boston University, depending on the student’s interests. Master’s students will hone and target their skills through their practicum focused on an area of health professions education that is most relevant to their current or intended future careers. Students can choose a teaching-based, curriculum-based, or evaluation/research-based practicum. Practica will vary depending on the individual student’s needs and interests and include experiences such as clinical teaching, classroom teaching, simulation, curriculum development, instructional design, program evaluation, and educational research.

While the selection of courses toward the degree remains the same, students have the option of an in-person versus remote version with different sections for all core GMS courses.

MS in Health Professions Education

Required Courses (24 credits)

  • GMS HS 701 A1 Principles of Health Professions Education I (2 cr—face-to-face) OR GMS HS 701 OL Principles of Health Professions Education I (2 cr—remote)
  • GMS HS 702 A1 Principles of Health Professions Education II (2 cr—face-to-face) OR GMS HS 702 OL Principles of Health Professions Education II (2 cr—remote)
  • GMS HS 704 A1 Fundamentals of Learning and Teaching Modalities in Health Professions Education (2 cr—in-person) OR GMS HS 704 OL Fundamentals of Learning and Teaching Modalities in Health Professions Education (2 cr—remote)
  • GMS HS 706 A1 Intro to Research Methods in Health Professions Education (2 cr—in-person) OR GMS HS 706 Intro to Research Methods in Health Professions Education (2 cr—remote)
  • GMS HS 707 A1 Evaluation & Assessment for Health Professions Educators (2 cr—in-person) OR GMS HS 707 OL Evaluation & Assessment for Health Professions Educators (2 cr—remote)
  • GMS HS 800 A1 Practicum Seminar (2 cr—in-person) OR GMS HS 800 OL Practicum Seminar (2 cr—remote)
  • GMS HS 801/802 A1 Practicum (4 cr—in-person) OR GMS HS 801/802 OL Practicum (4 cr—remote)
  • SED CT 721 Analysis and Design of Curriculum (4 cr)
  • SED CT 750 Basic Principles for Curriculum Design and Teaching (4 cr)

Electives (8 credits)

Electives can be taken from the Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, GMS, or SPH, based on student interest. Sample electives include:

  • GMS AN 815 Scientific Writing (2 cr)
  • GMS CI 600 OL Good Clinical Practices in Clinical Research (4 cr)
  • GMS CI 675 OL Designing Clinical Research Studies (4 cr)
  • GMS MA 710 Med Anthro & Qualitative Res Method/Design (3 cr)
  • GMS MA 742 Med Anthro Design & Qualitative Data Analysis (3 cr)
  • GMS MS 600 Introduction to Leadership for Biomedical Education (2 cr)
  • GMS MS 700 Elementary Biostatistics for the Biomedical Sciences (2 cr)
  • GMS MS 706 Intro Computer Appl in Healthcare/Biomedicine (4 cr)
  • SED AP 730 OL Innovation in Higher Education (4 cr)
  • SED AP 755 OL Legal Issues in Higher Education (4 cr)
  • SED LS 690 Classroom Discourse (4 cr)
  • SED RS 652 Qualitative Research Methods (4 cr)
  • SED RS 653 Quantitative Research Methods (4 cr)
  • SED RS 751 Program Evaluation (4 cr)
  • SED SE 706 Introduction to Special Education (4 cr)
  • SPH EP 721 Survey Methods for Public Health (4 cr)
  • SPH PM 811 Health Services Research and Methods (4 cr)

Certificate in Health Professions Education

Required Courses (16 credits)

  • GMS HS 701 A1 Principles of Health Professions Education I (2 cr—face-to-face) OR GMS HS 701 OL Principles of Health Professions Education I (2 cr—remote)
  • GMS HS 702 A1 Principles of Health Professions Education II (2 cr—face-to-face) OR GMS HS 702 OL Principles of Health Professions Education II (2 cr—remote)
  • GMS HS 704 A1 Fundamentals of Learning and Teaching Modalities in Health Professions Education (2 cr—in-person) OR GMS HS 704 OL Fundamentals of Learning and Teaching Modalities in Health Professions Education (2 cr—remote)
  • GMS HS 706 A1 Intro to Research Methods in Health Professions Education (2 cr—in-person) OR GMS HS 706 Intro to Research Methods in Health Professions Education (2 cr—remote) OR GMS HS 707 A1 Evaluation & Assessment for Health Professions Educators (2 cr—in-person) OR GMS HS 707 OL Evaluation & Assessment for Health Professions Educators (2 cr—remote)
  • SED CT 721 Analysis and Design of Curriculum (4 cr)
  • SED CT 750 Basic Principles for Curriculum Design and Teaching (4 cr)