Curriculum Modules Home ››› Sample Syllabus
A Message for Instructors
How to use this syllabus
This syllabus, based on the IRL Curriculum, is designed as a modular, adaptable resource for instructors teaching community-engaged research (CEnR) in public health and related fields. Whether you are designing a new course from the ground up or seeking to enrich an existing syllabus, this curriculum offers a rich repository of tools, frameworks, and practices.
Instructors are invited to use this syllabus and the larger curriculum in the way that best serves their students and teaching context. The full syllabus can be adopted as a stand-alone course, providing a semester-long exploration of CEnR principles and practices grounded in a decade of community-led research. Alternatively, instructors may select individual modules, topics, or resources to supplement their current courses. Each module and topic stands independently, allowing for seamless integration into existing syllabi. For example, an instructor teaching a research methods course might incorporate the module on “Power, Voice and Decision Making” to strengthen students’ understanding of community advisory boards, or a leadership course might draw from the “Systems Change and Individual Transformation” sessions to explore transactional vs. transformational relationships in leadership.
Every resource in the syllabus and the broader curriculum is intentionally aligned with the five core course objectives as well as key CEPH competencies. These include Leadership (16-17), which emphasizes creating vision and fostering collaboration; Communication (18-20), which addresses audience-appropriate strategies for sharing research results; Interprofessional Practice (21), which prepared students for cross-sectoral and interdisciplinary collaboration; and Systems Thinking (22), which equips students to understand the complex, interconnected systems that shape health equity.
We hope this syllabus and curriculum serve as living resources—ones that evolve with each instructor’s wisdom and each student’s engagement. May it support you in preparing the next generation of researchers to work in authentic, equitable, and transformative partnership with communities.
