Over the years, IUCEA has developed a Regional Quality Assurance System that seeks to harmonize the quality of higher education in East Africa, and the development of benchmarks is an important component of this System. The Regional Quality Assurance System is one of the key pillars in the realization of the East African Common Higher Education Area.

The benchmarks for Master’s degree in One Health programme contained herein have been developed as one of the set milestones for the development of programme benchmarks. The main objective of benchmarks in One Health is to provide a baseline for comparability of the Master in One Health programme and its graduates within and outside the East Africa Community, by harmonizing practice in the region. The benchmarks developed are neither prescriptive nor absolute standards; they serve as a yardstick or a point of reference for curriculum developers.

This document has been structured into three (3) parts:  Part 1: presents the background, objectives, and justification of the benchmarks in One Health. It also describes the benchmarks development process. Part 2: prescribes how the benchmarks should be used, focusing on benchmarks and qualifications, benchmarks and curriculum design, and benchmarks and quality assurance. Part 3: provides a detailed description of the Master’s degree programme in One
Health, focusing on the goals, expected learning outcomes, and course content.