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National Case Study Competition in Health Education®

What is the National Case Study Competition in Health Education®?

The National Case Study Competition in Health Education® (NCSCHE), Eta Sigma Gamma (ESG), the Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE), and the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc. (NCHEC) are pleased to continue their partnership to offer the 22nd National Case Study Competition again in 2027. We are committed to the tradition of providing students with a top tier professional development experience.

    • The NCSCHE® brings together student teams from colleges and universities around the country to demonstrate their ability to address a real-life public health challenge. 
    • Undergraduate student teams can have either two or three students; graduate student teams have 2 students only. Students can elect to participate in-person at the SOPHE convention in Cincinnati, or in an online Google Meet with the judges.
    • All teams must read and agree to the complete set of Guidelines for Participation, found here. This important document provides complete details on the process, expectations, judging, and presentation requirements for the event. In a nutshell (but only a PARTIAL list of the guidelines):
    • The first step is for schools wishing to participate to identify students who want to be on the team and register. Schools may register up to three teams in the undergraduate competition and three teams in the graduate level competitions. PLEASE NOTE: There is no official registration deadline, but registration IS LIMITED to the first 15 teams coming to Cincinnati and the first 10 teams indicating they’d like to participate online. That is our capacity. If a school waits too long, the event may be full by the time you try to register.
    • Three weeks prior to the competition, February 23, 2027, students and their advisor will be emailed a community-based public health education case. Students work as a team to develop a resolution to the issue and create a presentation for their panel of judges.
    • Teams will have free reign to address the issue as they see fit, but generally they are expected show competence in the NCHEC Core Competencies for a Health Education Specialist.
    • Students are given 20 minutes to present their case study resolution to a panel of judges. After presenting, teams are awarded a gold, silver, or bronze level designation based on the judges’ review of their presentation. One undergraduate level team and one graduate level team will receive the Best Program Design award based on judge feedback and scoring.



    2027 National Case Study Competition


    Registration for the 22nd annual competition will open October 20th, 2026, and remain available until all the all team slots are full.  There is no wait list. Registration is capped at 15 onsite teams in Cincinnati, and 10 online virtually presenting teams. When each location hits its cap, registration will close for that location. The registration fee for the case study competition is $300. Teams composed entirely of ESG members from a recognized ESG chapter receive a $50 discount ($250).

    This year’s in-person component of the competition will be held at the SOPHE 2027 Annual Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio. Onsite participants who travel to Cincinnati will participate on Tuesday, March 16th, 2027, between 8am and 5pm. The competition cannot promise time accommodations for travel or class schedules. Advisors are responsible for working with their teams to be in Cincinnati on Tuesday to present.

    NOTE: this is the Tuesday BEFORE the conference begins (pre-conference workshop day). 

    Teams electing to present online will present on Wednesday March 17th, 2027, between 8am and 5pm in their local time zone. 

    All teams must read and agree to the complete set of Guidelines for Participation, found here. This important document provides detail on the process, expectations, judging, and presentation requirements for the event.

    After reviewing the Guidelines for Participation, if you have questions about the competition, contact NCSCHE® Executive Director Karl Larson at ncsche@gmail.com


    Become a NCSCHE Judge! 

    The NCSCHE® competition cannot happen without the commitment of the judges who work the event every year. For a fully registered competition, the event needs 18 judges.

    1. Judges are needed for both the undergraduate and graduate student competitions.

    2. The competition will be held both onsite at the SOPHE conference in Cincinnati, OH, Tuesday, March 16, 2027 (please note this is the day BEFORE the regular conference begins) and online March 17, 2027. There are morning and afternoon sessions each day, depending on registration numbers. You may be asked to judge online even if you are in Cincinnati.

    3. We anticipate 25 teams to register this year, 15 in Cincinnati and 10 online, generating a need for 18 judges. The final number of judges assigned will depend on official registration. Three judges work each session, reviewing 4-5 student presentations, meaning we’ll need 9-12 judges onsite in Cincinnati on Tuesday March 16th (again, note this is an 8:00am start the day BEFORE the conference begins), and 6-9 judges available online on March 17th. The competition works best when we have judges from a broad spectrum of settings, including management, programming, government, and academia. Cincinnati area professionals are especially welcome to join us.

    4. Each session requires a commitment of 5 hours for judging. Onsite, the sessions run 8:00am-1:00pm, and 1:00pm-6:00pm local time. The online sessions may shift in start-finish times based on the time zone of registered teams and the judges. The 3-hour east coast/west coast time differential may require a later start and finish time for some judges.

    5. Judging is done with a very detailed evaluation rubric that is aligned with the NCHEC competencies. Scores and comments are recorded in Qualtrics. Based on judge feedback, teams will be awarded gold, silver, or bronze status, and one team from each level of competition will receive Best Program Design.

    6. Judges are assigned to only one session and will review 4-5 teams in their 5-hour block. Each judging group will have at least one experienced judge who will serve as the lead judge to assist those committing to the competition for the first time. Students present for 20 minutes. Judges have 40 minutes to discuss, and then complete the submission of scores and comments into Qualtrics.

    7. The case study is developed by the NCSCHE team. The case study writers are not judges.

    8. The case study and the evaluation rubric will be sent to you at least one week before the competition for you to become familiar. An online meeting of judges and Dr. Larson will occur Monday evening March  8, 2027. The specific time is TBD.

    9. Unfortunately, there is no pay for judging. However, judges can request a letter from Dr. Larson stating their commitment for submission to NCHEC for Category II credit, or their workplace for service documentation.

    For more information, please contact Dr. Karl Larson at NCSCHE@gmail.com OR to apply to become a NCSCHE judge,

    If you have previously completed the judging application simply include your name on the app and indicate NCSCHE already has your information.


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