Doctor of Public Health (DrPH)
The Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) degree program is an interdepartmental offering intended for experienced public health professionals who seek advanced training for leadership positions in public health. The DrPH is the highest professional degree in public health. This practice-oriented degree program will train public health professionals to develop, implement, and evaluate public health programs and policies nationally and internationally. For purposes of mentoring and specialized training, applicants must identify a home department from among International Health, Maternal and Child Health, and Social and Behavioral Sciences. A full-time DrPH student with a master's degree prior to admission will be allowed a maximum of 5 years from matriculation to graduation to complete the degree program; all part-time students will be allowed a maximum of 7 years. For more information, please contact the Doctoral Education Program Manager, Sebastian T. Bach, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Coursework

The School's DrPH program requires students to complete at least 40 credits (those having prerequisites to meet will be asked to complete additional coursework). All students must complete the following courses:

PH 850 Social and Cultural Factors Affecting the Health of Populations
PH 851 Needs Assessment
PH 852 Research Methods for Public Health Practice
PH 853 Health Program Development and Management
PH 854 Program and Policy Evaluation
PH 856 Law & Ethics for Public Health Leaders
PH 857 Health Economics and Financial Management for Public Health
PH 858 Cases in Public Health Management
PH 866 Public Health Leadership Seminar
PH 986 DrPH Practicum

In addition, students will complete 4 credits in the home department into which they were admitted, a 4-credit analytic research methods elective, and a 4-credit general elective.

Students will also complete:
  • written and oral qualifying examinations;
  • public health practice dissertation; and
  • oral presentations of both the dissertation proposal and the final dissertation.
Dissertation: Each candidate will prepare a dissertation demonstrating his or her ability to analyze and solve complex practice-based problems in public health. The dissertation format will be determined in large part by the nature of the public health problem the student plans to address. The dissertation should reflect the variety of perspectives needed to analyze and ameliorate major public health problems and include explicit population-based policy and practice implications. Appropriate dissertations formats may include:
  • case-studies and policy analyses
  • development of new practice interventions
  • design and implementation of public health programs
  • program or policy evaluations
  • historical program or policy analyses
  • substantial legislative proposals
Click here to download a PDF file of the DrPH Student Guidebook.