Academic Requirements
The entering Doctor of Public Health student must have completed a Master of Public Health degree from a program accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health. Previous experience in public health is desirable. Completion of the Doctor of Public Health Program requires a total of 45 credits which includes:
- Four 3-credit Foundational courses
- Four 3-credit Concentration core courses (Community Health Sciences, Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, or Epidemiology)
- Four 3-credit Elective courses
- A 3-credit Applied Practice Experience (APEx)
- Successful completion of a Qualifying Examination
- Six credits of dissertation
Complete details of doctoral program requirements are included in the SPH Doctoral Student Handbook. A description of foundation courses and concentration core courses can be found below.
Doctor of Public Health Foundation Courses
All doctoral students complete four 3-credit courses, typically in the first Fall and Spring of the program, which address doctoral-level foundational competencies.
| Course Number | Course Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| BIOS 7200 | Quantitative Research Methods for Public Health Practice | |
| PUBH 7201 | Study Design in Public Health Practice | |
| HPMG 7200 | Public Health Management and Ethics | |
| PUBH 7200 | Public Health Policy and Politics Seminar |
Doctor of Public Health Concentration Core Courses
Community Health Sciences
| Course Number | Course Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| CHSC 7201 | Qualitative Research Methods for Public Health Practice | |
| CHSC 7202 | Methods of Community Intervention and Research | |
| CHSC 7203 | Program Evaluation: Theory, Practice and Research | |
| CHSC 7204 | Seminar in Health Promotion |
Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences
| Course Number | Course Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| EOHS 7300 | Advanced Topics in Occupational Health | |
| EOHS 7202 | Advanced Topics in Risk Assessment and Management | |
| EOHS 7203 | Environmental Health Policy and Management Systems | |
| EOHS 7206 | Environmental and Occupational Epidemiology |
Epidemiology
| Course Number | Course Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| EPID 7201 | Advanced Epidemiologic Research Methods I | |
| EPID 7202 | Advanced Epidemiologic Research Methods II | |
| BIOS 7203 | Advanced Applied Regression Analysis | |
| EPID 7205 | Outbreak Investigation and Management |
Elective Courses
In addition to the required foundational and concentration core courses, students select elective courses that align with their professional goals. These electives may include concentration core courses from another doctoral concentration area or electives from other concentrations. Students must meet with their program advisor to discuss elective courses and to ensure that all prerequisites are met prior to course enrollments.
Applied Practice Experience (APEx)
During the Applied Practice Experience (APEx), students apply and translate knowledge,
theory, and skills learned in the classroom into practice within a professional public
health setting. The APEx is a planned, supervised, and evaluated field-based experience
that can take place in a variety of agencies and
organizations. Students work with preceptors and their faculty advisor to design an
APEx that will strengthen doctoral level foundational and concentration-specific public
health competencies, complement the student’s professional interests, and advance
career goals. Students typically begin planning for the APEx in the second year of
the program. Students enroll in the APEx course in the semester in which they plan
to complete all APEx requirements and after having completed at least 15 credits of
foundational and concentration core coursework. Additional details on the APEx, including
the DrPH APEx handbook can be found here.
Qualifying Examination
The purpose of the Qualifying Examination (QE) is to demonstrate mastery of the range of doctoral public health competencies covered in the DrPH curriculum. Doctoral students are scheduled to take the qualifying exam in the semester after which the following conditions are met:
- Completion of all foundation, concentration, and elective courses
- Minimum GPA of 3.0
- Completion of all APEx requirements
Additional details regarding the Qualifying Examination are found in the SPH Doctoral Student Handbook. Students enter doctoral candidacy after passing the qualifying examination.
Dissertation
The dissertation serves as the culminating project for doctoral candidates and is the final requirement for the program. During dissertation development, students apply and integrate competencies attained in the doctoral curriculum and apply them to a topic of applied public health significance. The dissertation process results in a high-quality written product and oral presentation that are consistent with advanced doctoral-level study, has practical implications for public health programs, policies, or systems, and demonstrates a student’s mastery and ability to synthesize and apply doctoral-level competencies to an applied public health issue. The dissertation can take the form of program or policy evaluations, assessment of risk and protective factors for disease or injury, development and pilot testing of public health interventions, policy analyses, needs and asset assessments, development of public health manuscripts, or other formats reflecting advanced doctoral level study. The dissertation is a multi-stage process that involves several steps, including:
- Selection of a minimum of three doctoral-level foundational and concentration competencies (with at least one from each category selected) that will be applied and synthesized in the project
- Development of a dissertation committee and identification of a committee chair
- Formal written proposal and oral defense of the proposal
- Written dissertation and oral defense of the dissertation
Requirements, expectations, and supporting details of the dissertation are provided in the SPH Dissertation Handbook.