Public Health

Doctor of Public Health (DrPH)

The following academic requirements apply to students matriculating in the academic year 2010/2011.

  • Completion of 28 credits of required, core DrPH Program courses
  • Completion of 4 department-required credits, 4 approved research methods elective credits, and 4 department-approved general elective credits
  • Completion of practicum
  • Comprehensive examination
  • Dissertation topic approval
  • Dissertation proposal approval
  • Oral defense of public health practice dissertation

DrPH Program Requirements

The 40-credit DrPH Program offers concentrations in International Health, U.S.-Focused Maternal & Child Health, and Social & Behavioral Sciences. Full-time students must complete the program within five years; part-time students must complete the program within seven years. Incoming students who do not hold a Master of Public Health are required to complete prerequisite coursework in Biostatistics, Environmental Health, Epidemiology, and Health Policy & Management. All DrPH students must complete the following ten core courses (28 credits total), in addition to the 0-credit practicum, and receive at least a 3.0 (B) grade in each of these classes.

DrPH Program Core 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 and 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 Public Health Practicum

Departmental Requirements

Students must complete 4 credits in their home department and 4 department-approved elective credits offered within the School of Public Health.

Departmental Course(s): The 4 credits completed in the student’s concentration focus on skills and knowledge particular to the student’s chosen concentration.

Research Methods Elective: In addition to completing the required Research Methods course (PH 852), students will also complete a 4-credit research methods elective. Students should consult with their advisor to help them choose the methods elective course that will be most applicable to their program. Students may select from a list of preapproved research methods courses. (Please see the DrPH Program Student Guidebook for the complete list of preapproved courses.) In certain cases students may petition for other courses to fulfill this requirement and, with written approval from their advisor and the Assistant Dean for Doctoral Education, may designate a different elective course.

Electives: Students will be able to choose how they wish to complete their remaining 4-credit requirement by choosing from a list of elective courses that have been approved by each home department. Students may petition to take a course that is not on the elective list by making a request to the DrPH representative in their respective departments. It is expected, though not required, that students will take these 4 credits within their home department.

International Health Course Requirements:
  • IH 888 Seminars in International Health Policy Issues

and one of the following

  • IH 795 Social Determinants: Impacts and Responses to the AIDS Pandemic (4 credits) or
  • IH 805 Controversies in Global Control and Eradication of Infectious Diseases (2 credits) or
  • IH 885 Global Trade, Intellectual Property, and Public Health (2 credits)
Maternal & Child Health Course Requirement:
  • MC 931 Maternal and Child Health Policy Seminar (4 credits)
Social & Behavioral Sciences Course Requirement:
  • SB 888 Advanced Intervention and Evaluation Research Seminar (4 credits)

Approved DrPH Electives

International Health
  • IH 820 Pharmaceutical Policy and Programming Issues for Developing Countries (4 credits)
  • IH 887 Planning and Managing Maternal and Child Health Programs in Developing Countries (4 credits)
Maternal & Child Health
  • MC 840 Women and Health Policy (4 credits)
Social & Behavioral Sciences

Electives for the Social & Behavioral Sciences concentration will be determined on a case-by-case basis. All elective choices are subject to approval by the DrPH Program department representative, Professor William DeJong, 617-414-1393.

Comprehensive Exams

Upon the completion of coursework and the practicum, students must pass both written and oral comprehensive exams. These exams are designed to evaluate students’ preparedness to undertake the work of a public health practice dissertation. The comprehensive exams are: a case study that asks students to examine alternative responses to a current public health problem and to communicate a strategic plan and a policy memo to public health and political leaders.

Dissertation

Students will prepare a dissertation demonstrating their 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 dissertation 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, or substantial legislative proposals. Students begin this academic endeavor by submitting a dissertation topic approval request to the DrPH Committee. Upon receiving approval of their topic, students then prepare and deliver a detailed written dissertation proposal and oral presentation to their doctoral dissertation committee. Once students receive the approval of their doctoral dissertation committee, they may proceed to prepare their written dissertation for its oral defense. Students must adhere to dissertation submission deadlines and requirements.