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Home » Degrees » Doctorate » DRPH

Explore Doctor of Public Health Programs (PhD & DPH)

Pursuing higher positions in public health can prove to be beneficial for individuals with leadership characteristics. Those in public health that seek the most out of their degree should consider enrolling into Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Public Health or Doctorate of Public Health (DrPH) in Public Health programs across the country.

The Doctorate of Public Health (DrPH) and the PhD in Public Health are advanced terminal degrees for public health, meant for experienced public health professionals that already have their Masters in Public Health (MPH) or similar degree. Specific degree nomenclature varies based on university and specific public health school. Some offer DPH degrees, while other universities name the terminal degree PhD in Public Health, Doctorate in Public Health, or Doctoral Public Health.

These terminal degree programs in public health can prepare learners for careers in research, education, or even management within the public health sector. Graduate level public health specialists are in great need across the country to assist with nationwide epidemic research as well as the implementation of vital government programs.

George Washington University

School of public health.

Earn your DrPH online from the George Washington University. Our CEPH-accredited program combines interactive, online classes and an on-campus immersion to prepare you to become a thought leader. You will graduate poised to shape public health policy, programs, and initiatives in the U.S. and worldwide. No GRE required.

• Complete the online DrPH program in as few as 36 months. 
• The online DrPH program is CEPH accredited. 
• No GRE required.

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PhD in Public Health vs. Doctor of Public Health

A PhD in Public Health will be focused on developing the skills needed to become an advanced researcher. The understanding of research theories and methodologies is an important part of this degree. Even though a PhD in Public Health is more narrowly focused, it lends itself to careers in various health sectors, such as academia, governmental agencies, and pharmaceutical companies.

A DrPH is an advanced graduate-level degree that focuses on the professional and practical elements of the field, rather than the academic. It is designed for public health practitioners and is geared towards practice and fieldwork. It is multidisciplinary and will cover everything from communications and marketing to advocacy and economics. It was developed to train students and practitioners for careers in public health leadership. 

Both the DrPH and PhD have career options in academia available to them. These two degrees are suited for individuals who have received an MPH or another graduate-level degree and have worked in their field for a number of years. The DrPH is ideal for the public health practitioner looking to advance their career to positions needing additional education. The PhD may suit an individual earlier on in their career who is looking to embed themselves in a career of research.

What are the Typical Pre-Requisites of a DrPH/PhD Degree?

As mentioned above, the prerequisites for advanced degrees require a master’s degree and post-graduate work experience. For some programs, if an individual applying does not have their master’s in public health they will require master’s level classes in public health up to a certain amount of credit hours. A recent Graduate Record Exam (GRE) score is often required along with academic transcripts. An additional requirement for admittance into a Doctorate program is a personal statement or statement or purpose.

Concentration Options for a DrPH/PhD

The degree options for a DrPH or a PhD become more specialized within those concentrations. Those receiving their PhD in public health will have to pick a program by the department they wish to specialize and conduct research in. This could be Health Policy and Administration, Health Economics, Health Systems, etc. A DrPH will also specialize by department, but will often pick from the core public health concentrations (Epidemiology, Environmental Health, etc.) along with a few additional departments (i.e. International Health and Social and Behavioral Sciences).

Online Doctor of Public Health Options

Entering the right educational program is important to the success of a career. Students that are interested in obtaining their degree online should research their chosen school’s accreditation status prior to applying. Since this program is highly research-oriented, learners are expected to take part in a lot of independent learning in an online environment.

Online Doctorate programs will have the same requirements and courses as a traditional degree. Online programs allow for greater flexibility with work and family life but also require self-discipline and accountability. Some online programs will require site visits to the campus or alternate sites for orientations, leadership development, adviser meetings, etc. Classes will be taught online either through live streams or recorded video. Online discussion forums and group work are also the main parts of the online curriculum. A dissertation is still a requirement for online doctorate programs and it may be required that it is presented in person.

Typical Curriculum & Classes

In general, the DrPH degree curriculum will consist of core courses, research courses, and a culminating project such as a capstone course, dissertation, or thesis. The core courses, much like the MPH, will cover the main concentrations in Public Health (Epidemiology, Biostatistics, Environmental Health, Health Policy, etc.) and will also include statistics and data management. Each of these classes are taught with a focus on Leadership and Organization. Additional classes may include:

• Marketing and Public Relations
• Community and Cultural Understanding

These will guide the focus of the degree. A Dissertation or thesis is often required at the end of each semester, year or at the end of the program.

PhD in Public Health

The PhD in Public Health is much less straightforward and will vary significantly from program to program and within degrees. A PhD in Public Health is much more research-based and will cover topics ranging from disease and injury prevention to health informatics and communication. Many schools do not offer a PhD in Public Health per se, but in Health Policy, Bioethics, Environmental Health Sciences, Chronic Disease Epidemiology, etc. Each of these is rooted in public health but are much more focused in their scope. Because of this, classes and curriculum will be much more focused and centered around research.

Different Career Opportunities

After completing a DrPH or Ph.D. in Public Health, graduates may seek out positions in government agencies, healthcare facilities, or even community organizations. Professionals at this level have the capacity to become instructors of public health at universities, researchers for public health associations, and directors of nonprofit agencies.

Having a doctorate degree in this discipline gives learners the most education available for this field. With a Ph.D. in Public Health, professionals in the field may have access to careers working with government organizations in the planning, implementation, and training of important public health procedures. Organizations, such as  American Public Health Association ,  accept members that are in public health careers that desire to communicate their studies and policies on different platforms. Getting involved with a society such as this one can allow professionals to spread their work to educational and professional settings across the country.

Information updated as of April 2020

Santa Clara University

The jesuit university in silicon valley.

The Public Health Program strives to positively impact the health of our university community, and the health of communities beyond the university. Our faculty, staff, and students are committed to working with campus, regional, and global partners to identify and characterize challenges to human health, develop innovative research and intervention strategies, and advocate for social changes that will lead to a more human, just, and sustainable world.

About Our Program

The Public Health Program in the College of Arts and Sciences offers the bachelor of science degree in public health science. The program also offers a minor degree in public health, and manages the Global Health Pathway of the University Core.

The public health science (PHS) major is an interdisciplinary degree focused on the health of human populations and individuals. Students will gain a solid foundation in biology and chemistry to understand the functioning of the human body in health and disease. The major further explores the influences of environmental and social factors on human health through required and elective public health courses, as well as relevant courses in the social sciences and humanities. Through the senior capstone and mandatory internship, PHS majors engage in health-focused service and research projects that apply their education to real-world public health problems, and integrate learning across disciplines. Students are encouraged to study abroad to gain perspective on global health issues.

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UC Davis Graduate Studies

Public health sciences (phd), about the program, learn more about the program.

The PhD program in Public Health Sciences trains students to become experts in generating, through scholarly research, new knowledge about health and disease prevention and effective programs in public health. Graduates will be equipped with the means to communicate and disseminate this new knowledge. The program educates students in research design, implementation, analysis and public health practice, and teaches effective ways to disseminate scholarly findings and implement evidence-based, effective public health programs.

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UC Davis General Admission Requirements Program Admissions Requirements

Admissions Actions

Program contact information, primary program contacts.

Program Coordinator Kristyn Keylon [email protected]

Additional Contacts

Advisor: General Deborah Bennett Public Health Sciences (530) 754-8282 | [email protected]

Advisor: Admissions and General Marcella Gonsalves Public Health Sciences (530) 752-0849 | [email protected]

Advisor: Admissions and Primary Contact Brad Pollock Public Health Sciences [email protected]

Advisor: General David Rocke Public Health Sciences (530) 752-6999 | [email protected]

Senior Academic Advisor Brittney Dinelli [email protected]

PhD in Public Health

The Departments of Population Health and Disease Prevention and Health Society and Behavior jointly offer a unique, research training doctorate degree, culminating with a PhD in Public Health with concentrations in biobehavioral mechanisms of health, disease prevention, or global health. Admitted students will have the opportunity to conduct research with top-tier faculty on the biopsychosocial determinants of health status of populations, and the translation of such knowledge to improve health and prevent disease and disability.

Graduates of the PhD program will be prepared for independent and collaborative research careers, and to teach at advanced levels of instruction. Students who complete the research training program will create new knowledge through a deep understanding of the theoretical underpinnings of public health challenges, research methods, and their application to contemporary and emerging trends in public health.

Students enrolled in the PhD in Public Health must choose a concentration in one of the following concentrations: Biobehavioral Mechanisms of Health, Disease Prevention, or Global Health.

In most cases, students will have a primary faculty mentor from the core faculty from either the Department of Health Society & Behavior or Department of Population Health and Disease Prevention. However, students are encouraged to work with a variety of core and affiliated faculty.

Students enrolled in the PhD in Public Health are required to serve as Teaching Assistants in public health courses for two quarters during their graduate study. Teaching is an important component of graduate training, as it helps graduate students learn how to communicate effectively about their field of knowledge. In addition, teaching experience is valuable to those planning for a career in academia. Graduate students with comparable prior teaching experience (e.g., through postgraduate degrees earned at UC Irvine or other comparable institution) may request a waiver of the teaching requirement.

The following faculty mentors are accepting students for the Fall 2024 admissions cycle.

Concentrations

The focus of the PhD concentration in Biobehavioral Mechanisms of Health is to train excellence in research to discover the pathways and mechanisms linking social and psychological factors with biological processes and physical health. Biobehavioral research considers psychological, social and cultural, and biological processes that underlie health outcomes, with a strong emphasis on neuroimmune pathways, autonomic nervous system physiology, neuroscience, and human genomics. A focus on biobehavioral mechanisms of health incorporates the potential for contextual influences, psychological stress processes, and biological systems to influence health. It bears the potential to help solve our most pressing public health problems.

Learning Objectives:

• Demonstrate knowledge of the major theoretical and methodological underpinnings of advances in biobehavioral health research.
• Integrate theory and research methods to identify, assess, and alter biobehavioral pathways to health.
• Analyze interrelationships among social, psychological, and biological factors impacting health and illness.
• Formulate research hypotheses in the intersection of biobehavioral health mechanisms and public health.
• Compose research proposals and conduct original research resulting in discoveries that contribute to improved understanding of the role of biobehavioral mechanisms of health in specific populations, with the goals of applying the knowledge to public health.

Please note that the Biobehavioral Mechanisms of Health concentration is not yet accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health.

The focus of the PhD concentration in Disease Prevention is to train excellence in research to discover insights into how human behavior, social constraints, and other contextual factors influence strategies to prevent disease in populations that are vulnerable to risk factors. The program emphasizes the ecological model of disease prevention, with research hypotheses emerging through multi-layered analysis of determinants of health status, including individual, interpersonal, organizational, community, and overarching policy. Students generate the hypotheses for their research in the nexus of risk factors, health behavior, and vulnerable populations.

• Demonstrate knowledge of the major theoretical underpinnings of strategies for disease
• Explain the relationship between theory and research methods focused on understanding the association of risk, behavior, and vulnerability with respect to disease pathways.
• Analyze interrelationships among the determinants of illness and maladaptive health behaviors using theories of health
• Formulate research hypotheses in the intersection of health risk factors, health behavior, and health promotion and policies toward disease
• Compose research proposals and conduct original research resulting in discoveries that contribute to improved understanding of the role of behavior and health promotion strategies in mitigating the vulnerability to health risk factors in specific populations, with the goals of applying the knowledge to disease prevention.

The focus of the PhD concentration in Global Health is to train excellence in research through engagement in hypothesis-driven projects to investigate the global context of disease burden and the improvement of population health status. The program will attract candidates who seek to analyze problems at the intersection of risk, vulnerability, and disease. Activities may include investigation of strategies to make research results that have already produced benefits in one country or region effective in underprivileged regions. The program trains students in integrative expertise essential for global health research with hypotheses in the nexus of content (risk analysis), context (vulnerability assessments), and process (translation of knowledge to reduce the burden of disease).

• Demonstrate knowledge of the major theoretical underpinnings of advances in global health
• Explain the relationship between theory and research methods focused on understanding the association of risk, vulnerability, and outcome in global
• Compare and contrast the health status of different populations with respect to their burden of
• Formulate research hypotheses in the intersection of risk factors, vulnerable populations, and burden of
• Compose research proposals and conduct original research resulting in discoveries that contribute to improved understanding of risk factors and variations in disease burden in a population, and strategies to alleviate the burden at the global level.

Time to Degree

It is expected that students will need 5 years to complete the program.

Career Opportunities

The PhD in Public Health prepares graduates to initiate independent and collaborative research careers in academic institutions, to teach at advanced levels of instruction, and to lead research efforts at agencies dedicated to public health at all levels of organization. Graduates of the PhD in Public Health will gain employment at research universities, government agencies, or private sector organizations including research institutes, hospitals, and public health foundations. 

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Public Health Graduate Program

Public Health graduate training is designed to promote and protect health in the San Joaquín Valley and the world through research and action, including preparing the next generation of public health professionals and leaders. Public Health at UC Merced is a vibrant and collegial intellectual community, marked by outstanding scholarship and participation in interdisciplinary communities of inquiry.

UC Merced and the Public Health Ph.D. program are committed to the success and support of our graduate students . All admitted doctoral students receive generous funding packages , and with the lowest cost of living across the UC system, funding stretches further at UC Merced — allowing our students to focus on research and a timely completion of degree. We welcome applications from students from non-traditional backgrounds, including first-generation students and those from minoritized racial/ethnic and cultural backgrounds. We have provided in-depth resources to help prospective students understand and navigate the process of selecting and applying to graduate school.

To apply, visit the UC Merced Graduate Division website .

For other inquiries please contact our Graduate Group Chair, Professor Sidra Goldman-Mellor, at [email protected] .

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University of California Schools of Public Health

Want to drive public health solutions for some of the world’s toughest problems? We’re ready for you.

Through their expertise, research and government advisory roles, UC public health faculty and alumni are among the leading voices in the field. Many of our faculty, centers and institutes regularly conduct policy-shaping research.

Whether you want to focus on community health, environmental health, epidemiology, biostatistics or health policy and management, UC public health programs will equip you to lead responses to critical public health issues.

Critical Need for Public Health Expertise

Public health creates the conditions that enable individuals and communities to remain healthy and free of disease. Public health careers can involve scientific research, community engagement, raising awareness of health risks and advocating for improved safety conditions or healthy food.  

Identifying and responding to health inequities driven by socioeconomic, geographic, occupational and educational factors is central to public health research and impact. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for greater reinvestment in public health workers. Additionally, climate change, social inequality, chronic diseases — all require public health to be an integral part of creating and driving solutions for our world.  

UC prepares our public health students to meet today’s most pressing needs — and to shape our global responses to them in the future.  

Leading California — and the Nation

Our public health schools and programs are among the top in the U.S., according to U.S. News & World Report .

UC Berkeley

#8 Graduate School of Public Health

#19 Department of Public Health Sciences (tie)

#31 Program in Public Health (tie)

#10 Graduate School of Public Health

*UC Davis offers degrees in departmental public health program vs. a School of Public Health; UCI recently received accreditation as a School of Public Health.

Degree Programs Offered Across the UC System for Public Health

*UC Davis offers degrees in departmental public health programs rather than a School of Public Health; UCI recently received accreditation as a School of Public Health. 

Our Schools of Public Health

Our Schools of Public Health offer a variety of public health degree tracks, including in biostatistics and environmental health sciences.

UC Berkeley Public Health

For more than 75 years, Berkeley Public Health has been changing the world through groundbreaking research, world-class education and community-engaged action — working with networks across the state and worldwide, including partnerships with UCSF. In the coming decade, Berkeley Public Health is going all in to tackle four of the most pressing public health problems of our time: climate change, pandemic outbreaks, chronic diseases and social inequality. Berkeley Public Health offers online degree programs.

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UC San Diego Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science (HWSPH)

The UC San Diego Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science was established in 2019 and built upon a robust, decades old program in public health. The school has vibrant diversity among the students and faculty and has particular focuses in behavioral medicine, biostatistics and bioinformatics, epidemiology, global health, health policy, health equity, public mental health, and climate and environmental health — as well as several degree programs with incredible research training opportunities.

UCLA Fielding School of Public Health

The UCLA Fielding School of Public Health is home to one of the brightest and most diverse public health student bodies in the United States, with students hailing from 25 countries. Our students also have access to a wide range of local and global hands-on training opportunities that provide the skills needed to move public health evidence to action.

Systemwide Expertise Across California

As a system with six highly respected academic health centers , our public health graduates have many opportunities to collaborate with their UC peers. Our graduates collaborate across numerous fields, including data science, environmental science, health education, patient care and more. UC public health graduates can also draw from a rich alumni network—spread across the world—throughout their careers.

See how we’re joining forces to improve patient care within our six academic health centers

Using Research to Inform Patient Care

Our public health programs seek to make the greatest population health impact possible. To achieve this mission, UC public health faculty and students conduct research across bench science, applied research, policy analysis and community-based local projects here and internationally. Our public health institutes regularly publish comprehensive research that shapes today’s — and tomorrow’s — public health policy.

See how University of California Health is using innovative research to challenge the status quo

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Read the latest news stories about Mailman faculty, research, and events. 

Departments

We integrate an innovative skills-based curriculum, research collaborations, and hands-on field experience to prepare students.

Learn more about our research centers, which focus on critical issues in public health.

Our Faculty

Meet the faculty of the Mailman School of Public Health. 

Become a Student

Life and community, how to apply.

Learn how to apply to the Mailman School of Public Health. 

Doctoral Programs

The Mailman School's public health doctoral degree programs provide tremendous access to renowned researchers and thought leaders. Through their course of study, doctoral students obtain the tools they need to create knowledge in the field and advance the practice of public health.

The School offers two doctoral degrees, the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) and the Doctor of Public Health (DrPH). Both train candidates to create new knowledge and research, apply them to important public health issues, and identify and implement potential solutions. They differ only in emphasis:

• The DrPH programs place greater emphasis on the application of science to public health leadership, practice, and program development.
• The PhD programs place greater emphasis on creating new knowledge, with PhD recipients pursuing research and/or teaching as their career goal.

The DrPH can be obtained in:

• Biostatistics
• Environmental Health Sciences
• Epidemiology
• Population and Family Health

The PhD can be obtained in:

• Sociomedical Sciences

Degree Requirements

Graduates of the DrPH degree complete a minimum of 30 credit hours beyond the course work for the MPH degree or equivalent professional degree in public health.

The PhD degree is conferred by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences , as are all PhD degrees at Columbia University. Graduates of a Mailman PhD degree program complete a minimum of 60 credit hours that constitute the combined requirements for the MA and PhD degree. Students entering the PhD degree program with MA degrees from other universities may receive up to 30 credits of advanced standing.

To learn more about degree competencies, curriculum plans, and student handbooks, visit our  Academics  page. Academic directors in each department are available to provide additional guidance on which program best fits particular academic and career goals. Applicants are also encouraged to review faculty profiles —including their research interests—to identify common interests with their discipline of choice.

For more information, visit these pages:

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