Boston University School of Public Health

Doctor of Public Health (DrPH)

As an experienced public health practitioner and student in SPH's DrPH program, you will get the advanced training and credentials you need to move into a leadership position, whatever your speciality area within public health. In this practice-oriented, interdepartmental program, you will learn to develop, implement, and evaluate national and global public health programs and policies. With a DrPH, the highest professional degree in the field, you can take your career to the next level and beyond.

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. A full-time DrPH student with a master's degree before admission will be allowed five years from matriculation to graduation to complete the degree program; all part-time students will be allowed a maximum of 7 years.

Program Competencies

Data and Analysis:

Explain qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods, and policy analysis research and evaluation methods to address health issues at multiple (individual, group, organization, community, and population) levels.

Design a qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods, policy analysis, or evaluation project to address a public health issue.

Explain the use and limitations of surveillance systems and national surveys to assess, monitor, and evaluate policies and programs and address a population's health.

Leadership, Management, and Governance:

Propose strategies for health improvement and elimination of health inequities by organizing stakeholders, including researchers, practitioners, community leaders, and other partners.

Communicate public health science to diverse stakeholders, including individuals at all levels of health literacy, for purposes of influencing behaviour and policies.

Integrate knowledge, approaches, methods, values, and potential contributions from multiple professions and systems in addressing public health problems.

Create a strategic plan.

Facilitate shared decision-making through negotiation and consensus-building methods.

Create organizational change strategies.

Propose strategies to promote inclusion and equity within public health programs, policies, and systems.

Assess one's strengths and weaknesses in leadership capacities, including cultural proficiency.

Propose human, fiscal, and other resources to achieve a strategic goal.

Cultivate new resources and revenue streams to achieve a strategic goal.

Policy and Programs:

Design a system-level intervention to address a public health issue.

Integrate knowledge of cultural values and practices in the design of public health policies and programs.

Integrate scientific information, legal and regulatory approaches, ethical frameworks, and varied stakeholder interests in policy development and analysis.

Propose interprofessional team approaches to improving public health.

Education and Workforce Development:

Assess an audience's knowledge and learning needs.

Deliver training or educational experiences that promote learning in academic, organizational, or community settings.

Use best practice modalities in pedagogical practices.