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.

Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) leads in educational excellence and innovation in teaching public health. We aim to teach in an authentic, inclusive, flexible, ongoing, and reflective way of changing the population's health.

As a top-ranked graduate school, Boston University School of Public Health offers access to innovative research, scholarship, and public health practice, a top-tier education with an on-the-ground mission.

School of Public Health's mission is to improve the health and well-being of populations worldwide, particularly the underserved, through excellence and innovation in education, research, and practice.

From cross-disciplinary faculty and research expertise to our innovative teaching approach, we offer you an exceptional education in public health.

We conduct research across a range of disciplines focused on developing solutions to complex health challenges. Faculty members engage in studies around the world and our own local community.

As public health professionals, Boston University School of Public Health faculty, staff, and students are tasked with using their knowledge, skills, and passion for improving populations' health.

Generating knowledge and passing it on to future generations is at the heart of Boston University School of Public Health's work, but applying that knowledge is equally important. Boston University School of Public Health is at the forefront of advocacy and practice, both locally and worldwide.

We are committed to igniting and sustaining positive change that leads to health and well-being around the world. We strive for a respectful, collaborative, diverse, and inclusive community within our School of Public Health. We aim to promote justice, human rights, and equity within and across our local and global communities.