Doctor of Public Health (International Health)

The principal objective of the DrPH program is to train students to be independent researchers in the field of international health, with a particular emphasis on conducting population-based studies including needs assessment and disease intervention.  The program provides the opportunity for students to acquire skills important to careers in program planning and management with non-governmental organizations, official health agencies and both bilateral and multilateral aid organizations working in developing nations, as well as in academia.

Program Objectives: Upon completion of the doctoral program students will have:

•  mastered the conceptual basis of public health in international settings
• obtained advanced skills in research design, data collection, analysis and presentation,
  evaluation of public health programs and critical review and evaluation of literature
• acquired specialized knowledge in a major track (content area) of choice

Admissions:  Successful applicants must have a prior MPH or equivalent degree.  A minimum of two years of relevant work experience is highly recommended.  Applicants with related master's degrees or other advanced degrees may be admitted contingent upon the requirement that they complete the MPH core courses  in addition to their DrPH didactic requirements.

Curriculum:  DrPH students are required to complete at total of 63 credit hours of which 36 must be at the 700 level. A minimum of 45 hours of didactic course work; International Health courses, Ethics course, Methodology courses and Track or Specialty courses and electives. In addition to the didactic course work, students are required to take a doctoral seminar for a minimum of 3 credit hours and 15 credit hours of research, EPI 798 prior to the proposal and admission to candidacy and EPI 799 after admission to candidacy.  Students who have completed core requirements in previous programs or who have demonstrated competence may request a substitution of other courses toward the didactic core credit hour requirements.  Individual course plans may have additional requirements and are developed in consultation with academic advisor, based on the student's interests and background. It is expected that all students in this program will carry out some portion of their research in an international setting (e.g., in a laboratory, clinical or field setting), will have relevant overseas experience as a result of their participation in the Departmental MPH program, or will have previous overseas experience (e.g., in the Peace Corps or other organization). After the doctoral coursework is completed (in approximately one year), students must successfully complete written and oral qualifying examinations.  In addition, students must choose a dissertation topic, conduct their research, write a dissertation, and defend their work at an oral presentation.  The program takes at least three years to complete post MPH. Additional details are provided in the DrPH student handbook.

Coursework		Credit Hours
International Health Courses		15
Ethics Course		3
HCO 670	Social and Ethical Issues in Public Health	3
Methodology Courses		12
Track/Specialty Courses		9
Electives		6
* Electives should be carefully selected by the student and academic advisor to meet the students particular needs in terms of substantive knowledge and/or additional methodological skills *
Doctoral Seminar		3
Research Hours		15
	Total of 63 credit hours of which 36 must be at the 700 level