• Home
• Program Info
• Students
• Alumni
• Apply
• Contact Us

DrPH Program:
Preparing the Public Health Leaders of Tomorrow

Program Description & Requirements

The Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) degree is a professional degree conferred in recognition of a candidate's command of a comprehensive body of knowledge in the field of public health and related disciplines, and of the candidate’s proven ability to initiate, organize, and pursue the investigation of significant problems or interventions in public health.

The focus of this degree is the development of transdisciplinary knowledge about the determinants of health, and the scientific and professional leadership skills to translate this knowledge into effective health interventions.

Those who earn this degree are expected to occupy leadership positions that have major influence on public health research, policies, programs, systems and institutions.  Such leadership may be in diverse settings at the international, national, state, or local levels, and in the public, private and academic sectors.

ACADEMIC OBJECTIVES AND PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

The major academic objectives of the DrPH Program are:

1. Acquiring transdisciplinary knowledge of and skills in public health research and practice, including an understanding of the essential relationships between public health and societal systems and policies whose actions affect the health of people.
2. Analyzing public health issues, problems and interventions research and evaluation methods from multiple disciplines.
3. Understanding and applying transdisciplinary research and practice as a means of approaching real-world public health problems and translating academic research into practice.
4. Understanding public heath policies and practices through study that includes: program implementation in institutions and society, organizational theory and practice, financial management, health policy strategies, information systems and ethics. 
5. Developing a vision, philosophy of professional leadership in public health and the technical and managerial skills required for successful leadership.

These academic objectives are met through several programmatic requirements:

1. Participation in all required and elective courses necessary for completion of DrPH degree requirements as defined by the UC Berkeley School of Public Health faculty and the UC Berkeley Graduate Division.  This coursework may include pre-requisite coursework based on the student’s previous academic accomplishments.
2. Participation in a research residency or professional residency in a public health setting in which the student has the opportunity to advance knowledge and skills, identify data for dissertation research, conduct analyses, and participate in decision-making
3. Preparation for and completion of the Qualifying Examination to demonstrate the student’s knowledge, integration, and application of theory in preparation for the dissertation.
4. Submitting a Human Subjects protocol to explain the use of human subjects in the research, which must be filed and approved by the Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects on the Berkeley Campus (see page 6).
5. Completion of a dissertation that is designed to focus on the analysis and/or solution of a problem or opportunity in public health practice.
6. Establishment of mentoring relationships within the School of Public Health and with community professionals.

RECOMMENDED TIMETABLE FOR DEGREE COMPLETION

The DrPH program is a full-time program of study designed to be completed in three or four years for those applicants with an MPH from an accredited institution.  Any students with deficiencies in coursework equivalent in content to the MPH at U.C. Berkeley must take prerequisite courses in the first year of the program. 

The first academic year (first semester)

• Take coursework in required and elective courses
• Take prerequisite courses as required

The first academic year (second semester)

• Take coursework in required and elective courses
• Finish prerequisite courses as required
• Consider choosing a new faculty advisor if necessary to best match with evolving dissertation topic area
• Develop mentoring relationships with other faculty to best explore and develop evolving dissertation topic area
• Complete a Yearly Assessment form with faculty advisor each spring semester until filing dissertation

The summer following the first academic year (or can be completed the summer following the second year)

• Complete research residency or professional residency requirement in an appropriate public health setting

The second academic year (third semester)

• Take coursework in required and elective courses
• In conjunction with faculty advisor, identify potential faculty members for the Qualifying Exam Committee
• Meet with potential members of the Qualifying Exam Committee to complete the process of determining committee composition

The second academic year (fourth semester)

• Complete didactic coursework
• Prepare for, schedule, and take the DrPH Qualifying Exam
• Submit Human Subjects Protocol as necessary for dissertation research
• File for advancement to candidacy
• Finalize selection of faculty members for the Dissertation Committee

The summer following the second academic year

• Complete research residency or professional residency requirement in an appropriate public health setting (if not completed during the summer following the first year)
• Collect dissertation data following Human Subjects approval

The third academic year (beginning during the second summer)

• Continue the research and writing necessary for completion of the dissertation
• Submit drafts of dissertation writing to members of dissertation committee
• Revise, submit, and obtain final approval of dissertation (in accordance with guidelines issued by the Graduate Division) 

The fourth academic year (beginning during the third summer)

• A fourth year is added in cases where the research protocol necessitates an extension of the time needed for completion of the dissertation

FACULTY ADVISOR

Each student is assigned a faculty advisor upon admission based on their expressed interests identified in their application.  As the first year progresses, the student may seek or identify another faculty member to best match their evolving dissertation topic area.  The role of the faculty advisor is to assist the student in developing a program of study that best meets the minimum requirements for the degree and that assures sufficient flexibility to satisfy individual goals.  The faculty advisor is responsible for reviewing and discussing the requirements of the Graduate Division and the School of Public Health with the student to insure that the student is fully informed of the requirements necessary for completing the DrPH degree.  The Head Graduate Advisor at the School is the Associate Dean for Student Affairs.

In addition to programmatic advising, faculty advisors can provide professional mentoring for DrPH students.  Mentoring is a relationship built upon open communication between the student and the faculty mentor who is responsible for the overall guidance and professional development of the student.  It is often through this relationship that students acquire the doctoral-level training in sophisticated analytical thinking, identification of significant questions in the field, understanding the experimental and theoretical concepts and the design of approaches to productively address problems in public health.  In many cases, the faculty advisor will also be the student’s dissertation committee chair and thus will play an active role in proposing appropriate professional and/or research residency opportunities and monitoring the student’s progress.

Students may also choose additional faculty advisor during the first or second years.  These faculty members work closely with the student on academic and professional issues and often volunteer to serve on the student’s dissertation committee.

PROFESSIONAL MENTOR

Working with the Field Residency Supervisor, and with the approval of his or her academic advisor, each student identifies an appropriate professional mentor to help guide his or her professional development.  The mentor (who may occupy a senior position in a health department, community based organization or a research institution) often also may play a key role in helping lay the groundwork for developing or accessing subsequent dissertation data sets.

DRPH PROGRAM REQUIREMENT DETAILS

Prerequisites

The minimum requirements for admission into the DrPH Program normally include an MPH or Masters degree from an accredited school of public health, or equivalent, and two years or more of professional experience in public health (post-master’s degree) that demonstrate progressive responsibility and evidence of leadership potential.  Some exceptions to the two-year post-master’s work requirement may be made in special circumstances.  Applicants with a master’s or higher degree outside the field of public health are admissible but will be required to make up any deficiencies in course content equivalent to the following:

1.    PH 200C:  Public Health Core Breadth Course
2.    PH 200D:  MPH Integrative Breadth Course
3.    PH 142A:  Introduction to Probability and Statistics in Biology and Public Health
4.    PH 250A:  Epidemiologic Methods

Courses

Students must complete a minimum of 4 full-time semesters of coursework (48 units) and a minimum of 12 units of dissertation research credits.  Due to the diverse experience each student brings to the program, it is expected that students will select courses and independent study that advance their knowledge and ultimately their proficiency in all of the core and breadth knowledge areas listed below.  A wide array of courses is offered in these areas at the School of Public Health and in other departments on the U.C. Berkeley campus.  In addition to courses in these core and breadth areas, DrPH students are required to attend the DrPH seminars offered in their first three years of study. 

Core                                                       

A minimum of one course is required in each of these areas:             

• Management     
• Research Design and Methods                     
• Public Health Ethics                                     
• Leadership                                             

Breadth

A minimum of one course is required in two of these areas:

• Health Politics and Policy Analysis
• Public Health Interventions
• Environmental Health Sciences

Second Semester Assessment

Each spring the student and his or her academic advisor meet to discuss the student’s progress, review courses taken and progress toward degree completion.  A formal assessment form titled “DrPH Program Yearly Assessment” is signed and submitted to the Academic Head and the Program Director.

Research Residency or Professional Residency

As part of preparing for the dissertation and research phases of the DrPH Program, each student is required to complete a research and/or professional residency during the summer following the first year of study or the summer following the second year of study (480 hours over 12 weeks).  The residency is jointly planned and selected by the student, faculty mentor, and the DrPH Field Supervisor.  It is designed to encompass both macro and micro levels of policy- and decision-making, and may include positions with local, state, or national legislatures; international agencies; city, county and state departments of public health or health services; organized research units within universities or other research institutions; multi-hospital systems; and health maintenance organizations.  Students will have a community mentor and academic advisor in conjunction with the residency.

Qualifying Examination

The Qualifying Examination is usually completed after the fourth semester of course work, at the end of the spring semester of the second year or the beginning of the fall semester of the third year.  The Qualifying Exam Committee is made up of four faculty members.  Three of these faculty members must be members of the Berkeley Academic Senate, and two of these Academic Senate members must be from the School of Public Health faculty, while the other Academic Senate member must be from a department outside of Public Health.  The fourth faculty member may be an Academic Senate faculty member or a non-Academic Senate faculty member from the School of Public Health or from outside of the School.  The Chair of the Qualifying Committee must be an Academic Senate faculty member.  The composition of the Qualifying Exam committee is reviewed by the School’s Head Graduate Advisor and must be approved by the Graduate Division. 

The purpose of the Qualifying Exam is to test the student’s broad knowledge and integration and application of this knowledge to problems in public health, and includes both written and oral components.  The former involves completion of a detailed dissertation prospectus which is revised prior to the oral exam based on feedback from the chair and other committee members.  The oral examination includes a detailed review and discussion of the proposed dissertation research, as well as relevant core and breadth areas (see page 5).

Human Subjects

Prior to undertaking research involving human subjects and prior to submitting an “Application for Candidacy” form to the Graduate Division if human subjects will be used in research, students must take the online Collaborative Institutional Review Board (IRB) Training Initiative (CITI) course and submit a print out of the Course Completion Record with their candidacy application.

Prior to the students beginning their dissertation, an application for approval and a protocol explaining the use of human subjects in the research in a primary or secondary data set must be filed and approved by the Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects on the Berkeley Campus.  A copy of their certification is required by Graduate Division when they file their completed dissertation.

Dissertation

In most instances, the dissertation will be drawn from the residency and is completed prior to the end of the spring semester of the third or fourth year.  As part of the dissertation, the student is expected to research a problem and/or intervention in public health practice and to demonstrate understanding of how to translate that research into practice. In some cases, the dissertation may be framed around an opportunity in public health practice.  The dissertation format typically takes one of two forms: (1) a unified thesis, or (2) three publishable papers based on research, bracketed by an introduction and conclusion.

The dissertation committee is made up of three faculty members who are members of the Berkeley Academic Senate.  Two of these faculty members must be from the School of Public Health faculty.  The third faculty member must be from a department outside Public Health.  An additional non-Academic Senate faculty member from the School of Public Health or from outside the University may be added to the Dissertation Committee if that person has special and necessary expertise that would facilitate the student’s work and that cannot be duplicated among the regular faculty.  Such requests should include the proposed committee member’s curriculum vitae (including a listing of their publications) and a statement that the prospective appointee has a doctorate or its equivalent in research experience and that her or his qualifications are at least equal to those of the faculty at UC Berkeley.

The Chair of the Dissertation Committee cannot be the same faculty member who served as Chair of the Qualifying Exam Committee.  The Qualifying Exam Committee Chair, however, can be a member of the Dissertation Committee. 

Students should confer with their faculty adviser and with the Head Graduate Adviser to insure that the composition of their Dissertation Committee meets the Graduate Division requirements.  In addition, students are expected to follow all the guidelines specified by the Graduate Division regarding the proper preparation of their dissertation and dissertation support documents.

Revised and Approved by Faculty, School of Public Health, 2006