2025-2026 Academic Catalog

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Public Health: Doctor of Public Health (DrPH)

This program is designed to help you become a public health leader. You'll learn how to develop, implement, and evaluate evidence-based programs that contribute to community health and wellness. In addition to taking courses that cover research methods and advanced public health theory and practice, you’ll also learn about leadership, management, and grant writing. Areas of specialization include (but are not limited to): community-based participatory research, health equity, program design and evaluation, American Indian and Alaska Native health, mHealth strategies, and mental health. Faculty in our department study everything from adverse childhood experiences to nutrition to school-based interventions, which means you can find the faculty mentor who's right for you.

Upon entering the DrPH program, students will have three years to pass the written qualifying exam and should complete the dissertation and public defense of the dissertation within seven years of entering the program.

Each student, in consultation with their faculty advisor, will develop a proposed course of study. The course of study must specify courses to be taken, and proposed timeline for courses, practicum, preliminary and comprehensive exams, and dissertation. 

Curriculum

Required DrPH Courses (16 credits)
PUBH 6842DrPH Seminar (1 credit hour semesters, first 4 semesters of tenure)4
CBHS 7020DrPH Seminar in Leadership3
EPID 7912Developing a Research Grant3
HSMP 7603Advanced Public Health Strategic Planning and Management: Theory and Practice3
EHOH 7405Advanced Communication Skills for Public Health Impact3
Required Community & Behavioral Health Courses (12 credits)
CBHS 7010Latent Variable Methods3
CBHS 7637Doctoral Advanced Quantitative Analysis for Community Health Sciences3
CBHS 7638Advanced Qualitative Research Methods3
CBHS 7670CBH Advanced Seminar3
Selective Courses (12 credits - at least 5 credits are required to be at the doctoral level)12
Directed Reading (2 credits)
CBHS 7030DrPH Directed Reading1-2
DrPH Practicum (4 credits)
PUBH 6850DrPH Practicum2-4
Dissertation (9 credits)
CBHS 8991DrPH Dissertation - Community & Behavioral Health1-10
Total Hours55

This program is designed to help you become a public health leader. As a student in this program, you'll learn how to identify, evaluate, and control environmental and occupational stressors. You’ll take courses in field investigations, Geographic Information Systems, biostatistics, leadership and management, and proposal writing. In addition to required coursework, you can focus your electives on an area of specialization such as environmental justice, toxicology, risk assessment, climate and health, and occupational health and safety. This broad range of topics means you can find the area of study and faculty mentor that's right for you.

Upon entering the DrPH program, students will have three years to pass the written qualifying exam and should complete the dissertation and public defense of the dissertation within seven years of entering the program.

Each student, in consultation with their faculty advisor, will develop a proposed course of study. The course of study must specify courses to be taken, and proposed timeline for courses, practicum, preliminary and comprehensive exams, and dissertation. 

Curriculum

Required DrPH Courses (13 credits)
PUBH 6842DrPH Seminar (1 credit hour semesters, first 4 semesters of tenure)4
CBHS 7020DrPH Seminar in Leadership3
EPID 7912Developing a Research Grant3
HSMP 7603Advanced Public Health Strategic Planning and Management: Theory and Practice3
EHOH 7405Advanced Communication Skills for Public Health Impact3
Required Environmental & Occupational Health Courses (12 credits)
EHOH 7631Advanced Methods in Environmental &Occupational Health3
EHOH 7632Advanced Field Methods in EOH1
EHOH 7403Research Methods: Climate, Disaster and Humanitarian Perspectives3
BIOS 6611Biostatistical Methods I3
BIOS 6612Biostatistical Methods II3
Selective Courses (11 credits)11
Directed Reading (2 credits)
EHOH 7030DrPH Directed Reading1-2
DrPH Practicum (4 credits)
PUBH 6850DrPH Practicum2-4
Dissertation (9 credits)
EHOH 8991DrPH Dissertation-Environmental & Occupational Health1-10
Total Hours55

This program is designed to help you become a public health leader. In this program, you'll learn how to identify factors that affect the health of populations and how to create, implement, and evaluate disease control and prevention strategies. In addition to taking courses in advanced research methods and a minor area of your choosing, you’ll also learn about leadership, management, and grant writing. Areas of specialization range from health data and information systems to chronic disease prevention. And our faculty are studying everything from food safety, to diabetes, to gene-environment interactions, which means you can find the mentor who’s right for you.

Upon entering the DrPH program, students will have three years to pass the written qualifying exam and should complete the dissertation and public defense of the dissertation within seven years of entering the program.

Each student, in consultation with their faculty advisor, will develop a proposed course of study. The course of study must specify courses to be taken, and proposed timeline for courses, practicum, preliminary and comprehensive exams, and dissertation. 

Curriculum

Required DrPH Courses (13 credits)
PUBH 6842DrPH Seminar (1 credit hour semesters, first 4 semesters of tenure)4
CBHS 7020DrPH Seminar in Leadership3
EPID 7912Developing a Research Grant3
HSMP 7603Advanced Public Health Strategic Planning and Management: Theory and Practice3
EHOH 7405Advanced Communication Skills for Public Health Impact3
Required Epidemiology Courses (12 credits)
EPID 7631Advanced Epidemiology 13
EPID 7632Advanced Epidemiology 23
EPID 7605Research Methods with Secondary Data Sources3
BIOS 6611Biostatistical Methods I3
BIOS 6612Biostatistical Methods II3
Selective Courses (9 credits)9
Directed Reading (2 credits)
EPID 7030DrPH Directed Reading1-2
DrPH Practicum (4 credits)
PUBH 6850DrPH Practicum2-4
Dissertation (9 credits)
EPID 8991DrPH Dissertation work in Epidemiology1-10
Total Hours55