DrPH program length

[timaq]

I'm starting my MPH in Epidemiology this fall, after which I'd like to shoot for a DrPH. I was looking at the schools website and all the required DrPH courses are the same as for an MPH except for 30 credits of electives and a dissertation. So how long does it take to get a DrPH? Is it just a lot shorter than a PhD?

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[Stories]

DrPH definitely requires far more coursework than a PhD because the DrPH is more multidisciplinary than the PhD is. If you have the MPH credits counted towards the DrPH, I'm sure it'll speed up the process, though. The dissertation probably is about the same length of time.

Generally speaking though, going straight from a MPH into a DrPH without substantial work experience isn't possible, whereas going from MPH to a PhD or MS to PhD or BA/BS to PhD is.

 

[timaq]

What's the average length of time once you're actually into the DrPH program though? I want to know how many years I'll be in school, approximately.

 

[Cody1MD]

Stories,

What do you mean by "Generally speaking though, going straight from a MPH into a DrPH without substantial work experience isn't possible, whereas going from MPH to a PhD or MS to PhD or BA/BS to PhD is."

I am going straight from getting my MD to currently pursuing my MPH then on to DrPH.

What kind of work experience do you mean?

Thanks.

 

[Stories]

What's the average length of time once you're actually into the DrPH program though? I want to know how many years I'll be in school, approximately.

I'm not an expert, but I've read anywhere between 3-7 years on top of whatever length of time it took to do your MPH is the norm (and depending on if you do the degree full/part time).

Stories,

What do you mean by "Generally speaking though, going straight from a MPH into a DrPH without substantial work experience isn't possible, whereas going from MPH to a PhD or MS to PhD or BA/BS to PhD is."

I am going straight from getting my MD to currently pursuing my MPH then on to DrPH.

What kind of work experience do you mean?

Thanks.

It obviously varies from school to school, but DrPH applications are unique in that they are designed for students who are coming from the workforce and now wish to gain the extra skills and credentials necessary to become administrators and executives in public health. All schools I've seen list a MPH + work experience in an administrative or management position is a requirement for admission into the program.

Possessing a MD with relevant clinical training may or may not apply, I'm not 100% sure, but I would think having the MD plus MPH would be sufficient to do whatever you plan on pursuing for your career. Once you already possess a doctoral degree, adding another one generally isn't as significant.

 

[Cody1MD]

Thanks for your response Stories.

After learning about the DrPH, I no longer was interested in pursuing a residency. I rather get the graduate experience in public health and eventually work in both administrative and academic public health settings.

I never new about the DrPH until after med school. Have any idea how long public health schools have been offering them???


Thanks again.

 

[Stories]

Thanks for your response Stories.

After learning about the DrPH, I no longer was interested in pursuing a residency. I rather get the graduate experience in public health and eventually work in both administrative and academic public health settings.

I never new about the DrPH until after med school. Have any idea how long public health schools have been offering them???


Thanks again.

DrPH has been around for a while, but not every school offers it.

Once you finish your MPH, you'll need to gain some experience before you would be a competitive applicant to a DrPH program, I would think. Particularly if you haven't worked at all yet in any of the settings you just described (all schools I've looked at listed 3+ years of work experience in administrative or managerial positions as a requirement).

 

[sevogose]

although I only applied to one program (UC Berkley DrPH), it seems that almost all of them require post-mph work experience - typically 2 years or more. If you already have an MPH from an accredited school, which is typically a requirement for applying to the DrPH, it should take 3 years to complete the DrPH. For instance, at Berkeley the DrPH consists of:

-2 years of full time classes (48 semester credits)
-One summer of a full-time "professional experience" - basically an internship in whatever part of the field you are concentrating on.
-1 year of thesis work. This can be extended to 2 years if necessary. The specific thesis format required seems to vary between schools.

you can think of it as a traditional PhD (~5 years) broken into 2 parts (2 yr MPH + 3 yr DrPH).

 

[timaq]

This from Tulane's website:

Admission Requirements

Master’s degree in Public Health, Master of Science in Public Health or equivalent, GRE score of 1200 minimum, 3 references, GPA of at least 3.5/4.0 for graduate coursework. The application deadline is January 1st to begin in the fall semester.


That's for DrPH in Epi. Am I missing something here? No mention of work experience required (though obviously it's beneficial). Is there anyone that goes to Tulane that can help me out here?

 

[varekai1018]

This from Tulane's website:

Admission Requirements

Master’s degree in Public Health, Master of Science in Public Health or equivalent, GRE score of 1200 minimum, 3 references, GPA of at least 3.5/4.0 for graduate coursework. The application deadline is January 1st to begin in the fall semester.


That's for DrPH in Epi. Am I missing something here? No mention of work experience required (though obviously it's beneficial). Is there anyone that goes to Tulane that can help me out here?

Tulane seems a bit different from other DrPH programs that I looked at, but the website does mention that public health work experience is "preferred". Most other programs require a minimum of two years work experience, as the DrPH is training practitioners for leadership positions in public health (this is not to say that research/teaching is out of the question); it's difficult to obtain these positions without having previous work experience beyond the practicum/internship.

As for program length, these seem to vary a bit as well (though not terribly), but I can expect to be a student for the next four to five years - coursework for the first two, followed by research/application/dissertation.

If you really want to apply to a specific program, maybe you could email a faculty member you think you might like to work with (probably after April, in case he or she is part of the admissions committee and is feeling overwhelmed). Someone with an "in" would be able to tell you if you may need to think about working for a couple of years before applying. My only word of caution (and I could be wrong) is that I imagine someone without previous work experience will still have to work her/his way up the ladder...with or without a DrPH.

I hope that helps a bit - good luck!

 

[TurboTony]

As most of the people on the board have mentioned earlier, the DrPH is meant for more mid-level career individuals who want to gain the management and leadership skills to become top level administrators in the field of public health. Having an MD, MPH pretty much would provide you the access to the same type of positions in any sort of Federal, state or local government agency. I am unsure what a DrPH could offer you except classes in management and leadership. Many of the epi/biostats requirements are similar (of course you can take more in depth courses) to what you would get after your MPH. Most programs, if not all, require and look favorably on an applicant with some years of experience in the field and who clearly defines a goal for pursuing the degree.

 

[muttyguy]

I'll be entering a DrPH program at USUHS this Fall. Post-MPH, I had about a year of experience as a researcher - so one does not necessarily need to be mid-career to enter a DrPH program. Most current DrPH students in my program, however, are mid-career or have finished a previous doctorate already.

My program is setup to be finished in 3 years. However, this time stipulation was setup for those in the military where time considerations are more vital (USUHS is a military grad school, FYI). Civilian DrPHer's, like myself, can take anywhere from 3-5 years (7 max) to complete their degree. It all depends on the research they will conduct for the required dissertation.

Good thing about getting a DrPH from USUHS is they have no tuition and you get a decent living stipend - without military obligation afterward (unlike their MD program).

I would check with faculty or current students to really get the scoop on the program you're interested in.

Good luck!

 

[MCH DocStudent]

I am currently a 3rd year PhD student in public health at UNC-Chapel Hill and did my MPH at UCLA. I can only share my personal experience from these two schools. I will offer some second hand accounts from friends at different schools.

I'm starting my MPH in Epidemiology this fall, after which I'd like to shoot for a DrPH. I was looking at the schools website and all the required DrPH courses are the same as for an MPH except for 30 credits of electives and a dissertation. So how long does it take to get a DrPH? Is it just a lot shorter than a PhD?

Although the courses may be the same, most schools will not allow you to "double dip". When I was debating whether to remain at UCLA or go to UNC for my PhD one thing I considered was whether I could count the courses from my MPH in my PhD; the reason for this was that I could have finished my MPH 2 terms early but simply stayed on for a richer educational experience. I wanted to know if either program would have allowed me to credit my additional units to my doctorate. Neither program would allow me to do this. I needed to start from ground zero as it were. This was true for the DrPH as well (I asked just to be certain; I wanted to be in school for as little time as possible). So my guess is they will do something to make sure you are take enough classes to satisfy the total number of units required (degrees typicall have a minimum number of units required).

although I only applied to one program (UC Berkley DrPH), it seems that almost all of them require post-mph work experience - typically 2 years or more. If you already have an MPH from an accredited school, which is typically a requirement for applying to the DrPH, it should take 3 years to complete the DrPH. For instance, at Berkeley the DrPH consists of:

-2 years of full time classes (48 semester credits)
-One summer of a full-time "professional experience" - basically an internship in whatever part of the field you are concentrating on.
-1 year of thesis work. This can be extended to 2 years if necessary. The specific thesis format required seems to vary between schools.

you can think of it as a traditional PhD (~5 years) broken into 2 parts (2 yr MPH + 3 yr DrPH).

My experience leads me to question the "-1 year of thesis work" comment. From my experience (both personal as well as watching my friends doing a DrPH), 1 year is the EXCEPTION. 2 years for the thesis is the norm for both the DrPH and the PhD. From the experience of all my friends on both degree tracks it takes 1 year to write and defend the proposal and then 1 year to write and defend the final product (you need to remember that you are not only writing for yourself. you are writing to make a committe of typically 5 people happy; they will frequently have very different approaches and outlooks on research. It becoems an iterative process just creating the proposal. Not to mention the whole process of identifying a unique question to pursue, learning methods to address the question, etc...). So I would count on a 4 year program for the DrPH in public health as opposed to 3 years.

Tulane seems a bit different from other DrPH programs that I looked at, but the website does mention that public health work experience is "preferred". Most other programs require a minimum of two years work experience, as the DrPH is training practitioners for leadership positions in public health (this is not to say that research/teaching is out of the question); it's difficult to obtain these positions without having previous work experience beyond the practicum/internship.

As for program length, these seem to vary a bit as well (though not terribly), but I can expect to be a student for the next four to five years - coursework for the first two, followed by research/application/dissertation.

If you really want to apply to a specific program, maybe you could email a faculty member you think you might like to work with (probably after April, in case he or she is part of the admissions committee and is feeling overwhelmed). Someone with an "in" would be able to tell you if you may need to think about working for a couple of years before applying. My only word of caution (and I could be wrong) is that I imagine someone without previous work experience will still have to work her/his way up the ladder...with or without a DrPH.

I hope that helps a bit - good luck!

I think that this in the end is the best advice. Programs will vary. Email both students in the department as well as faculty to get an idea of
1) length of time
2) difference between degrees (In many departments/schools there is little to no difference between the PhD and the DrPH. For instance, in my department there is no real difference between the two degrees except the minor you pursue. This was also true at UCLA). The program website will say the PhD and DrPH is different in this way; practically though when it comes to the coursework and the experience the two end up being no different. Also consider the cost of the 2 degrees. At UCLA the DrPH was considered a "professional degree" and was charged accordingly (meaning the DrPH was quite a bit more expensive than the PhD). At UNC the two degrees cost the same.

Finally, I would suggest downloading the Doctoral handbooks from the programs you are considering. IN the handbook they will have detailed descriptions of the two degrees including:
-coursework (what courses do you need to take)
-exams (written comps, oral comps, oral defense of proposal, oral defense of final dissertation)
-dissertation format (what topics are and are not appropriate for the dissertation)


Personally my opinion (from my experience in the program and from talking with other folks) there is little to no practical difference between the training you receive as a DrPH student and a PhD student at the end of the day. At the 2 schools I have attended the two leave with essentially an identical skill set. And the 2 degrees take essentially the same amount of time. that is simply my opinion though based on my observations at the schools I have attended.