Last Updated
06 Nov 2002

OVERVIEW

The Doctor of Public Health (Dr.P.H.) with a specialization in epidemiology is the highest professional degree for the public health generalist who intends to become a practitioner of public health. In addition to epidemiological training, the candidate is expected to focus on public health practice and to acquire broad knowledge for development of new initiatives and evaluation of ongoing programs. The Dr.P.H. program with its professional focus differs from the Ph.D. program which is more research oriented. An essential component of the Dr.P.H. program is the field experience which is designed to provide maximum exposure to epidemiology in the context of public health practice. Both the course work and the field experience are expected to have public health relevance. Persons graduating with the Dr.P.H. would be expected to assume leadership positions in governmental and non-governmental agencies, as well as businesses that are concerned with the health of human populations.

ADMISSION

In addition to the University minimum requirements, the Department of Epidemiology requires:

• satisfactory performance on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE),
• completion of the MPH or a master's degree in an appropriately related field,
• if the master's degree is in a field other than public health, applicants must have taken the equivalent of the M.P.H. mandatory Epidemiology core courses or include them in their course of study after admission,
• at least a 3.0 junior/senior undergraduate grade-point average, at least a 3.5 GPA in graduate studies or demonstrated superiority in graduate work, and at least a B in each of the mandatory Epidemiology core courses (or their equivalent),
• a positive recommendation by the Department of Epidemiology, and
• approval by the subcommittee on Student Affairs and the associate dean for Student Affairs.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Candidates must complete a minimum of 50 units beyond the requirements of the M.P.H. degree in Epidemiology. The requirements are equivalent for all students, regardless of a prior doctoral degree. The candidate must take at least five full courses (20 units) of the 50 units in the Department of Epidemiology, and a minimum of six full courses (24 units) in at least two School of Public Health departments other than Epidemiology. At least four of the six non-Epidemiology courses must be at the 200 or 400 level. The student must also take three quarters of EPI 292 for a total of six units, thereby fulfilling the 50-unit minimum requirement. The Epidemiology Department requires EPI 204 (4 units) and either four units for a course in statistics beyond BIOS 100B/110B or four units in methodology from a list approved by the Department.

DOCTORAL COMMITTEE

The doctoral committee consists of at least four faculty members who hold professorial appointments, two of whom must be tenured. The chair of the doctoral committee and one additional member must be from Epidemiology. One must be an outside member who holds an appointment in the School of Public Health, and one must be an outside member whose primary appointment is not in the School of Public Health.

QUALIFYING EXAMINATION

Before advancement to candidacy, students must pass a written examination in the major field prepared and administered by the Epidemiology faculty. Normally no more than one reexamination after failure is allowed. The doctoral committee is nominated after students have made a tentative decision on the dissertation topic or focus of the two or more journal articles. The doctoral committee administers the University Oral Qualifying Examination after the written examinations have been successfully completed.

FIELD EXPERIENCE AND CREATIVE EVIDENCE

The field experience, chosen in consultation with the advisor, is for a duration of at least eight months, and is composed of full-time field training at no more than two sites, with at least one being outside the School of Public Health. The intent is to provide experience in recognizing and describing health problems, determining causative factors, developing intervention or prevention strategies, and evaluating the effect or impact of health program or policies. The anticipated outcome of the field experience is evidence of the capacity for creative independent investigation. Such evidence will be in either: (1) two or more publishable articles on epidemiologic problems arising from the field experience or from another source such as employment background, or (2) a dissertation on a topic of an applied, problem-solving nature. The choice of option is up to the student, the advisor and the doctoral committee. The chosen field site could be with a government or non-government health agency, a private foundation, the military, or with a business in the private sector. The selected site should have public health relevance and offer exposure to creative epidemiologic practices and experiences.

FINAL ORAL EXAMINATION

A final oral examination is required of all candidates to present the findings and recommendations arising from the field experience or from other sources.