Program Overview

Public Health (Professional Program: DrPH)

The School of Public Health is dedicated to excellence in protecting and improving the health and well-being of people around the world by educating public health professionals and the community, conducting research, and affecting public health policy.

Overview

The DrPH program is the advanced professional degree offered by the school. This program is tailored to meet the goals of mid-career public health professionals who want to expand their knowledge and practice of public health and attain the leadership skills necessary to enable them to advance the field. The program aims to help students become leaders of the public health community at the local, national, and international levels. The program is offered in a distance-based format.

Admission Requirements

• Prior Degree and Experience: Master's degree from an accredited school of public health or a master's degree in a related field. Students must also have three or more years of full-time paid professional experience in public health in a leadership position (or in mid- to senior-level management positions demonstrating evidence of leadership potential).
• Grade Point Average: Admitted students typically have at least a combined undergraduate/graduate grade point average of 3.00/4.00. However, all applicants are given a holistic evaluation of their application. Applicants with less than a 3.00 are encouraged to apply if they believe that their application is strong in other areas.
• Tests: GRE is optional.
• Letters of Recommendation: Three are required.
• Resume or CV: Required.
• Personal Statement: Applicants will upload a 500-800 word statement focused on their interests/experiences in public health and the program they are applying to specifically, goals with the degree, and why they would be successful in the program.
• Transcripts: Domestic applicants must submit transcripts issued from the university for all undergraduate and post-baccalaureate work. International applicants must upload all international transcripts directly into the UIC system.
• English Proficiency: Minimum test scores for this program are:
  • TOEFL iBT: 80
  • IELTS Academic: 6.5
  • PTE Academic: 54

Degree Requirements

• Minimum Required Hours: 96 (32 semester hours from a prior master's, 43 semester hours of core courses, 18 semester hours of research, 3 semester hours of elective credit)
• Prior Master's Degree Credit: Credit for up to 32 semester hours given for prior master's of public health (MPH) or related degree.
• Course List:
  • Required Courses:
    • IPHS 450: Foundations and Determinants of Public Health
    • IPHS 521: Personal Leadership
    • IPHS 522: Epidemiology for Transformational Leadership and Equity
    • IPHS 523: Approaches to Leadership, Antiracism and Equity, and Pedagogy for Transformational Systems Change
    • IPHS 524: Leadership Approaches to Strategic Development for Organizations and Communities
    • IPHS 525: Quantitative Methods for Public Health Leadership Practice
    • IPHS 526: Policy Change and Collaboration for Transformative Change and Equity
    • IPHS 527: Engaged Scholarship: Methods to Identify and Research Complex Problems
    • IPHS 528: Approaches and Tools for Leading Strategic Implementation
    • IPHS 529: Quantitative and Mixed Research Methods for Transformational Leadership
    • IPHS 530: Qualitative Methods for Transformational Leadership
    • IPHS 531: DrPH APE Proposal Seminar
    • IPHS 532: Systems Thinking for Transformational Change Leadership
    • IPHS 533: Qualitative Methods and Application for Transformational Leadership Practice
    • IPHS 534: Applied Research Design Seminar Scholarly-practice and Practice-based Research Design Seminar
    • IPHS 535: Implementation Science
    • IPHS 536: DrPH Integrated Learning Experience Proposal Seminar
  • Electives:
    • Select a minimum of 3 hours of elective courses
    • IPHS 540: Introduction to Appreciative Inquiry (recommended)
    • Other approved elective, selected with approval of student's program advisor
  • Applied Practical Experience (APE):
    • IPHS 651: DrPH Applied Practice Experience
  • Dissertation/Integrated Learning Experience:
    • IPHS 699: Research in Public Health Sciences - DrPH (18 semester hours)

Non-Credit Training Requirements

• CITI Human Subjects Research
• Title IX Training - Sexual Harassment
• SPH Academic Integrity Tutorial

Additional Requirements

• DrPH Summer Institute: All DrPH students, within the first two years, will be required to attend an annual multi-day workshop in Chicago.