Program Overview

Introduction to the DVM/MPH Program

The DVM/MPH dual degree program with the Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine offers a unique opportunity to combine clinical veterinary education with a public health perspective, all within a four-year curriculum. This accredited, cross-disciplinary program integrates both DVM and MPH coursework, providing students with access to an extensive network of faculty, resources, and opportunities that enhance their professional growth.

Program Overview

Graduates leave with two degrees, increased flexibility in their career options, and a competitive edge in both clinical and public health fields. By completing the program in just four years, students minimize debt, enter the workforce sooner, and gain valuable experiential learning through externships and research projects. The program’s cost-effective tuition and the lifelong professional connections made throughout the experience further enrich the value of this integrated education.

Requirements

DVM/MPH students must complete 42 credits in the MPH program in addition to their DVM courses: 19.5 credits in the MPH core curriculum, 16.5 credits for the DVM/MPH concentration requirement, and six additional credits worth of electives.

MPH Curriculum

The MPH curriculum reflects competencies in the domains of:

• Evidence-Based Approaches to Public Health
• Public Health and Health Care Systems
• Planning and Management to Promote Health
• Policy in Public Health
• Leadership
• Communication
• Interprofessional Practice
• Systems Thinking

The DVM/MPH program also has concentration-specific courses, including:

• Global Population Health
• Transboundary and Emerging Diseases and Animals
• Legal Basis of Veterinary Public Health
• Applied Veterinary Public Health

Courses

The DVM/MPH public health curriculum is tightly integrated with veterinary coursework so that students complete both degrees in four years. Students take their core courses with the stand-alone MPH students. In their first two years, DVM/MPH students take public health core knowledge and required courses in place of the weekly, pre-clinical field or research electives taken by their fellow veterinary students.

Program Length

Students in the DVM/MPH combined degree pathway can earn a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree in the same four years they earn a doctor of veterinary medicine (DVM). Students may take up to five years to complete the dual-degree program.

Admission Criteria

Applicants must apply separately to the DVM and MPH programs and meet the respective admission criteria of each. DVM applicants receive information and an application for the MPH program in January. Students must be accepted into the DVM program to be accepted into the DVM/MPH program. Approximately six to eight students are admitted each year to the DVM/MPH program.

Tuition Costs

The tuition rates for the DVM/MPH program are as follows:

• Tuition: $9,144 per year.

Career Options

There are three broad categories where Tufts DVM students use their MPH training and degree:

• In the intersection between human health and animal health.
• As health professionals (often leaders) in the human public health infrastructure.
• As population health veterinarians, using the skills learned in reference to human health but utilized in the context of animal population health.

With a dual DVM/MPH degree, students are able to move across governmental, research, international health, academic, and private industry sectors. They have a unique perspective in the world of health.