Online Doctorate in Public Health (DrPH): Finding Your School

An Overview of Online Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) Programs

Most DrPH programs are designed to accommodate working healthcare professionals, which is why online programs have become so prevalent. What’s more, it’s not uncommon for those programs to feature didactic coursework delivered entirely online, often in an asynchronous format. That means you can attend to your course requirements at any time fitting your job and life schedule.

Regardless of the delivery format, most online DrPH programs require students to complete some form of in-person activity (often labeled as a practicum or applied practice experience). This will allow you to apply the knowledge and skills gained in your coursework in a real-world practice environment. To give you a more detailed idea of what you can expect, below are spotlights of three current online DrPH programs.

DrPH vs. PhD in Public Health: What’s the Difference?

While some overlap exists, there are several distinct differences between DrPH and PhD in Public Health degrees in terms of general purposes, admissions requirements, curriculum content, and career options for graduates. Therefore, it’s important to gain a solid handle on those differences before you enroll in any public health doctoral program. The chart below offers a look at some of the most prominent differences.

FAQs for Online Public Health Doctorate Programs

What are the admission requirements for online DrPH programs?

While the admissions requirements for online DrPH programs vary somewhat from program to program, you’ll likely find most programs include requirements similar to the following:

• Master’s degree in public health (MPH/MSPH) or equivalent
• Professional work experience
• Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or other standardized test scores (less common)
• A current curriculum vitae (CV) or resume
• Letter(s) of recommendation
• A statement of purpose
• A personal interview

What type(s) of accreditation should I look for when choosing an online DrPH program?

There are two forms of accreditation to look for when considering a DrPH program: institutional and programmatic. Institutional accreditation concerns the vetting of postsecondary institutions overall and is administered by a number of regional and national accrediting agencies recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. You can check a program’s current institutional accreditation status through the Department of Education online database.

Programmatic accreditation has to do with the quality of specific degree programs in a particular academic field. Public health degree programs in the U.S., including DrPH programs, are accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH). You can confirm a DrPH program’s accreditation status by using the CEPH search engine.

Is financial aid available to help pay for my online DrPH program?

In most cases, DrPH students in online programs have access to the same varied types of financial aid for public service degrees as their campus-based counterparts. These can include public health scholarships and grants, student loans (particularly federal student loans), work-study and employer tuition assistance opportunities, and doctoral fellowships and assistantships.

Generous funding packages are often available through DrPH programs themselves, so be sure to speak with a program representative or financial aid officer at each of the schools you’re considering as part of your online DrPH program search.

What is a capstone project, and how does it differ from a dissertation?

While some DrPH courses of study culminate with the writing and defense of a doctoral dissertation, others require the completion of a capstone project. Capstone projects (sometimes referred to as applied research projects) and dissertations are similar in that they both require students to demonstrate their competencies in the knowledge and skills taught in their degree programs, and both are delivered in a written form.

The two differ, however, in terms of purpose. With a capstone project, students identify and analyze a real-world public health-related problem and offer a solution to that problem through the application of current public health theory and research. The doctoral dissertation, on the other hand, involves the exploration of a complex public health issue leading to the creation of new insights and theories through the conducting of original research.

What careers will a DrPH qualify me for?

There are tons of great careers for public health graduates, and that includes Doctor of Public Health graduates. DrPH degree programs qualify graduates for a surprisingly broad variety of high-level public health occupations with government agencies, private businesses, and nonprofit organizations and foundations. Here are just a few examples:

• Nonprofit administrator: Nonprofit administrators are responsible for all operations in departments of nonprofit organizations, including human resources, financing, and facilities management.
• Public health director: Public health directors are most often government employees responsible for the management of public health agencies on the local, state, regional, national, and even international levels.
• Public health policy analyst: Public health policy analysts research, analyze, develop, and advocate for policies related to public health organizations and practice.

Other popular job titles for DrPH holders include:

• Biostatistician
• Emergency management director
• Epidemiologist (non-clinical)
• Health services manager
• Public health consultant

Specializations for Your Online DrPH Degree

DrPH programs focus generally on preparing students for top-level leadership roles in public health practice. Beyond that, most programs allow students to tailor their studies to a particular area of practice within the larger public health discipline. This is sometimes accommodated through the student’s elective course choices, but more commonly is accomplished through offering specialization or concentration track options. Here are examples of three popular DrPH specializations:

Environmental Health

The environmental health concentration focuses on the interrelationship between the environment (as a whole and in discreet occupational settings) and the health conditions of people within those environments. Specific topics studied include, among others, water quality, environmental chemistry and biology, toxicology, air quality, and industrial hygiene.

Students develop a range of skills necessary for the assessment of the needs of environmental and occupational health services on all levels (local, regional, national, and global), and for the creation and implementation of related policy and regulatory structures.

Global Health

Students choosing the global health concentration will develop the skills needed to identify and assess public health threats and formulate strategies to address and eliminate those threats. Coursework emphasizes the examination of theories and the application of tools to better understand the impact of globalization on public health.

Foundational competencies are gained in communication, management, policy, and program design and evaluation. Global health specialization graduates are prepared for leadership positions with government agencies, businesses, and non-profit foundations and organizations.

Public Health Leadership and Management

The public health leadership and management concentration is an excellent choice for students intending to fill top-level administrative positions in major organizations throughout the healthcare field. Curriculums focus on training students to evaluate health services, healthcare delivery, and information systems to effect change and improve the quality and efficiency of those systems.

Common course topics include budgeting and financial management, health economics, health management information systems, patient health outcomes and safety, and strategic leadership and decision-making.

The Best Doctor of Public Health Degrees Offered Online

One of the most effective ways to compare online DrPH degree programs is to take a look at what top programs have to offer. For that reason, we’ve reviewed available online DrPH programs and identified what we believe to be some of the best for our rankings list below.

Factors considered in choosing these programs include proper accreditation, academic content, study convenience, specialized study options, affordability (cost and financial aid availability), and access to quality student support services. You can learn more by reviewing the “About the Rankings” section and checking out these high-performing programs.