DrPH Programs

What You Learn in a DrPH Program

CEPH requires every accredited DrPH to teach and assess 20 foundational competencies in four areas:

• Data and analysis: designing qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods and policy analysis projects, and understanding surveillance systems and national surveys.
• Leadership, management and governance: creating strategic plans, leading organizational change, negotiating shared decisions and finding new resources and revenue.
• Policy and programs: designing system-level interventions and weighing science, law, ethics and community knowledge in policy.
• Education and workforce development: assessing what an audience needs to learn and delivering training.

Two requirements set the DrPH apart from coursework-only degrees. Every student completes an applied practice experience with at least one project that matters to a real organization, usually outside the school. And every student finishes with an integrative learning experience: field-based products meant to influence programs, policies or systems, including at least one high-quality written product. At Harvard, that means an eight-to-ten-week summer field immersion and a doctoral project that typically runs eight months with a host organization.

DrPH Admission Requirements

DrPH programs admit experienced professionals, and the experience requirement is the biggest difference between schools:

Program	Prior degree	Work experience	Format and length
UC Berkeley	Master’s or doctorate in health sciences or a related field	2+ years of public health work after the master’s	On campus, full time, 3 to 4 years
Boston University	MPH or another master’s in public health	3+ years full time in a health-related field	In person, 48 credits, 3 to 4 years
Emory	MPH or equivalent preferred, not required	3 years at matriculation	Online, 60 credit hours, 3 to 7 years
UNMC	Designed for MPH holders	3+ years	Online, 3 to 4 years
Harvard	Master’s or doctorate in health sciences or a related field	6+ years full time	On campus, 3 years with an option of 4

Harvard made the GRE, MCAT, GMAT, DAT and LSAT optional for this cycle and applications are due December 1. Emory, BU and UNMC all build their programs around working professionals, so plan to show your leadership experience at work in the application.

Online DrPH Programs

Because DrPH students are usually working, many programs run online or in executive formats. Online DrPH programs on this site include:

• Emory: fully online and asynchronous, with a 200-hour practicum.
• UNMC: fully online and asynchronous, finishable in as few as three years.
• UNC Chapel Hill: an executive DrPH in health leadership with three five-day campus visits a year.
• Tulane: two online DrPH options, in social and behavioral sciences leadership and in international health and sustainable development.
• Loma Linda: online DrPH options in epidemiology, health education, health policy and leadership, and preventive care.
• The University of South Florida, University of Illinois Chicago, University of Kentucky and University of Vermont also list online DrPH formats.

Check accreditation before you apply. Capella University’s online DrPH, for example, is not at a CEPH-listed school, while Walden University’s is. The CEPH accreditation guide explains how to look a program up.

Are DrPH Programs Funded?

Don’t assume a DrPH comes with funding. Several schools say so directly. UC Berkeley states that DrPH students are not guaranteed funding and are expected to pay through savings, loans or outside scholarships, because the DrPH is a professional degree. Boston University offers partial merit-based tuition scholarships but no stipend.

That makes the working-professional formats more practical for many people: you keep your salary while studying. If you’re drawn to research as well, compare PhD programs’ funding policies before you decide. The MPH scholarships guide covers federal aid, assistantships and employer tuition help.

How to Choose a DrPH Program

1. Match the concentration to the job you want. Options range from general leadership degrees to focused ones, such as Columbia’s DrPH in biostatistics, environmental health sciences, epidemiology, or population and family health, or the three specialties at the University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus: health systems, social determinants of health and environmental health.
2. Check your experience against the minimum. Two years after the master’s gets you into Berkeley’s applicant pool; Harvard wants six years of full-time work.
3. Decide how much campus time you can manage. Boston University is fully in person; Emory and UNMC are fully online; UNC brings you to campus three times a year; East Carolina runs hybrid DrPH options in environmental and occupational health and in health policy and leadership.
4. Confirm accreditation. CEPH accredits the DrPH as part of a school or program, so check the school’s status before you apply.
5. Get the funding answer in writing. Berkeley expects self-funding and Boston University offers partial scholarships without a stipend.
6. Ask about the doctoral project. The integrative project is where you build the portfolio employers see, so ask where recent students placed theirs.

Doctor of Public Health Salary: What the Degree Leads to

Federal pay data is reported by occupation, not by degree, so there is no single DrPH salary. What the degree changes is which jobs you can compete for. In May 2025, medical and health services managers earned a median of $123,860 and epidemiologists $87,220, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The MPH salary guide breaks down pay for seven public health careers by state, and the health services manager page shows the leadership track in detail.

If you haven’t earned your master’s yet, start with the MPH programs or a dual-degree MPH; most of the DrPH programs above expect a master’s first.