Analysis of CEPH-Accredited DrPH Programs and Future Directions of DrPH Education in the United States: A Mixed-Methods Study
Open AccessThe Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) is the terminal “professional doctoral degree in public health, designed to produce transformative academic and practice leaders with expertise in evidence-based public health practice and research.” Since William Henry Welch and Wickliffe Rose outlined the template for public health professional education in the United States in 1915, efforts to develop and establish DrPH education in the United States have been continuous. At the 48th American Public Health Association (APHA) annual meeting in New Orleans in 1919, a committee consisting of 16 experts duly recognized the degree of DrPH as a standardized professional training. At that time, a total of 9 schools provided 10 DrPH degrees, with duration of coursework required for graduation ranging from a mere 36 hours (a few weeks’ course) to as much as 3 years.The effort to standardize public health education through accreditation and credentialing has continued since 1919. In 1953, the Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH) was established to enhance academic public health programs. APHA accredited graduate professional education in public health from 1945 to 1973. Then, in 1974, APHA and ASPH established the independent Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) to improve the quality of public health education and evaluate schools of public health. However, little is known about how each of the CEPH-accredited schools and programs interpreted and provided practice- and leadership-oriented DrPH education. In fact, over the past 100 years, very few studies have examined the education and training required for the DrPH degree.The purpose of this dissertation is to answer the following two research questions on doctoral education and public health: (1) What are the DrPH degree common themes and variations within the CEPH-accredited public health programs from matriculation to post-graduation, including program structure, didactic curriculum, applied practice experience, integrative learning experience, internal funding opportunities, and graduate outcomes? and (2) What is the desirable future direction and optimal education strategy for the DrPH degree in the United States?
- All rights reserved
Notice to Authors
If you are the author of this work and you have any questions about the information on this page, please use the Contact form to get in touch with us.