The Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) with a concentration in Health Policy and Organization (HPO) provides training in public health leadership, strategic management, and empirical research skills. The program is designed for students who are interested in careers in public health management and/or academic public health management/systems research. It is heavily focused on leadership and management skills, qualitative and quantitative analysis, teaching/communication, and the implementation of research into policy and practice.
Further details about the program may be obtained by contacting the director of the DrPH Program, Dr. David Becker, at dbecker@uab.edu or the Coordinator of Graduate Student Admissions, Misty Altiparmak, at maltima@uab.edu.
Curriculum
To earn the DrPH degree with a concentration in HPO, students must first complete a minimum of 42 total credit hours of academic course work. This includes a 9-hour foundational DrPH core, 12 hours of required methods courses, 9 hours of HPO concentration courses, and 12 hours of elective coursework designed by the student and their primary faculty advisor. During their first year in the program, students must enroll in the doctoral seminar (HPO 796) in the fall and spring semesters. Other requirements for the degree include a comprehensive written and examination (HPO 797), the DrPH practicum (HPO 793), at least one semester of dissertation protocol development (HPO 798), and at least two semesters of dissertation research (HPO 799).
Students who wish to be considered for funding should apply no later than January 15. All applications must be submitted by April 1.
Applications must be submitted through the SOPHAS system. Required application materials include a statement of purpose, curriculum vitae, official academic transcripts, GRE scores and three letters of recommendation. International applicants whose native language is not English, or who did not complete a degree at an English-speaking institution, must submit a TOEFL score and a World Education Services (WES/ECE, or similar) transcript evaluation.
Applicants to the DrPH program in HPO should hold either an MPH or a Master’s degree in a health related field. Students without an MPH will be required to complete all MPH and HPO concentration specific prerequisite courses. Students with an MPH in another field will be required to complete all of the HPO concentration prerequisite courses. Applicants are expected to have a minimum of two years of experience in public health research or practice. Admissions decisions will be based upon prior academic performance, professional experience, a written statement of purpose, letters of recommendation and GRE Scores. GRE scores should be no more than five years old, and competitive applicants will have a score of 156 or higher on the verbal and quantitative sections.