Best Online PhD in Public Health Programs

As mentioned above there are two possible degrees in doctoral-level public health education, a Ph.D. and a DrPH. Your choice of each depends on your professional goals. The Ph.D. is a traditional research degree, geared toward students who wish to become academics and teach in a university setting. PhDs sometimes take longer to complete and are less likely to be online than the DrPH. They typically have a strong methodology focus for a student's extensive research. DrPH degrees are aimed largely at early to mid-career professionals looking for professional advancement into public health administration. Programs look for extensive career experience and offer more practical management classes that students can take into their jobs. They are also more likely to offer alternatives to the traditional dissertation such as workplace projects.

Public health employees with a master's in public health (MPH) or an online MPH could consider this as a flexible option to open new and more advanced career possibilities. However, many programs allow an equivalent degree and professional experience in lieu of the MPH. Perhaps you have a bachelor's in public health or an online public health bachelor's and years of experience, for example, or an adjacent degree such as public health nursing.

All public health doctorates allow customization of the degree through clearly defined concentrations, allowing students to shape the program to their interests, whether toward research, policy, or administration. Mid-career biostatisticians, health managers, health public policy experts, public health social workers and epidemiologists looking for professional advancement and leadership training could all benefit from these programs. These online public health doctorates offer busy professionals remote flexibility that their campus-based degrees in public health lack. Not only can these Ph.D. programs be studied part-time, but many of them also expect it, so students can apply theoretical lessons in their professional work environment.

According to Payscale.com, MPH degree holders earn an annual average of $64,451 while public health doctorate holders earn an average of $84,743.

All of these programs require between 2-5 years of full-time professional experience in a public health field and some, particularly the DrPH programs with an executive management focus such as that at UNC, expect evidence of leadership roles. They all also require either an MPH or equivalent master's degree with relevant public health coursework to demonstrate readiness for the demanding academic study of a public health doctorate. This could include, for example, public health graduate-level certificates taken online or public health certificates taken in person. Most schools also require a current GRE score within the past five years, while some allow candidates to waive the GRE if they have an MPH and extensive professional experience. All of the programs expect clearly articulated professional goals in a personal statement, which can be up to 5 pages long. International applicants will have to provide proof of English fluency via TOEFL or IELTS scores from the last two years. Many programs have online applications and require 2 to 3 professional references.

All of these programs have similar coursework requirements, beginning with required common courses and electives allowing specialization of interests. These common courses, usually between 6 and 11 classes of varying lengths, focus on research methods, ethics, statistics and leadership through seminars and literature reviews, as well as how to transform public health data into policy. Most schools then require 6 and 11 credit hours of courses in a chosen specialization, which widely vary according to school, as well as often one or more workplace practicums. Once coursework is complete students will sit for multiple written and oral comprehensive exams.

The doctoral dissertation is a significant part of almost all programs, with up to 28 credit hours of preparation through consultation with an advisor, including a proposal, extensive research and writing. Some programs allow a student to replace the traditional primary research dissertation with a workplace project or a more flexibly created written document such as program evaluation or policy analysis.

How Long is an Online Doctoral Public Health Program?

While most programs can be completed within 3 years students can have far longer to complete them at a part-time pace, sometimes up to 7 years. These expectations vary widely according to school. In a 4-year program of full-time work and part-time study, foundation and elective classes would be taken in the first 2 years, along with possibly some practicum elements in the workplace, ending with comprehensive exams. This would be followed by 2 years or more of dissertation proposal preparation, research and writing.

While required course specifics will vary across programs they all share features due to the competency requirements of public health leadership. These will range from formal statistics classes to group seminar discussions of case studies and policy. Research methods classes ensure that graduates have a command of relevant qualitative and quantitative methods while epidemiology classes will often focus on specific public health events, such as HIV or antibiotic resistance. The following four sections give a sense of four common kinds of classes you are likely to encounter in all online public health doctorates.

Public Health Case Study Seminar

These classes typically begin with extensive reading around real-world public health problems such as obesity or opioid addiction, followed by a discussion of possible interventions to mitigate that problem from a leadership and systems perspective. While the readings are both theoretical and applied the classes expect students to synthesize this information and discuss improvements in a group setting.

Biostatistics

These courses approach problem solving from an analytical statistics perspective, where students learn mathematical methods of turning complex real-world data into sound practical solutions. Some of the methods learned may include regressions and multifactor analysis using computer statistical software such as R, SAS or Excel.

Epidemiology

All programs require students to learning about descriptive and analytic epidemiological methods to learn how diseases and other health problems spread in the human population, focusing on research methods to investigate the origins, risk and transmission of these problems as well as study designs to understand and mitigate their consequences. These courses often focus on a single epidemiological problem or a specific locality or population.

Research Methods

How do public health leaders design evidence-based quantitative and qualitative studies? These classes focus on the practice of creating useful questions, finding appropriate tools and using appropriate theory. These classes may teach how to choose between harder data-driven quantitative methods or more qualitative approaches such as interviews and focus groups. The emphasis is generally on driving policy toward improving a given situation.

Due to the varied nature of public health research and employment, these programs offer a range of specializations, both as formal elective choices and in the focus of each school. Many, but not all, schools offer specializations in either health research or leadership. Reviewing school websites or each department will help you decide which online public health degree is most suited to your professional interests.

Some specializations in public health doctoral programs might include:

• Environmental & Occupational Health
• Health Policy, Administration & Leadership
• Leadership
• Environmental Health

Writing a doctoral dissertation is a huge undertaking with many steps across multiple years. Almost all of these programs require a written dissertation and while some may offer flexibility in the final product, research remains a significant part of all Ph.D./DrPH online public health degrees.

First, usually after the first semester, students begin to select a dissertation topic arising from their research and professional interests. Given the practical nature of public health, this will often be an original research study. This topic is likely to evolve in consultation with a doctoral research advisor, a faculty member whose interests align with yours and who will be your advisor throughout the entire process. As you research, you begin to create a draft of a literature review, a significant written synthesis of available research and data on your chosen topic.

Once a draft is completed and you have finalized your topic you should begin to consider what research methods you may use for the study based on your coursework experience and reading. This development process culminates in a proposal defense in front of the faculty committee to ensure you are ready for study. Likely somewhere in the third year you begin the study and proceed to gather your results and begin the writing of the dissertation itself. The committee will typically suggest changes and once these changes have been made and the dissertation is sound you will, eventually, be done. Many doctoral students go on to publish these findings in research journals.

The nature of the specializations within these online programs means that you should thoroughly read a department's website before applying to the program. Read the course descriptions of the required courses and all the electives and imagine yourself having to choose a path to graduation. Are these the things you want to learn? Will they help you achieve your professional goals? Are there faculty that align with your interests who will be suitable for your dissertation committee?

Considering that all students will likely be working full-time while studying for a doctoral degree, it is important to consider how much time you think you will have when balanced with work and other life commitments.

Think about how competitive entry to the program seems to you. Do they admit many students and does their application process seem challenging? What kind of GRE scores do they require? Do they ask for an MPH degree? Do you feel comfortable entering a program with less stringent entrance requirements or would you prefer to be part of a more rigorous process? Also, consider the outcomes for graduates. Browse the departmental websites for information on their recent graduates to see if they are training the kind of public health professional that you wish to be.

Finally, factor in the cost. If you are studying part-time look at the cost per credit and see if it's something you can afford. The cost of studying full-time for an online public health doctorate can be upwards of $60,000 a year. These costs can be limited if you can pay in-state tuition for public schools whereas private schools will likely not offer cheaper tuition for being in-state. Keep in mind that you may be able to secure funding to offset the cost of a doctorate (we'll cover this detail below).

Accreditation is a process by which third-party organizations certify that schools and departments satisfy the requirements to grant reputable doctoral degrees. Universities will be accredited by major regional organizations like the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) or the Higher Learning Commission.

Public health programs and departments should be accredited by the Council on Education of Public Health (CEPC). Try looking in the FAQs or in the About section of the department to ensure that the school in question has been properly accredited. Doctorates from unaccredited departments will not be viewed with the same respect or interest by employers or researchers that accredited ones will.

Public health offers a wide range of job opportunities and your possibilities will be shaped by the specialization you choose as a doctoral candidate, by your research interests and by your current public health career as you move through the program. These programs all build leaders in the field, so a successful doctorate candidate can expect increases in pay and responsibility after completing their degree. Research, education, administration, policy and statistics are just some of the areas where public health professionals work, as well as within specific health concerns such as disease, maternal health local, national or global levels.

Epidemiologist

Epidemiologists work in labs or public health settings to prepare studies to gather data and create programs and interventions to respond to those health problems. Doctoral epidemiologists could expect to have significant management and leadership positions. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts a 5% growth from 2019-2019 for epidemiology positions as well as a median salary of $74,560, with significant possible increases for mid and late-career epidemiologists.

Public Health Faculty

Public health departments are largely taught by others with public health doctorates. They are required to be strong researchers as well strong communicators, able to turn complex knowledge into a curriculum suited for undergraduate as well as MPH/Ph.D./DrPH students. These jobs are in either public or private universities, where faculty are expected to both participate in research as well as teach classes within the department. The BLS predicts a 9% growth for postsecondary teacher from 2019-2029 and a median salary of $80,790.

Health Directors

These people lead departments in a variety of private and public health settings, including local, county, state and federal agencies, as well as research and epidemiological facilities. Professionals could previously have worked as health managers and desire more of a leadership challenge. The leadership focus of a public health DrPH is eminently suited for such advanced administration positions, requiring subject and organizational knowledge, staff management, communications, and legal understanding. The BLS predicts a remarkable 32% growth in jobs from 2019 to 2029 and reports a median pay of $104,280.

Biostatisticians

Biostatisticians consider how to use statistical methods to turn vast amounts of quantitative public health data into evidence-based understandings of a problem. Do they use existing methods or invent new ones? They consider this on individual as well as large societal levels. They must have a strong grasp of mathematics and quantitative methods and a passion for using such methods to tackle real-world problems. The BLS predicts a 35% growth in employment for statisticians and a $93,290 median salary.

Public health doctoral programs are expensive, but financial aid is available from various sources in the form of loans and grants. All departments have information available on tuition, fees and financial aid and this is the best place to start. Your first approach should be the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or FAFSA, a one-time online form allowing you to apply for paid teaching or research assistantships, service scholarships, and federal student loans.

Each department will also have links to its specific grant funding opportunities for you, as well as its fellowships that help pay, through teaching or research assistance, your tuition and fees. Beyond this, the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health or ASPPH is one of the best ways to review non-university scholarships, including a breakdown of possible funding by demographics such as minority or underserved communities, as well as area of research interest.