Tufts Advances Public Health Education with New Doctorate in Public Health Degree

 

BOSTON — Tufts University has added depth to its public health education programs with a new Doctorate in Public Health (DrPH) degree offered through Tufts University School of Medicine. The new degree’s interdisciplinary curriculum draws from across the University’s distinguished graduate schools in medicine, nutrition, veterinary sciences, dentistry, engineering and international relations.  Tufts will enroll its inaugural DrPH class in the fall of 2013.

According to the Association of Schools of Public Health, the United States will face a shortfall of more than 250,000 public health workers by 2020. Tufts’ new DrPH degree program will help to fill the projected gap in the public health workforce leveraging the University’s strengths and resources to offer students the opportunity to advance their knowledge and skills in public health.

“The DrPH program will prepare students to promote public health and health policy using advanced analytic and management skills and to occupy leadership positions within a range of public health and health care settings,” said Aviva Must, Ph.D., Dean of Public Health and Professional Degree Programs and Professor and Chair of the Department of Public Health and Community Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine. “Effective public health leadership can drive public policy, promote access to quality health care, and innovate to improve population health.” 

The DrPH is the highest professional degree for the public health practitioner and is designed for individuals who seek the advanced knowledge and practical skills needed to be leaders in public health. The Tufts program, one of only three such programs offered in New England, is primarily for students who have obtained a Masters in Public Health (MPH) and have postgraduate professional public health experience. The program is designed to be completed in four years of full-time study for students who enroll with an MPH from an institution accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health, including three semesters of coursework and one or more required apprenticeships followed by dissertation research.  The program is offered on both a full and part-time basis.

The Tufts DrPH degree offers training in the public health disciplines and practice with an applied, interdisciplinary view. Doctoral students will learn from nationally and internationally renowned faculty who bring with their public health training a wide range of expertise in law, medicine, veterinary medicine, sociology, anthropology, environmental science and engineering, nutrition, infectious diseases, communications, social work, and global health. The program will prepare students to hold leadership positions within domestic and international public health organizations in an increasingly multidisciplinary and globalized world.

Tufts University has shown national leadership in the development of advanced public health programs on its Health Sciences campus in Boston.  In addition to the new DrPH degree, the School of Medicine offers the Master in Public Health degree and seven combined degree programs, including a five-year BA/MPH degree in partnership with the School of Arts and Sciences and joint graduate degrees in public health and medicine (MD/MPH); biomedical sciences (MS in Biomedical Sciences/MPH); veterinary medicine (DVM/MPH with the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine); nutrition (MS in Nutrition/MPH with the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy); dental medicine (DMD/MPH with the School of Dental Medicine); and law (JD/MPH in partnership with Northeastern University School of Law). 

For more information about Tufts University and its academic programs, please visit: www.tufts.edu.

About Tufts University School of Medicine and the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences

Tufts University School of Medicine and the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences at Tufts University are international leaders in innovative medical and population health education and advanced research. Tufts University School of Medicine emphasizes rigorous fundamentals in a dynamic learning environment to educate physicians, scientists, and public health professionals to become leaders in their fields. The School of Medicine and the Sackler School are renowned for excellence in education in general medicine, the biomedical sciences, and public health, as well as for innovative research at the cellular, molecular, and population health level. Ranked among the top in the nation, the School of Medicine is affiliated with six major teaching hospitals and more than 30 health care facilities. Tufts University School of Medicine and the Sackler School undertake research that is consistently rated among the highest in the nation for its effect on the advancement of medical and prevention science.

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