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THE JOHNS HOPKINS BLOOMBERG SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICE OF THE DEAN Date Effective: September 1, 1983 POLICY AND PROCEDURE MEMORANDUM ACADEMIC PROGRAMS - 4 SUBJECT: Doctor of Public Health Degree INTRODUCTION This manual contains the following information concerning minimal requirements for the Doctor of Public Health degree at the Bloomberg School of Public Health (JHSPH). Departments may set additional requirements beyond those listed herein. III. Administrative Requirements C. Residency & Registration Requirements E. Time Limit for Completion (Full-time DrPH programs) IV. Certification by the Faculty B. Preliminary Oral Examination C. Dissertation Advisory Committee D. Doctoral Dissertation and Final Public Oral I. DrPH Learning Objectives The Doctor of Public Health Degree (DrPH) is a school-wide advanced professional degree program designed for the student who has a Masters of Public Health (MPH) or its equivalent degree and who intends to pursue a leadership career in the professional practice of public health. The mission of the DrPH program is to prepare graduates to advance the public’s health through the integration and application of a broad range of knowledge and analytical skills in leadership, practice, policy analysis, program management and professional communication coupled with preparation in a specific disciplinary public health field. The DrPH program prepares graduates to apply these skills and methods in both academic and non-academic settings as well as in either public agency or private sector settings that emphasize improving the health of the public. The DrPH Program has both a School-wide component and a departmental component. Generally stated, the School-wide component emphasizes the advanced, cross-cutting knowledge and skills associated with leadership, integration and application of public health programs. The departmental component emphasizes the disciplinary knowledge and competence in a specific public health field. The DrPH degree may be completed on either a full-time or part-time basis, depending on the department and the particular DrPH program. Learning objectives and competencies are established by the DrPH Executive Committee with periodic review by the Committee on Academic Standards. II. Program OrganizationBecause DrPH students concentrate their professional development in a particular field of study, the DrPH program is administered jointly by the School and by departments. The Director of the DrPH Program is appointed by the Dean. The DrPH Executive Committee is composed of faculty from departments that offer the DrPH degree, departments that offer core DrPH instruction and mentorship, at least two adjunct faculty drawn from the public health practice community, the Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, a representative of the Interdepartmental Program in Applied Public Health, and two current DrPH students. Each department member is appointed by the Dean in consultation with the chair of each department and the DrPH Program Director. The members should be of sufficient rank to be able to speak on behalf of their respective departments. The department representatives on the committee also serve as the DrPH coordinator in their respective departments. The Dean appoints the student representatives and the adjunct faculty to the DrPH Executive Committee in consultation with the DrPH director. The DrPH Executive Committee is charged with the following. 1. Overseeing and administering the School-wide component of the program. 2. Developing School-wide program objectives, goals, and educational competencies. 3. Coordinating, communicating with and monitoring the implementation of the program within the respective departments offering the DrPH. 4. Working with departments to establish and maintain a core curriculum for the DrPH that builds disciplinary skills in the context of public health leadership and practice. 5. Assessing matters of student performance in association with the School-wide Committee on Academic Standards. The DrPH Executive Committee has three standing committees. Members of each DrPH Subcommittee are appointed by the Director of the DrPH Program. 1. The DrPH Scholarship Subcommittee of the DrPH Executive Board is responsible for selecting recipients for available DrPH scholarships that are not specific to the departments. 2. The DrPH Student Matters Subcommittee of the DrPH Executive Board is responsible for reviewing student requests for exceptions to DrPH academic policy. The recommendations of the DrPH Student Matters Subcommittee are reviewed and voted on by the full DrPH Executive Board and are forwarded to the Committee on Academic Standards. 3. The DrPH Subcommittee on Part-time Programs of the DrPH Executive Board is responsible for determining the academic policies and their implementation for part-time DrPH programs. The Director of the DrPH Program reports on a regular basis to the Committee on Academic Standards and the Committee of the Whole. III. Administrative Requirements A. Academic PrerequisitesPolicy The DrPH Program develops in its graduates advanced skills in leadership, application of knowledge about the public’s health, and the analytical skills of public health. The DrPH Program is intended for students who are already public health professionals or others who intend to pursue a career in the practice of public health. Students who enter the DrPH program without a prior MPH degree from the Bloomberg School of Public Health or other accredited school of public health within the previous five years may be required to complete the core requirements of the Johns Hopkins MPH program as part of their DrPH program. Procedure 1. The DrPH Executive Committee works with the departments that offer the DrPH to set admission standards, eligibility criteria, and procedures, and to monitor their implementation. The departments use their established doctoral admissions processes to recruit, evaluate, and admit DrPH applicants. Applicants for admission to the DrPH are expected to have completed an MPH degree from an accredited public health program. Candidates may apply with an equivalent professional masters degree (MSW, MBA, MHS, other), but may be required to complete additional course work in conformity with the core curriculum of the MPH Program at the Bloomberg School of Public Health. Such decisions are made on an individual basis by the candidate’s department in consultation with the DrPH Program. 2. Students admitted to the DrPH program with an MPH degree from another accredited school may be asked to complete additional requirements to fulfill specific competencies of the School’s MPH program. 3. Admissions decisions to the DrPH program are determined by each department offering the DrPH degree. Admission is based on evaluation of the applicant’s educational and work experience, past academic performance, and potential to provide leadership in public health. 4. Admissions requirements include, at a minimum, those requirements for admission to the MPH program plus the following. a. A minimum of three years full-time work experience in health or human services. b. Evidence of quantitative or evaluative skills and ability. This criterion is usually met in the form of scores on GRE or other standardized exams. Scores on standard exams (e.g. GRE, MCAT) must be recent (usually taken in the last 5 years). Waivers may be granted only under special circumstances by the department. In addition applicants must meet specific departmental requirements. c. Applicants whose native language is not English must submit the results of the Test of English as Foreign Language (TOEFL) consistent with the requirements of each department. Waivers may be granted only under special circumstances by the department. Students should meet with their advisor and DrPH departmental faculty at the beginning of their first term after matriculation to review what additional courses need to be taken to meet the School’s MPH requirements. These additional courses are generally completed in the first year of the program. B. Core CurriculumPolicy The DrPH Executive Committee is responsible for establishing the core competencies to be mastered by DrPH graduates. They include the core knowledge and abilities of the MPH Program plus advanced expertise in health and disease in human populations, public health leadership, and methodologies essential to the solution of public health problems, as well as the administration and evaluation of public health programs. The core curriculum shall include formal course work plus a DrPH seminar, where informal interactions among students and faculty enhance student professional development. Procedure The DrPH Executive Committee determines the specific core competencies that all DrPH candidates must develop. The Committee on Academic Standards periodically reviews this core curriculum, along with department specific curricula and requirements. The Director of the DrPH Program in collaboration with the DrPH Executive Committee will also organize a DrPH seminar whose objectives are the following. 1. To understand the intellectual origins of public health as a field. 2. To develop public health practice skills (“scholarship of application”), including a. leadership; b. problem solving; c. politics and public health; and d. professional communication. 3. To build interdisciplinary and team skills by linking DrPH students across departments (“scholarship of integration”). 4. To provide students with diverse experiences that help to formulate the dissertation research. The DrPH Executive Committee will work with departments to establish standards for practicums. Each department offering a DrPH program (full-time or part-time) will work with the DrPH Academic Program to assure some consistency across programs with respect to principles, goals and objectives of each program. C. Residency & Registration RequirementsPolicy All Doctoral programs within the School of Public Health have a full-time residency requirement, meaning that the doctoral candidate must enroll for four consecutive terms as a full-time student, i.e., enrolled for 16 or more credits. Because of the professional focus of the DrPH, however, the School recognizes that students can be fully engaged in their academic and professional development while working in certain health and health-related professions. In these cases, the DrPH Executive Committee may, upon request from the student, with support from the department of concentration, waive the full-time residency requirement and/or approve registration as a part-time student. To do so, the Committee must find acceptable a written academic plan of study submitted by the student after approval by his/her advisor. The explicitly part-time DrPH program is described in Section V. In the case of a student who completes a master’s program on a full-time basis from the School and continues into the DrPH program within three years of earning the public health master’s degree, the subsequent four-term full-time residency requirement may be waived by the department of concentration. All DrPH students must remain continuously registered in an acceptable registration status during their program of study. Active registration status requires a minimum registration of three credits per term; other acceptable statuses include non-residency (as approved by the Committee on Academic Standards) and approved leaves of absence. Registration is not mandatory for the summer and intersession terms. Procedure While the official records will be maintained by the Office of Records and Registration, each student and department shall keep records of residence time and credit units earned. The student’s advisor is responsible for monitoring fulfillment of this requirement. D. DissertationPolicy The focus of the DrPH degree program is on the scholarship of application and translation as carried out in the practice of public health. Knowledge contributed by individuals with this degree is expected to have a direct application to public health practice. The content of the dissertation should reflect the focus of the degree program and the career paths of DrPH graduates. Dissertation Content The DrPH dissertation demonstrates the student’s capacity for public health analytic work. Its specific content is to be developed by the student in consultation with the faculty of his/her department. The DrPH dissertation will also meet the following criteria: 1. addresses a practical problem confronting a leader in public health practice; 2. represents original thought and work; 3. uses a rigorous and scientifically defensible analytic component; and 4. is based on a conceptual model that relates the work to existing knowledge and to practice. Dissertation Format See Guidelines for the preparation of Dissertations and Theses at http://www.jhsph.edu/Student_Affairs/registrar/ThesisPrep.pdf E. Time Limit for Completion (Full-time DrPH programs)Not more than 7 years may elapse between the date of matriculation and fulfillment of all requirements for each doctoral candidate. The matriculation date is the first day of the term in which the accepted doctoral degree candidate begins his/her course work. The matriculation date is not changed when a student transfers to another degree program. During this 7-year period of time, the student must remain continuously registered in an acceptable registration status. Active registration status requires a minimum registration of three credits per term; other acceptable statuses include non-residency and approved leaves of absence. Registration is not mandatory for the summer and intersession terms. Students registered either in residence or non-residence must conform to the 7 year limit. Requests for non-residence must be reviewed and approved by the Committee on Academic Standards. Only students who have been approved for formal leaves of absence may extend beyond this time limit. IV. Certification by the Faculty A. Comprehensive ExaminationPolicy The comprehensive examination is usually administered at the end of the first or second year of doctoral course work by the departments offering the DrPH degree. The examination is intended to assess the student’s written mastery of the knowledge base and methods in their field of study as well as in core DrPH competencies. Standards for the examination of these core DrPH competencies are set by the DrPH Executive Committee, but the examination is developed and administered by each of the departments that offer the DrPH degree. The content and procedures will be monitored by the DrPH Executive Committee. Procedure 1. The department arranges for, administers, and evaluates the results of the examination. An oral exam may also be required by the department. 2. Time: The examination must be given and successfully completed before the preliminary oral examination. 3. Results: The outcome of the examination is determined by the department. An evaluation of the student’s performance on this examination is to be submitted to the Registrar for transmittal to the Committee on Academic Standards. 4. If the student’s performance is unsatisfactory, only one reexamination is permitted. B. Preliminary Oral ExaminationPolicy The purpose of this examination is to determine whether the student has the ability and knowledge to undertake significant public health problem-solving and analytic research in his/her general area of content. Specifically, the examiners will be concerned with the student’s: (1) capacity for logical thinking; (2) breadth and depth of knowledge in public health and evaluative methodologies; and (3) ability to undertake a project aimed at addressing a significant public health problem leading to a completed dissertation. Discussion of a specific proposal, if available, may serve as a vehicle for determining the student’s general knowledge and analytical capacity. However, this examination is not intended to be a defense of a specific proposal. When a proposal is submitted, the student will be expected to defend the public health significance of the problem as well as the methodologies to be used in evaluating solutions to the problem. The preliminary oral examination is a Bloomberg School of Public Health requirement overseen by the DrPH Executive Committee and under the auspices of the Committee on Academic Standards. It is required of all DrPH students. Procedure 1. Examining Committee: Requests for a preliminary oral examination must be sent to the Records and Registration Office on the appropriate form at least 4 weeks prior to the examination. The committee shall consist of five voting members. a. Not more than three members of the primary department can serve, and one of these must be the thesis advisor. A minimum of three Departments of the University, at least two being from the School of Public Health, must be represented. b. At least one member must hold neither a primary nor joint appointment in the student’s department. A full-time faculty member from outside the student’s major department will normally serve as chairperson and must hold the rank of Full or Associate Professor at The Johns Hopkins University. c. The fifth member on the preliminary oral committee must have professional practice experience related to the public health problem addressed by the student. The fifth member is not necessarily a faculty member of The Johns Hopkins University, and will be approved to serve on the Committee by the Program Director, based on a submitted Curriculum Vita. The Committee member fulfilling this practice experience must be explicitly designated on examination forms. d. Two faculty alternates will be designated, one from inside and the other from outside the department. Each must have a current appointment as Assistant Professor or higher in the JHU Department or program. A third alternate with professional experience may also need to be designated if neither of the first two alternates fulfills this requirement. 2. Time of Examination: The examination should be given at the earliest feasible time after the preliminary oral examination and before significant engagement in the dissertation work. 3. Reexamination: If the student fails the preliminary oral examination and is permitted a reexamination, he/she must be reexamined within one year. 4. Conduct of Examination and Report of Results a. Before presenting the request for the examination, the student shall contact prospective examiners to ensure that they are available to serve on the committee. Once an examination committee has been approved by the responsible Associate Dean, substitution of committee members may not be made without prior approval of that office. If one of the officially appointed members of the committee fails to appear on the date fixed for the examination, the previously approved alternate must be prepared to discharge the responsibility of the absent individual. A preliminary oral examination may not be held with fewer than five officially approved faculty members in the room. b. Immediately following the examination, the committee must evaluate the success or failure of the student by a closed ballot prior to any discussion of the candidate’s performance. The possible votes are for: unconditional pass, conditional pass, or failure. If there is a unanimous vote for unconditional pass, this outcome is reported to the Registrar. If one or more votes are for conditional pass or failure, the committee must deliberate until it reaches a majority consensus on the appropriate outcome. If the committee decides upon conditional pass, it must specify in writing the conditions to be met by the student. These conditions must be submitted to the responsible Associate Dean at the end of the examination. The committee will remain appointed until the conditions are removed. The conditions must be met within one year of the date of the exam. If the majority decides that the candidate has failed the examination, the committee must recommend a future course of action. The recommendation may be one of the following: i. No reexamination. ii. Reexamination by the same committee. iii. Reexamination by a new committee. If the recommendation is for a new committee, at least one member of the original committee from outside the student’s department shall be appointed to the new committee whose composition must be approved by the responsible Associate Dean. c. The result of the examination must be recorded on the appropriate line at the bottom of the scheduling form for that examination. Each member of the committee must sign the form, and it must be returned to the Office of Records and Registration at the Bloomberg School of Public Health immediately after the examination. C. Dissertation Advisory CommitteePolicy The progress of each DrPH student is followed regularly, at least once a year, by a committee consisting of the dissertation advisor and two to four other faculty, from both inside and/or outside the student’s department; a part-time adjunct faculty member or a non-faculty member may serve as one of the members of this Committee. The objective of the Dissertation Advisory Committee is to provide continuity in the evaluation of the progress and development of the student. Procedure 1. The student and his/her advisor, with the consent of the department chair, decide on the composition of this committee. 2. The first meeting of the Dissertation Advisory Committee is when the student is developing his/her dissertation proposal. A brief written progress report should be submitted by the student at the time of the meeting. A written evaluation of the student’s progress and development will be prepared by the committee after the meeting, discussed with the student, and a copy placed in the student’s departmental file and a copy sent to the DrPH Executive Committee. Students who are working outside of the country or at distant sites within the country are not required to attend Dissertation Advisory Committee meetings, although that is desirable. However, such students will submit yearly written progress reports, which will be read and evaluated by the Dissertation Advisory Committee. A written evaluation based on this document will be sent to the student and placed in the student’s departmental file. It is the responsibility of the department to provide the administrative oversight of Dissertation committees, to ensure that the committee meets and submits reports. D. Doctoral Dissertation and Final Public OralPolicy The dissertation must be (1) based on an original public health project, (2) worthy of publication, and (3) acceptable to the sponsoring Department and to a committee of dissertation readers. The oral defense of the dissertation shall be conducted by the committee of dissertation readers after the department of concentration agrees that the candidate is ready for the formal defense. During this defense the committee shall evaluate: (1) the originality of the scholarship and publication potential of the dissertation work; (2) the candidate’s understanding of the details of the methodologic and analytic work; (3) the candidate’s understanding of the potential impact of the work on public health practice, programs and policy, and (4) the final quality of the written document. Procedure 1. Timing: During the course of the student’s dissertation project, he/she should be encouraged to seek advice as needed, outside as well as inside his/her department. A request for the formation of a committee of thesis
readers should be made by the student’s advisor after verifying that the
dissertation will be ready for submission to the readers at least 4 weeks prior
to the defense. Committee members are encouraged and expected to communicate to
the student specific recommendations for changes in the dissertation prior to
the oral defense. 2. Certification of
Fulfillment of all Requirements and Nomination for Degree 3. Committee of Readers 4. Conduct of the
Examination a. Acceptable: This requires a unanimous vote of the committee indicating an acceptable dissertation with only minor corrections. Minor corrections are considered those that can be comfortably completed within two weeks following the exam. b. Conditionally Acceptable: If one or more members require substantive changes to the dissertation, these changes must be discussed by the committee. Immediately following this discussion, each member who still requires changes will then write down the specific nature of these changes and the time expected for the student to complete them. The appropriately revised dissertation must be submitted to each of the members for final approval; the committee shall remain appointed until the chair writes a letter to the responsible Associate Dean indicating that all conditions have been met. c. Unacceptable: If one or more members feel that the candidate’s understanding of the written dissertation is inadequate, or that the dissertation in its present form is not acceptable for a doctoral dissertation, then the candidate has FAILED. Re-examination would be in order unless there is a unanimous recommendation to the contrary. This re-examination will normally be by the same committee, but a new committee may be selected by the Chair of the Committee on Academic Standards if petitioned by the student. 5. Report of Examiners Immediately following the defense, the examining committee chair shall submit a report to the Records and Registration Office about of the outcome of the examination and any conditions that have been set for additional work or revisions of the dissertation. The written report must include the written statements by individual committee members detailing the specific changes in the dissertation that each requires. The responsible Associate Dean shall inform the student by letter (with copies to the Department chair and all readers) of the conclusions of the committee. It is the responsibility of the dissertation advisor to ascertain that all suggested revisions are incorporated into the final copy of the dissertation. It shall be the individual responsibility of the readers to verify that any revisions suggested by them have been appropriately incorporated into the final copy. When the dissertation is deemed acceptable, the advisor and chair of the examining committee shall submit a letter to this effect to the Records and Registration Office for the attention of the responsible Associate Dean. The student is not considered to have passed the exam until all specific changes have been made and all letters have been received. Should there be a conflict between the student and a committee member that holds up submission of a letter, this shall be resolved by the committee chair, or if that is not possible, by the Committee on Academic Standards. It is to be emphasized that completion of the degree is not finalized until the student deposits the required number of final copies of the dissertation with the Records and Registration Office, the Eisenhower Library, and the DrPH Program Office. E. Public SeminarAs a culminating experience, the doctoral student will present a formal, public seminar. This requirement provides experience for the student in preparing a formal seminar; provides the faculty and department with an opportunity to share in the student’s accomplishments; and gives a sense of finality to the doctoral experience on behalf of the student. One mechanism that can be used to satisfy this requirement is to present a formal public seminar as part of the final oral examination. V. Part-time DrPH ProgramPolicy The focus of the DrPH program is on the preparation of graduates for leadership careers in the practice of public health. Therefore, the program encourages both the recruitment of practicing professionals to the degree program and the ongoing involvement of DrPH candidates with health agencies and organizations. To facilitate these connections with the practice community, the DrPH program may be designed as explicitly part-time, and will therefore be earned on a part-time basis. Students in the part-time DrPH programs must develop a sound academic plan for completion of the degree and maintain the same high standard of academic performance as any full-time doctoral candidate. Procedure 1) DrPH Program responsibilities a. The DrPH student manual will provide specific guidance to departments and to students concerning the structure of a part-time DrPH program. b. The time limits to completion will be extended for students in the part-time program. The preliminary oral examination must be completed within 4 years, and the final defense of the dissertation within 9 years of matriculation. c. The DrPH Executive Committee will work with the departments to carefully monitor the part-time programs to assure that students are making continuous progress in meeting program requirements. 2) Department responsibilities a. Each department proposing to offer the Part-time DrPH program must submit a plan to the DrPH Executive Committee for approval. This plan must address the following issues. i. The structure of the program, including: (a) how required and elective courses will be made available to part-time students in a logical sequence leading to the development of a dissertation; (b) how part-time candidates will maintain their connectedness to the department faculty and student colleagues; (c) the anticipated time to completion of comprehensive examinations, preliminary oral examinations and the dissertation; (d) parity of requirements between part-time and full-time programs; and (e) procedures for monitoring student progress. ii. Samples of model student course schedules, by year in program, should be provided. b. The department will develop a policy on the relationship between the part-time DrPH program, the student, and the candidates’ employer. This policy will clarify any expectations of the employer for student mentoring, access to data sets, relationship between the employer and the student’s advisor, etc., as well as clarify any other relevant aspects of the academic program for part-time students who are employed. 3) Candidates’ responsibilities An individual plan for course and dissertation completion should be submitted at the beginning of the program—by the end of the 2nd term of the first year—and reassessed each year with the advisor. The departmental academic coordinator should monitor this process and keep a record of such plans. The candidate must work with the advisor and the employer to plan work schedules and academic schedules to avoid unnecessary delays in completion of the degree program.
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