FAQs

The PhD program prepares students for careers as academic researchers, while the DrPH program is designed for experienced public health professionals seeking leadership roles in practice-focused settings, both domestically and globally. The DrPH is practice-oriented and part-time, allowing students to continue working full time while completing the degree, and graduates may also pursue faculty roles. In contrast, the PhD is a full-time, research-intensive program that requires residency in Baltimore.

The DrPH program is designed for experienced public health professionals who want to advance into leadership roles across a variety of public health settings, including health systems, government agencies, nonprofits, foundations, and international organizations. Students come from diverse professional backgrounds and bring a range of skills, perspectives, and experiences that enrich the program.

While the program is practice-focused, graduates also gain the skills to contribute to research, policy development, and academic teaching. We welcome applicants at all stages of their professional journey, and the part-time structure allows students to continue working full time while completing the degree.

Yes, Johns Hopkins believes that dissertations are a critical component of doctoral degree studies – and employers with whom we have spoken to agree with us! Dissertations enable students to gain experience addressing high-level and complex public health problems, and also expose students to the whole cycle of identifying problems, collecting and analyzing data and developing public health solutions. We are committed to making DrPH dissertations practice-oriented, and to supporting students as they identify and develop their dissertation proposals from the very beginning of the program. 

DrPH students benefit from a layered advising structure. Each concentration or track has designated program advisors who guide students on curriculum planning, program requirements, and progression through the degree.

In addition, students work with faculty advisors who provide mentorship on applied practice, scholarly development, and the DrPH dissertation. Faculty advisors are chosen based on alignment with each student’s professional interests and focus areas.

As part of the Bloomberg School of Public Health and the broader Johns Hopkins University community, DrPH students also have access to a wide network of world-renowned faculty across BSPH and other JHU-affiliated schools and centers. This breadth of expertise supports interdisciplinary training and opportunities to engage with leaders advancing public health research, policy, and practice globally.

All admitted DrPH students are assigned a faculty adviser and the adviser is shared with students after receiving their offers of admission. If students indicate faculty in their applications with whom they would like to collaborate, all efforts are made to connect students with these faculty; however, sometimes due to advising capacity or other constraints it is not possible. In that case, a faculty member will be identified based on the students' academic and professional interests expressed in the application.

It is unnecessary to contact faculty during the application process. We will personally connect you with your faculty adviser shortly after admission to the program!

There are a few resources that may be helpful if you would like to search for faculty by department or interests.

•  When you view a faculty member’s profile in the Bloomberg School faculty directory, many will have a link to their SciVal profile and/or specific research interests noted in a tab in the middle of their page.
• You can also search SciVal information directly.
• Centers and Institutes may have faculty affiliated with particular interests.
• You can find additional information regarding faculty and centers and research under each of the individual department websites as well.

The DrPH program welcomes students from all stages of their professional journey. While the minimum professional experience required is three years, the average DrPH student brings six to seven years of experience.

To support a smooth transition, students are paired with program and faculty advisors, and the DrPH Program Office hosts multiple onboarding sessions in the months leading up to matriculation. These sessions, along with a formal orientation before classes begin, provide timely guidance, introductions to systems and resources, and ensure that all students feel confident and ready to succeed from day one.

Although the DrPH program is designed to be completed online, students have many opportunities to connect with peers and faculty. Small seminar courses, discussion-based learning, and group projects foster collaboration and networking throughout the program.

In addition, students can participate in onsite sessions during the Winter and Summer Institutes in Baltimore,* which provide in-person networking, skill-building workshops, and opportunities to engage with faculty and fellow students. Program and faculty advisors also support students individually, helping them stay connected and engaged across coursework and applied projects.

*Students must either be domestic or enrolled in the Online Plus program to be eligible for visa support to attend Institute courses onsite.

Yes. All DrPH students, regardless of program format—full-time, part-time, online, or Online Plus—receive the same Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) degree. Your diploma does not indicate whether you completed the program part-time, online, or your specific concentration/track.

DrPH graduates pursue leadership and practice-focused careers across a wide range of public health settings. Alumni work in government agencies, health systems, nonprofit and community-based organizations, academic and research institutions, foundations, and the private sector, both domestically and globally.

Career outcomes vary by concentration and reflect students’ professional backgrounds and areas of specialization. Applicants are encouraged to explore the DrPH Career Outcomes Dashboard for aggregated alumni outcomes, as well as individual concentration and track pages for examples of roles aligned with specific curricular pathways.

Yes, the DrPH program can be completed entirely online. Students may choose to attend the Winter and Summer Institutes in Baltimore for intensive onsite coursework, but this is optional. All foundational and concentration courses are offered online, and additional onsite courses are available for those who wish to attend. You can complete the entire program—from onboarding through graduation—without ever coming to campus.

The DrPH program offers two options for completing coursework: Online Only and Online Plus.

Students who choose Online Only are not required to come onsite at any point during the program. Those who do not need visa support are welcome to attend courses on campus during any term or Institute if they wish.

The Online Plus option requires students to complete 4 of their 57 coursework credits onsite during either a Summer or Winter Institute. While this option is available to all students, it was designed to allow international students to be eligible for an F-1 I-20 visa in order to fulfill this onsite requirement.

Applicants indicate their preferred option when accepting their offer of admission. Choosing Online Only or Online Plus does not affect the degree earned—all students receive the Doctor of Public Health (DrPH).

The lectures in an online course are recorded (asynchronous), typically in segments of 20 minutes, so you can watch them at times convenient for you. In addition, courses typically have 3-4 "LiveTalks" in which faculty or field experts offer lectures and discussion synchronously, allowing you to interact and network in real time; LiveTalks are always recorded in case you can't attend.

Some onsite courses also may be available in an online, synchronous format (via Zoom). See our course catalog.

Courses typically comprise a balance of individual and group work. Students also interact through discussion forums and presentations.

The School organizes and presents all course material using an in-house, online Learning Management System called CoursePlus.

The DrPH program is very flexible and we encourage students to complete the program at a pace consonant with their work-life balance and their budgets, and these may fluctuate throughout the program; Students have up to 4 years to complete the majority of their coursework.

Most students take 1-2 courses per 8-week term. Most of our courses are 3 credits, and for each credit, students can expect approximately 3 hours of study per week. This may vary slightly throughout a course and change slightly from course to course.

The program is designed to allow full-time professionals to continue working while pursuing their studies.

The Bloomberg School of Public Health has four 8-week regular terms (1-4), summer term (not required), and summer and winter institutes. Courses during the four regular terms are typically online and asynchronous, while institute courses are offered onsite and virtually during June and January.

Please see our Academic Calendar for more information.

The very large majority of students entering the DrPH program will be part-time students and the program typically only allows students to matriculate full-time if they have external funding sources that require full-time enrollment. Please contact the DrPH Program Office if you anticipate requiring full-time enrollment; this also should be noted in the SOPHAS application.

Student Sponsorship:

Only students in the DrPH Online Plus program option are eligible for F-1 or J-1 student sponsorship. Students in the DrPH Online Plus program can study onsite in Baltimore during the Winter Institute or Summer Institute only. Legal Permanent Residents and non-immigrants who are otherwise physically present in the U.S. and in a status that allows for full or part-time study, may participate in this program online or onsite in Baltimore.

The DrPH program requires 57 didactic credits and a minimum of 7 proposal/thesis research credits. If students have not completed the prerequisite courses, additional coursework in epidemiology and biostatistics may be required; these credits would not count toward the didactic credit requirement of the DrPH.

Students' graduate transcripts will be evaluated after acceptance to the program to determine if any additional course work or waiver exams will be required. Waiver exams are offered free of charge and some preparation materials are provided.

If students have previously taken a required DrPH required course, they may seek a course substitution for the required course. Materials and instructions for submitting a course substitution request are provided during the onboarding process; course substitution reviews are not conducted prior to matriculation.

The DrPH program can be completed in a minimum of four years, with most students finishing in 4–6 years. The maximum time to complete the program is seven years. To help students stay on track, the program includes key milestones:

• The majority of Coursework and Comprehensive Written Exam must be completed by the end of the fourth year.
• The Preliminary Oral Exam must be completed by the end of the fifth year.
• The Final Oral Exam (Dissertation Defense) must be successfully completed by the end of the seventh year.

The median time to completion for students is 5 years, providing flexibility while ensuring steady progress toward the DrPH degree.

Applicants who have completed an applied master’s degree in a field relevant to public health—such as health services administration, environmental health, an MBA with a health focus, MPP, MSPH, or similar—are eligible to apply.

While many students hold an MPH (about 73% in a recent cohort), the program also welcomes applicants with degrees in health administration, economics, epidemiology, biomedical engineering, health informatics, urban planning, nursing, and related fields.

Students without an MPH may be required to complete prerequisite coursework in epidemiology or biostatistics to prepare for the foundational curriculum. Details on prerequisite requirements and pathways to fulfillment are available on the DrPH Prerequisites page.

No, the DrPH program does not require standardized test scores. 

Applicants may choose to submit GRE or GMAT scores if they wish, but scores must be submitted officially and be valid within the past five years. 

The Admissions Committees review applications holistically, considering professional experience, academic background, alignment of the statement of purpose with the program and chosen concentration/track, and the strength of letters of recommendation.

Applicants submit their application through SOPHAS and must provide:

• Official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended
• A statement of purpose
• A current résumé or curriculum vitae
• Letters of recommendation
• Any additional materials required by the Bloomberg School

Applicants are also asked to identify Bloomberg School faculty whose research aligns with their interests and who may be a strong fit for future faculty mentorship. Guidance on identifying faculty and research areas is available in the “About the Program” section of these FAQs.

Please note that some applicants may need to complete prerequisite coursework in epidemiology and biostatistics prior to enrolling in required foundational courses. Detailed information about prerequisite requirements and pathways to fulfillment is available on the DrPH Prerequisites page.

Comprehensive information about application requirements, deadlines, and policies can be found on both the DrPH and the Bloomberg School Admissions pages.

The DrPH program officially matriculates in Term 1, starting in late August. Students participate in virtual onboarding sessions in the months prior, followed by a formal orientation the weekend before classes to get familiar with the program and resources.

For specific term dates, see the BSPH Academic Calendar.

No. In some exceptional circumstances, students may petition for a waiver/modification of a core requirement if they can demonstrate and document that they have previously acquired the core competencies. If the request is granted, 64 credits are still required for graduation.

No. We do not accept credits from other academic institutions.

Once admitted to the DrPH program, you can request a deferral by emailing the DrPH Program Office at BSPH-DRPH@jhu.edu. Deferrals are granted for 1 year beyond the initial date of admission to the program. Students who request a deferral must pay the non-refundable enrollment deposit before a deferral is granted.

Yes, up to 16 credits completed prior to matriculation may be applied toward the DrPH degree, provided the courses were taken within five years and have not been applied to another degree. To learn how to enroll as a non-degree seeking student, please visit the Office of Student Accounts and Business Services.

If you already have an official credential evaluation of an international degree from WES or another recognized agency on file from a previous application to the Bloomberg School of Public Health, you do not need to resubmit it. Please let us know if this applies to your application so we can verify that the evaluation is on file and attach it to your new application.

Please note that an existing evaluation is only valid for BSPH applications. If you are applying to other institutions, they will require their own copy of the evaluation.

Part-time DrPH students pay by the credit and finance their graduate studies through a variety of funding options ranging from paying out of pocket, to utilizing employer tuition remission benefits, financial aid, external scholarships, and military funding. It is the responsibility of the student to acquire funding.

Bloomberg American Health Initiative – Bloomberg DrPH Fellowship

The Bloomberg American Health Initiative is a major effort to advance solutions to five critical public health challenges in the U.S.: addiction and overdose, environmental health, obesity and food systems, adolescent health, and violence.

The Bloomberg DrPH Fellowship provides full funding for students already employed by U.S.-based organizations addressing one of these focus areas. Fellows commit to at least one year of service with their organization after graduation.

The fellowship is highly competitive and admits a new cohort each year. Applicants may apply for the fellowship in the same cycle as their DrPH application; while the fellowship and DrPH applications are separate, both share the same deadlines. Interested applicants should visit the Bloomberg Fellows Program website for detailed eligibility criteria and application instructions.

It is important that applicants consider additional funding means prior to applying to the DrPH Program.