Public Health

The DrPH is designed for working public health practitioners with significant management experience and demonstrated leadership potential. This program is modeled on action learning, and emphasizes engagement with faculty, colleagues, and peers. Students will acquire new analytic skills and perspectives while learning how to effect policy and drive change in a complex public health climate. UIC SPH is one of only two fully CEPH accredited schools of public health in the nation offering the DrPH degree at a distance.

• Minimum Semester Hours Required 96 from the baccalaureate; 98 from the baccalaureate for the Cancer Epidemiology concentration. Students in the Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Concentration may be required to take 114 to 116 hours, depending on prior course work taken.
• Course Work At least 9 hours must be in 500-level didactic courses in the student’s major area. If a collateral area is required by the major, at least 6 hours must be in the collateral area at the 500-level.

• Students are strongly encouraged to complete at least one course recommended by the Director of Graduate Studies which provides a broad introduction to public health.
• Remaining courses and their distribution depend on the student’s area of concentration. PhD students are admitted into one of the following primary concentrations: Biostatistics, Community Health Sciences, Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, Epidemiology, or Health Policy and Administration.

Biostatistics Concentration Requirements

Community Health Sciences Concentration Requirements

• PhD students in Community Health Sciences must complete all of the SPH requirements for the PhD degree. Students must select 12 hours for their concentration. The student will be tested in the concentration area as part of the preliminary examination. Additional compensatory courses are required if the equivalent course work was not completed at the master’s degree level. These compensatory courses are: EPID 403, CHSC 446, BSTT 400, BSTT 401, CHSC 400, and CHSC 480 or their equivalent. Advisor approval is necessary for elective course selection. PhD students pursuing a program in Maternal and Child Health Epidemiology have additional requirements.

Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Concentration Requirements

• PhD students concentrating in Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences must complete all of the SPH requirements for the PhD degree.
• The EOHS concentration requires that PhD students complete EOHS 595 (registering for four semesters/one hour each semester) and one graduate-level course in qualitative or quantitative methods chosen in consultation with their advisor.
• In addition, students must complete the division core, choosing at least one course in each of the following three areas:

1. Exposure Assessment
2. Health Assessment
3. Risk Assessment and Policy

• Students should see their advisor for a list of courses in each area.

Epidemiology Concentration Requirements

Health Policy and Administration Concentration Requirements

• PhD students in Health Policy and Administration must complete all of the SPH requirements for the PhD degree. No additional course requirements are specified. In addition, a minimum of 21 hours of course work relevant to the disciplinary area of Health Policy and Administration is taken in consultation with the faculty advisor.

Additional Course Requirements for Those Pursuing a Secondary Concentration

Cancer Epidemiology Concentration Requirements (Epidemiology (EPID) students only)

Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Concentration Requirements (Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences (EOHS) and Epidemiology (EPID) students only)

• Dissertation Required. Students must register in IPHS 599 for at least 32 semester hours.
• Other Requirements Students must obtain supervised experience in classroom teaching in at least one course for at least part of a semester.

Requirements

• Baccalaureate Field A major in the biological, physical, or social sciences is preferred. Students applying to the primary concentration in Environmental and Occupational Health must have completed a full year of general chemistry, at least one semester of organic chemistry, and two semesters of  calculus; one course in human physiology is also required for those interested in a secondary concentration in the ASAC-ABET Accredited MS Program in Industrial Hygiene, Occupational Safety, and Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology. Those interested in the ASAC-ABET Accredited MS Program in Industrial Hygiene must meet the criteria listed above. In addition, applicants should have a prior degree  in the physical/life sciences or engineering fields with course work in physics, chemistry, biology, or mathematics. Relevant work experience or significant physical or life science or engineering course work may be considered for applicants with undergraduate degrees in other, nonscience fields.
• Grade Point Average At least 3.00/4.00.
• Tests Required GRE General. For GRE General tests, combined verbal and quantitative scores must be at least 300 (GRE tests taken on or after August 1, 2011).
• Minimum English Competency Test Score
  • TOEFL 550 (paper-based); 80, with subscores of Reading 19, Listening 17, Speaking 20, and Writing 21 (iBT Internet-based), OR,
  • IELTS 6.5, with subscores of 6.0 for all four subscores, OR,
  • PTE-Academic 54, with subscores of Reading 51, Listening 47, Speaking 53, and Writing 56.
• Letters of Recommendation Three required.
• Personal Statement Required; the statement should address the applicant’s intended research, career goals, and reason for pursuing the PhD degree in the chosen area.
• Other Requirements: Applicants may submit their master’s thesis as evidence of their ability to plan and complete significant health-related research.

Scholarships

• Teaching assistantships
• Research assistantships 
• Graduate assistantships
• Global Education
• SPH-Wide Student Scholarships and Awards
• Hamilton Research Scholarship