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DrPH in Epidemiology

This program is designed to help you become a public health leader. In this program, you'll learn how to identify factors that affect the health of populations and how to create, implement, and evaluate disease control and prevention strategies. In addition to taking courses in advanced research methods and a minor area of your choosing, you’ll also learn about leadership, management, and grant writing. Areas of specialization range from health data and information systems to chronic disease prevention. And our faculty are studying everything from food safety, to diabetes, to gene-environment interactions, which means you can find the mentor who’s right for you.

Quick facts, careers, and skills

When you leave this program, you’ll be ready to step into a leadership role that puts you at the forefront of implementing disease control and prevention strategies that improve public health.

Quick facts

Program location: CU Anschutz
Credit hours: 55
Est. time to complete: 3-6 years

Sample careers

Program director
Health program consultant
Analyst
& more

Skills you'll gain

Management
Research methods
Proposal writing
& more

Curriculum

Upon entering the DrPH program, students will have three years to pass the written qualifying exam and should complete the dissertation and public defense of the dissertation within seven years of entering the program.

Each student, in consultation with their faculty advisor, will develop a proposed course of study. The course of study must specify both a major focus area of study, selective courses to be taken, and proposed timeline for courses, practicum, preliminary and comprehensive exams, and dissertation.

Course requirement	Course ID	Credits
DrPH Seminar	PUBH 6840	4*

*1 credit hour semesters, first four semesters of tenure

Course requirement	Course ID	Credits
Advanced Communication Skills for Public Health Impact	EHOH 7405	3

Examples of areas of specialization for Epidemiology include (but are not limited to): health data and information systems, chronic disease prevention and control, communicable disease prevention and control, injury prevention, and newborn screening. Coursework to fulfill the selective requirement may be taken in the School of Public Health or another relevant school or department. Courses should be selected in consultation with the student's dissertation mentor, or advisor, if prior to formation of the dissertation committee.

Course requirement	Course ID	Credits
Selectives - at least 3 credits must be taken at the doctoral level.		9

Total credits: 55

View the handbook >
View the course book and course schedule >

Competencies

Identifier	Competencies	Course Where Competency is Addressed/Assessed
DrPH 1	Explain qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods and policy analysis research and evaluation methods to address health issues at multiple (individual, group, organization, community and population) levels.	CBHS 7670 EHOH 7631 EPID 7632
DrPH 2	Design a qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods, policy analysis or evaluation project to address a public health issue.	EPID 7912
DrPH 3	Explain the use of limitations of surveillance systems and national surveys in assessing, monitoring and evaluating policies and programs and to address a population's health.	PUBH 6842 #1
DrPH 4	Propose strategies for health improvement and elimination of health inequities by organizing stakeholders, including researchers, practitioners, community leaders and other partners.	HSMP 7603
DrPH 5	Communicate public health science to diverse stakeholders, including individuals at all levels of health literacy, for purposes of influencing behavior and policies.	EHOH 7405
DrPH 6	Integrate knowledge, approaches, methods, values and potential contributions from multiple professions, sectors and systems in addressing public health problems.	PUBH 6842 #1
DrPH 7	Create a strategic plan.	HSMP 7603
DrPH 8	Facilitate shared decision making through negotiation and consensus-building methods.	CBHS 7020
DrPH 9	Create organizational change strategies.	CBHS 7020
DrPH 10	Propose strategies to promote inclusion and equity within public health programs, policies and systems.	PUBH 6842 #3
DrPH 11	Assess one's own strengths and weaknesses in leadership capacities, including cultural proficiency.	CBHS 7020
DrPH 12	Propose human, fiscal and other resources to achieve a strategic goal.	HSMP 7603
DrPH 13	Cultivate new resources and revenue streams to achieve a strategic goal.	HSMP 7603
DrPH 14	Design a system-level intervention to address a public health issue.	CBHS 7670 EHOH 7403 EPID 7632
DrPH 15	Integrate knowledge of cultural values and practices in the design of public health policies and programs.	PUBH 6842 #2
DrPH 16	Integrate scientific information, legal and regulatory approaches, ethical frameworks and varied stakeholder interests in policy development and analysis.	PUBH 6842 #2
DrPH 17	Propose interprofessional and/or intersectoral team approaches to improving public health.	PUBH 6842 #4
DrPH 18	Assess an audience's knowledge and learning needs.	PUBH 6842 #4
DrPH 19	Deliver training or educational experiences that promote learning in academic, organizational or community settings.	PUBH 6842 #4
DrPH 20	Use best practice modalities in pedagogical practices.	PUBH 6842 #4

Identifier	Competencies	Course Where Competency is Addressed/Assessed
DrPH-EPID 1	Critically evaluate epidemiological study designs and describe the advantages and limitations of each for addressing specific public health problems, and recommend design modifications to strengthen validity.	EPID 7631
DrPH-EPID 2	Apply basic ethical and legal principles involved in the collection, management, use and dissemination of epidemiologic data in research or public health practice.	EPID 7605
DrPH-EPID 3	Select and apply appropriate epidemiologic study designs and analysis methods when using secondary data sources, such as surveillance, national surveys, and medical record data, to address public health practice needs.	EPID 7605
DrPH-EHOH 4	Demonstrate mastery of a substantive area in epidemiology, including the application of that knowledge by writing a proposal that is designed to answer a specific epidemiologic or public health question.	EPID 7632
DrPH-EPID 5	Calculate and interpret measures of association between exposure and disease, adjusted for relevant confounders, to draw appropriate inferences and evaluate causality for a public health problem.	EPID 7632 BIOS 6612

Colorado School of Public Health

CU Anschutz

Fitzsimons Building

13001 East 17th Place

3rd Floor

Mail Stop B119

Aurora, CO 80045

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DrPH in Epidemiology

Quick facts, careers, and skills

Curriculum

Total credits: 55

Competencies

Colorado School of Public Health

DrPH in Epidemiology

Quick facts, careers, and skills

Curriculum

DrPH seminar

Focus area courses

Leadership

Management

Proposal Writing

Communications

Selectives

Directed Reading

Practicum

Dissertation

Total credits: 55

Competencies

Core competencies

Focus area competencies

Colorado School of Public Health