Doctorate in Public Health Program

Developing a doctorate in public health program at MCW to advance mid-career professionals to become transformational leaders in public, population, or community health

Return to Listing

Full Project Name:Doctorate in Public Health Program: Building Leadership CapacityPrincipal Investigator:John Meurer, MD, MBA, Institute for Health and EquityCo-Investigator(s):David Nelson, PhD, Family and Community MedicineAward Amount:$702,478

Award Date

February2020

Project Duration:65 months

Project Summary:

Leading a community or a specified population toward improved health is challenging and requires a host of advanced public health skills and abilities to provide effective leadership. Doctorate in public heath (DrPH) programs are designed to meet the needs of our current and future public health leaders. However, no academic institutions in Wisconsin currently offer DrPH programs.

A new DrPH program at MCW will address this need and provide a core, interdisciplinary orientation toward evidence-based public health practice, leadership, policy analysis and development, evaluation methods, and translational and implementation research to generate practice-based evidence. This program will help mid-career professionals gain advanced public health skills and abilities to provide effective leadership. It will also support individuals in senior leadership positions to become transformational leaders in public, population, and community health across Wisconsin.

Project Updates:

Obtained approval for curricular modifications, two new required courses, dissertation mentor criteria, and faculty appointments to enhance the DrPH program for current and future students
Graduated the first six students from the program, including four students from Wisconsin
Maintained a diverse student population and welcomed several new teaching faculty and Qualified Primary Professional Dissertation Mentors
Applied findings from student and faculty evaluations to adjust the program to meet learning needs and accreditation requirements
Received $1.5 million from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to provide scholarships to public health students over three years