The University of Georgia Gwinnett Campus
The Association of Schools of Public Health DrPH Core Competency Model
The DrPH degree is designed to prepare graduates for senior level public health practice careers, although some of our students have interests in academic and applied research careers in public health. The degree is targeted at both full-time and part-time students. Our enrollment is diverse, and students include current and former employees of state and local health agencies, non-profit organizations, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Environmental Protection Agency. While the majority of courses are offered at the UGA Health Sciences Campus in Athens, some courses are offered at the UGA Gwinnett Campus with a goal of expanding to offer a complete degree program at Gwinnett. Additional information about the College, the DrPH degree program, open houses, and admissions procedures may be found at www.publichealth.uga.edu. Please contact me with inquiries at drph@uga.edu or 706.583.0885. Joel M. Lee, DrPH Professor and Director Doctor of Public Health Degree Program
How is a DrPH different from a PhD degree? It is important to differentiate a DrPH from a PhD program. The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree is an advanced degree in research training, theory and methodology. The PhD typically focuses on the creation or testing of theory and prepares graduates for academic and research careers. The UGA College of Public Health currently offers PhD programs in Biostatistics, Environmental Health Science, Epidemiology, Health Promotion and Behavior, and Toxicology. While demonstrating equal rigor and research competency focusing on application of theory, the DrPH degree is a professional practice degree more in the line of degrees in Medicine (MD) or Law (JD). While some DrPH graduates seek academic and research careers, the Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) degree focuses on advanced training in public health leadership and practice. The DrPH curriculum serves to integrate the five core areas of public health (Biostatistics, Environmental Health Science, Epidemiology, Health Promotion and Behavior, and Health Policy and Management) along with advanced competencies in domains of Advocacy, Communication, Community/Cultural Orientation, Critical Analysis, Management, and Professionalism and Ethics and a noteworthy emphasis on the central domain of Leadership. The DrPH program seeks to ensure that graduates have experiences in collaborating with senior public health practitioners through a required field practice residency as an opportunity to develop and apply relevant academic content to practice. Like the PhD, there is a comprehensive examination requirement, however rather than being tailored to each individual student as in the PhD, the examination is common to all students and addresses application of the DrPH degree competencies. The culminating requirement of a dissertation or two publication ready manuscripts is the same as the PhD degree, however DrPH research addresses application of theory and new knowledge applicable to public health practice.
Dr. Kevin Horton completed the DrPH degree in Spring 2010. Before entering the program he was an epidemiologist within the Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch, Division of Health Studies, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. His main duties were using surveillance data collected by state health departments to analyze the public health consequences (e.g., morbidity and mortality) from acute toxic spills/releases around the US and analyzing health outcome data from asbestos-contaminated vermiculite that was distributed throughout the US. After completing the DrPH degree, he was promoted to Chief of the Environmental Health Surveillance Branch. His duties at ATSDR now include overseeing a branch of approximately 25 employees and contractors who work on various highprofile projects such as the National Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Registry, the Libby, MT asbestos health studies, the National Toxic Substance Incidents Program, the Camp Lejeune, NC Water Contamination Health Studies, and the Hurricane Katrina Pilot Health Registry. I chose the DrPH over the PhD because I wanted a well-rounded public health education. I was fortunate to be awarded a long-term training opportunity through ATSDR/CDC to pursue doctoral education. My DrPH degree has opened the door for me to get into upper level scientific management at ATSDR/CDC; something that would have been difficult to do otherwise.
Dr. María Isabel Roldós completed her DrPH degree in Spring 2011. She previously earned a bachelor s degree in Sociology in Ecuador, and earned two masters degrees, one in Public Administration from New York University, and another in Economics from Georgia State University. Before entering the DrPH program she worked at the University of Miami as a senior research associate in a drug use prevention research intervention in collaboration with Juvenile Drug Courts, and more recently worked at Emory University at the Department of Anthropology at the Laboratory for Comparative Human Biology. Dr. Roldós concentrated her DrPH training in economic evaluation of public health interventions. In 2008 she was selected by the Alfred Sloan Foundation as a minority fellow, and received an award for her research for the period 2008-2011. In 2009 she was awarded a minority supplement from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) for her pre-doctoral research in the impact of drug use in rural African-American productivity output. In addition to her research in drug use, she is interested in violence prevention and in the estimation of the economic burden of violence and unintended injuries. On completion of her DrPH degree she received post-doctoral funding from the Population Reference Bureau to conduct a study on Ecuadorian s willingness to pay for child maltreatment prevention programs and universal access to maternal health care services. Dr. Roldós has joined the Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Ecuador in a joint-appointment in the School of Medicine and the School of Public Health.
Jamila M. Porter, MPH, is the Assistant Director of the Safe States Alliance, a national non-profit that serves as the voice of state and local injury and violence prevention professionals throughout the United States. Ms. Porter provides senior-level strategic leadership of organizational initiatives, and manages a variety of programs designed to enhance the public health capacity necessary to prevent injuries and violence. She is particularly interested in the intersections of health, transportation policy, and community design, as well as the influence of the built environment on health, equity, and safety. Ms. Porter earned her Bachelor s degree in Communication and Health Policy & Administration from Wake Forest University and earned her Master s degree in Public Health from the Mercer University School of Medicine. Upon earning her DrPH degree, Ms. Porter plans to continue working in the national non-profit arena with an enhanced focus on infusing public health in policies related to transportation and planning. She hopes to use her advanced training, non-profit experience, and passion for working with state and local public health agencies to improve the safety and livability of communities across the nation. I chose the UGA DrPH program because I wanted to pursue my long-time dream of earning my doctoral degree, while also having the ability to continue working full-time. Pursuing the degree and my career simultaneously has allowed me to consistently and practically apply the knowledge I learn to my daily work in injury and violence prevention practice.
Lorna McLeod English was admitted to the UGA DrPH program as a full-time student in January 2010. She previously earned a B.S. degree in Health Sciences and a M.S. in Community Health with a concentration in Health Management and Administration. She is currently on leave from her position as Deputy Director of the Office on Smoking and Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Ms. English is interested in the areas of health policy; social determinants of health; and global health. As a part of her CDC duties Ms. English traveled globally; representing the Agency in working meetings with public health agencies and Ministries of Health in the Geneva, India, Turkey, Philippines, Vietnam, Burkina Faso, and Thailand. Upon completion of the DrPH degree anticipated in 2013, Ms English plans to continue her CDC career with an expanded focus on global health and health policy. I ve actually enjoyed the challenge of being back in graduate school particularly the bonds developed with a great set of diverse fellow students and with CPH faculty.
The DrPH Residency Practical knowledge and skills are essential to successful senior level practice as public health professionals. As a component of the DrPH professional degree curriculum, participants have the opportunity to develop advanced competencies in public health leadership and practice and demonstrate the application of these competencies through a required field residency experience that is relevant to the student s area of concentration and career plans. The DrPH program residency offers an opportunity to integrate didactic classroom experience and practice under the guidance of a senior level health practitioner. Frequently the residency created an opportunity to identify and initiate research for the culminating degree requirement.
Mission The College of Public Health at the University of Georgia promotes health in human populations, protects the environment, and prevents disease and injury in Georgia, the United States, and globally through innovative research, exemplary education and engaged service. Goals The PUBLIC HEALTH Strategic Plan 1. The College of Public Health will create and deliver excellence in public health education. 2. The College of Public Health will improve human health through innovative research addressing the physical, mental, social and environmental aspects of disease and injury. 3. The College of Public Health will engage partners to improve health and wellness, reduce health disparities and prevent disease and injury. 4. The College of Public Health will strengthen our fiscal, human and physical resources to increase our capacity for teaching, research and service and to enhance our workforce environment and culture to maximize morale and retention.
Admission Information Applicants to the College of Public Health for the DrPH degree program must apply to both the UGA Graduate School and to the Schools of Public Health Application Service (www.sophas.org). Admission is only available during fall semester each year. Please see the two step process outlined here: www.publichealth.uga.edu/academics/drph-apply. All students must have a masters degree from an accredited institution and comply with UGA Graduade School policies concerning Grade Point Average and standardized test scores (GRE, GMAT, MCAT). Prerequisites All applicants to the Doctor of Public Health degree must have: A masters-level degree in public health (MPH or MSPH) is prefered. Students with other masters or professional (MD, JD) degrees may be considered and accepted but will be required to complete the five MPH core courses (15 hours) as prerequisites into advanced DrPH courses. The core courses will not apply as credit to the DrPH degree. At least three years of relevant experience in public health following completion of a masters degree. Applicants are encouraged to seek a faculty advisor who will agree to consider him/her as their doctoral candidate during the application process.
The University of Georgia Gwinnett Campus www.publichealth.uga.edu drph@uga.edu 706.583.0885