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This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: AJPH.2007.117481v1 98/9/1565    most recent Submit a response Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Google Scholar Articles by Declercq, E. Articles by Guyer, B. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Declercq, E. Articles by Guyer, B. Related Collections Health Professionals Health Education Public Health Practice Public Health Workers

Eugene Declercq, PhD, Karen Caldwell, MPH, Suzanne Havala Hobbs, DrPH, RD and Bernard Guyer, MD, MPH

At the time of the study, Eugene Declercq was with the Maternal and Child Health Department of the Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA. Karen Caldwell was with Management Sciences for Health, Cambridge, MA. Suzanne Havala Hobbs was with the Department of Health Policy and Administration, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Bernard Guyer was with Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD.

Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Eugene Declercq, PhD, Professor, Maternal and Child Health Department, Assistant Dean for Doctoral Education, Boston University School of Public Health, 715 Albany St, Boston, MA 02118-2526 (e-mail: declercq{at}bu.edu).

We examined trends in doctoral education in public health and the challenges facing practice-oriented doctor of public health (DrPH) programs. We found a rapid rise in the numbers of doctoral programs and students. Most of the increase was in PhD students who in 2006 composed 73% of the total 5247 current public health doctoral students, compared with 53% in 1985. There has also been a substantial increase (40%) in students in DrPH programs since 2002.

Challenges raised by the increased demand for DrPH practice-oriented education relate to admissions, curriculum, assessment processes, and faculty hiring and promotion. We describe approaches to practice-based doctoral education taken by three schools of public health.