Course Waivers

Course requirements can refer to those required of all doctoral students at Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health and those required specifically of students in the DrPH Program.

Please note that the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health does not accept transfer credit for courses taken elsewhere. Please see the current core requirements and waiver list for Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health school-wide requirements that apply to DrPH students and DrPH Program requirements.

School-wide Requirements

  • Students wishing to waive school-wide course requirements in Biostatistics and Epidemiology (ID 201: Principle of BIO and EPI) must submit a BIO and EPI waiver form.
  • Students wishing to waive the Foundations for Public Health requirement must submit a waiver form.
    • All doctoral students must be grounded in foundational public health knowledge focused on health science and human health. Students are required to take ID 100 (Foundations for Public Health). This online course contains six modules of lecture content, formative and summative assessments, a required written assignment, and participation in a 2-hour case study session. All students with a prior MPH from an accredited school of public health can apply to waive this requirement.

Students must follow the instructions on each form and submit the required documentation to the appropriate offices to fulfill the request. If approved, the student must drop the course by the add/drop deadline.

Program (Core) Requirements

For some courses indicated in the core requirements and waiver list, students who have completed graduate-level coursework may petition to waive the DrPH core requirement. The waiver process is as follows:

Students petitioning to waive core requirement courses must submit a Program Core Requirement Course Waiver form. An official academic transcript and a copy of the course syllabus must accompany the form to verify the completion of appropriate coursework. Students must send the completed and signed waiver form(s) to the DrPH Assistant Director. If the request to waive a core requirement is approved, the student will not be required to enroll in the course. If the student has enrolled in the course, they must drop it by the add/drop deadline.