The Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) Program at the Harvard Chan School requires that doctoral students perform the following:
- Adhere to the DrPH student timetable (see timetable below)
- Meet DrPH course requirements as outlined in the DrPH Student Manual
- Complete the doctoral student residency requirement, which includes payment of two years of full-time tuition and one year of full-time reduced tuition (tuition amounts are subject to change)
- Complete the program on a full-time basis—no part-time option is available
- Complete the doctor of public health degree program in three academic years (with an option to petition to extend to a fourth year)
- Maintain a GPA of 2.70 or better
- Pass the DrPH qualifying examinations
Tuition and Fees
Tuition will be assessed at the full-time rate in three equal payments (summer/fall/spring) during the first two years of enrollment. Tuition will be assessed at the full-time reduced rate in three equal payments in the third year. For tuition and fee information for DrPH students, visit the Student Billing website.
Academic Requirements
Course requirements are provided on the Prospective/Final Program Form. The required courses serve to demonstrate that the student has gained expertise in the competencies of the program and is prepared to be examined during qualifying examinations, as well as undertake the DrPH Doctoral Project.
All courses applied to the DrPH must be taken for ordinal credits, and students must receive a grade of B- or better for each course taken. For courses that are offered with only a Pass/Fail option, students must achieve a passing grade for each one taken.
Students who have received a master’s degree from the Harvard Chan School will follow the same timetable as the other DrPH students and will not be accelerated in the program.
Required Courses
DrPH students are required to take courses as specified in the online DrPH Student Manual.
Course Performance
Throughout the DrPH student’s career at the School, the Committee on Admissions and Degrees and the Registrar’s Office monitor student performance in coursework. Grades of B- or better (Harvard Business School grade equivalents are I and II; Harvard Law School grade equivalent of P or better) must be obtained in all courses taken to meet the DrPH degree requirements. As noted previously, a passing grade must be obtained in all courses offered as only Pass/Fail.
Students making unsatisfactory progress will either be required to withdraw from degree candidacy or be permitted to register for the subsequent term, subject to specific academic conditions. If specified conditions are not fulfilled by the date set by the registrar, degree candidacy may be terminated.
Student Timetable
DrPH students must adhere to the following timetable to be considered in satisfactory academic standing. This progress must be reported to and approved by the Committee on Admissions and Degrees. The timetable outlines the academic year in which each progressive task and/or milestone must be completed. Since the DrPH Program begins in July, an academic year goes from July to June.
DrPH Student Timetable
| Tasks and Milestones |
Timing |
| Adviser Meetings |
At least quarterly throughout program |
| Term-Based Field Immersion |
Winter of Year 1 (December–January) |
| Written Qualifying Examination |
End of Year 1 |
| Summer Field Immersion |
Summer of Year 2 (June–August) |
| Prospective Program Submitted for Approval |
Middle of Year 2 (December) |
| Final Program Submitted for Approval |
End of Year 2 (May) |
| Nominations for Doctoral Committee |
End of Year 2 (May) |
| Oral Qualifying Exam Passed |
End of Year 2 (June) |
| Doctoral Project Commences |
Beginning of Year 3 (Summer) |
| Doctoral Project Progress Reports |
From Students: Every three months during Doctoral Project |
| Oral Final Examination |
Year 3 (March–April) |
| Doctoral Project Deliverables Submitted |
Year 3 (March–April) |
Note: Student timetable is subject to change.
Students in noncompliance with the timetable will have an administrative hold placed on their records. They will be unable to register until the required milestone is met or appropriate paperwork is submitted. Receipt of the appropriate form(s) by the Registrar’s Office and/or completion or submission of the progress milestone will clear this administrative hold. Students who fail to clear these holds by the specified date will be administratively withdrawn from Harvard Chan School degree candidacy. Questions regarding the doctoral timetable may be directed to the assistant registrar, Katie Greiner, via email or by phone at 617-432-1032.
DrPH students have three academic years from date of entry into the program (July of academic year 1) to complete required coursework, and to defend and submit the Doctoral Project deliverables. Requesting to extend to a fourth year must be approved by the Committee on Admissions and Degrees and the DrPH faculty director in the third year.
Prospective/Final Program
The Prospective/Final Program is a plan in which students indicate the formal coursework they are taking to support their DrPH degree. The Prospective Program must be submitted to the Committee on Admissions and Degrees no later than the middle of the second academic year (end of December). The Final Program must be submitted to the committee no later than the beginning of May of the second year. The Final Program must be approved by the Registrar’s Office for the degree candidates to sit for their Oral Qualifying Examination. It is in the best interest of students to submit the Prospective/Final Program Form as early as possible.
Guidelines
Each course listed in the Prospective/Final Program must be taken for ordinal (e.g., A-, B-, etc.) credit, except for those that are offered only with a Pass/Fail option. As mentioned above, a grade of B- or better must be obtained in all the courses proposed, with ordinal grading and a passing grade for those with a Pass/Fail grading option. Each course must be taken for graduate credit. This is of special note if a student is cross-registering into another school. In certain situations, a course can be used to waive a program-required course, with the expectation that the student completes the course with the same competency at a higher level.
Written Qualifying Examination
The Written Qualifying Examination covers the required coursework of the first year of the program. Faculty members anonymously grade the exam, and students are notified of their grade. Students do not receive the examination or individual feedback on the exam. Students must pass this exam before going on to their Oral Qualifying Examination. More information on the Written Qualifying Examination appears in the DrPH Student Manual.
Nomination of Doctoral Project Committee
The Doctoral Project Committee is the primary vehicle in the DrPH Program for both guiding and evaluating DrPH students in their culminating experience, the Doctoral Project. The committee should advise and guide students on developing the Doctoral Project final proposal and provide guidance and feedback during the experiential learning phase itself, with the overall objective of assisting students in achieving their professional and personal goals as outlined in the Project Proposal. The committee consists of three members:
- The committee chair, who must be a faculty member (professor, associate professor, assistant professor, senior lecturer, or lecturer) holding an appointment at the Harvard Chan School.
- Committee member number two, who must be a faculty member (professor, associate professor, assistant professor, senior lecturer, or lecturer) at the School or elsewhere within Harvard.
- Committee member number three, who may be either a faculty member (adjunct faculty included) or a professional in the public health field (with appropriate education and experience to assess work at the doctoral level at Harvard). To avoid any conflict of interest, the professional cannot be employed at the student’s host organization.
Further information on the Doctoral Project Committee may be found in the DrPH Doctoral Project Manual.
Oral Qualifying Examination
After passing the Written Qualifying Examination, DrPH students take the Oral Qualifying Examination. Students preparing to take the oral exam should submit their Oral Qualifying Examination Scheduling Form to the Registrar’s Office at least three weeks before the date of the exam. Students may take the Oral Qualifying Examination only after passing the Written Qualifying Examination and receiving approval of the final program.
Procedure for Scheduling the Doctoral Project Oral Qualifying Examination
- Schedule a room for the Oral Qualifying Examination. Please contact the DrPH Program Assistant Director.
- Submit the form to the Harvard Chan School Registrar’s Office at least three weeks prior to the exam. Arrangements then will be made by the Registrar’s Office for the announcement of the examination to be placed on the School’s event calendar. Please note: The examination is not valid unless this announcement has been made.
- The Doctoral Project Proposal must be distributed to the Doctoral Project Committee and the Harvard Chan School Registrar’s Office approximately three weeks prior to the exam. Please reference the DrPH Doctoral Project Manual for further details on proposal format.
- Meet with members of the Doctoral Project Committee prior to the examination. The student is encouraged to meet with each examiner to discuss the general nature of the questions to be asked during the examination.
- Distribute copies of both sides of the Doctoral Project Oral Qualifying Examination Scheduling Form to each examiner well in advance of the examination.
- Faculty members other than the examiners may attend the student’s examination only if prior permission is given by both the Committee Chair and the student. These other faculty members may question the student only with the consent of the chair of the examination committee. No one else may attend.
- Prior to the examination, the DrPH Program Office will provide the committee with the student’s Report of Doctoral Oral Qualifying Examination. This form must be completed by the examiners and returned to the DrPH Program Office by a committee member immediately after the student’s exam, to be recorded by the Registrar’s Office.
Oral Qualifying Examination Results
At the end of the examination, the Oral Qualifying Examination Committee must report the examination result on the Report of Doctoral Project Oral Qualifying Examination. This form must be returned to the DrPH Program Office by a committee member immediately after the student’s exam, to be recorded by the Registrar’s Office. The results of the exam may be the following:
- Passed Examination: The committee approves the student to move forward with their Doctoral Project.
- Pass with Qualifications: The committee requires the student to meet specific qualifications prior to the student moving forward with their Doctoral Project. The committee must detail the specific qualifications the student is required to complete to secure a pass and must designate a deadline for completion of no later than three months from the examination date. Note that this may impact a student’s time-to-degree; the student’s Doctoral Timetable may be adjusted per the discretion of the Committee on Admissions and Degrees. A student who fails to meet the qualifications and/or deadline(s) outlined by the committee is subject to withdrawal from degree candidacy.
- Failure of the Examination: The committee does not approve the student to move forward with their Doctoral Project. A student who receives a grade of Fail may schedule a second examination within three months of having received the Fail. Note that this may impact a student’s time-to-degree; the Doctoral Timetable may be adjusted per the discretion of the Committee on Admissions and Degrees. A student who fails the examination twice will be withdrawn from degree candidacy.
Doctoral Project Progress Reports
A Student Progress Report is designed to help the committee monitor satisfactory progress of the student’s Doctoral Project and experience at the host organization. Progress Reports are to be completed as assigned by the Registrar’s Office. During the meeting, all committee members must be present, in person or via a virtual chat platform. If a committee member cannot make the meeting, the meeting must be rescheduled. It is the student’s responsibility to organize the meeting, secure all requisite signatures, and ensure that the required forms are submitted to the Registrar’s Office on time. Students who extend their graduation date past the three academic years (with permission) will be required to submit additional Progress Reports.
Nonresident Doctoral Status (Thesis Work in Absentia)
Doctoral students occasionally need to perform thesis research in absentia (outside the Boston metropolitan area). The student must apply to the Committee on Admissions and Degrees for approval of nonresident status. The completion of the minimum two years’ residency requirement and the satisfactory completion of the Oral Qualifying Examination are prerequisites to gain nonresident status. A Non-Resident Status Petition must be submitted to the committee before the end of the term preceding the requested departure.
- Nonresident status will be granted for one year at a time only. Progress Reports will be due minimally every three months (or more frequently, if stipulated by the committee) while the student is a nonresident. Nonresident students are required to return to the School at least once a year for a committee meeting. By exception, nonresident students may request (via General Petition) the other three-month meeting be conducted via conference call. Before the Committee on Admissions and Degrees will consider a request for nonresident status, the Doctoral Committee must meet with the candidate to appraise the thesis plan.
It is assumed that the doctoral student will pursue thesis work on a full-time basis while a nonresident. Therefore, the student must adhere to the timetable specified in this handbook.
Nonresident students pay only a nonresident fee. They do not pay facilities fees and have limited access to Harvard facilities.
Nonresident students must meet the financial degree requirements of two years’ full-tuition and one year’s full-time reduced tuition before their tuition is assessed a the nonresident fee. The Committee on Admissions and Degrees will not grant nonresident status for more than one year at a time.
Doctoral Project Oral Final Examination
The Oral Final Examination marks the completion of the project phase in the DrPH Program. It is the last evaluation of the student’s work in the program, focusing on the Doctoral Project. All Harvard Chan School DrPH students must complete the field phase and deliverables before proceeding to the Oral Final Examination.
Procedure for scheduling the Oral Final Examination
- Schedule a room for the Oral Final Examination. Please contact the DrPH Program Assistant Director.
- Submit the scheduling form to the Harvard Chan School Registrar’s Office at least three weeks prior to the exam. Arrangements then will be made by the Registrar’s Office for the announcement of the examination to be placed on the School’s event calendar. Please note: The examination is not valid unless this announcement has been made.
- Meet with members of the Doctoral Project Committee prior to the examination. The student is encouraged to meet with each examiner to discuss the general nature of the questions to be asked during the Examination.
- Distribute copies of both sides of the Doctoral Project Oral Final Examination Scheduling Form to each examiner well in advance of the examination.
- The Doctoral Project Oral Final Examination is open to the public.
- Prior to the examination, the DRPH Program Office will provide the committee with the student’s Report of Doctoral Oral Final Examination. This form must be completed by the examiners and returned to the DRPH Program Office by a committee member immediately after the student’s exam, to be recorded by the Registrar’s Office.
Oral Final Examination Results
The following are the possible outcomes:
- Pass: The committee approves the student’s Doctoral Project.
- Pass with Qualifications: The committee requires the student to meet specific qualifications prior to the student completing their Doctoral Project. The committee must detail the specific qualifications the student is required to complete to secure a Pass. Note: This will impact a student’s time-to-degree. A student who fails to meet the qualifications and/or deadline(s) outlined by the committee is subject to withdrawal from degree candidacy. Students are allotted three months to complete revisions for their project. However, the committee can decide to have the student submit their work earlier. The committee must specify the date by which the student must meet the conditions. The chair of the Examination Committee and/or the academic adviser must submit written confirmation to the Registrar’s Office once the student has met all the specified conditions.
- Fail: The committee does not approve the student’s Doctoral Project. A student who receives a grade of Fail may schedule a second examination within three months of having received the Fail. Note that this may impact a student’s time-to-degree; the Doctoral Timetable may be adjusted per the discretion of the Committee on Admissions and Degrees. A student who fails the examination twice will be withdrawn from degree candidacy.
After Successful Completion of the Defense
Students must submit their dissertation electronically via ETDs @ ProQuest by the dates listed below:
November 2023 degree candidates September 15, 2023
March 2024 degree candidates January 12, 2024
May 2024 degree candidates April 12, 2024
On the recommendation of the department(s) and the Research Committee, the Committee on Admission and Degrees recommends the student for the degree to the faculty, which then votes to award the degree to the student. After the degree has been voted on by the faculty, it is awarded by the Harvard University Governing Board.
Publishing the Thesis
Information for DrPH degree candidates regarding publishing their thesis is provided in the DrPH Student Manual and in the Doctoral Thesis Guidelines online.
The DrPH Student Manual contains further details and the most updated information on the DrPH Program.
