Mailing Address: 
School of Public Health
1603 West Taylor Street
Chicago, IL 60612-4394

Contact Information: 
Office of Student Affairs, Room 190, SPH-PI Building 
(312) 996-6628 
Brandon Sieglaff, sieglaff@uic.edu 
publichealth.uic.edu

Administration: 
Jamie Chriqui, Senior Associate Dean
Christina Welter, Director, DrPH in Leadership Program

The School of Public Health is dedicated to excellence in protecting and improving the health and well-being of people around the world by educating public health professionals and the community, conducting research and affecting public health policy.

Through its diverse educational programs, centers, institutes, and collaborations, the school represents a formidable and unique educational resource in the city of Chicago. Situated on one of the nation’s most diverse campuses in one of the world’s largest concentrations of advanced public and private healthcare facilities, it offers students extensive opportunities to translate classroom learning into hands-on experience and engaged research. Students have access to nearly all aspects of public health—locally, statewide, nationally, and internationally. The intellectual vibrancy within the school, paired with the vitality of Chicago and its multicultural communities and neighborhoods, provides an outstanding educational setting for the preparation of future public health practitioners and leaders.

The DrPH program is the advanced professional degree offered by the school. This program is tailored to meet the goals of mid-career public health professionals who want to expand their knowledge and practice of public health and attain the leadership skills necessary to enable them to advance the field. The program aims to help students become leaders of the public health community at the local, national, and international levels. The program is offered in a distance-based format.

The School of Public Health is fully accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH), the only fully accredited school of public health within Illinois. The DrPH degrees at UIC is considered a professional program and is not administered by the Graduate College. 

Admission Requirements

• Prior Degree and Experience Master's degree from an accredited school of public health or a master's degree in a related field. Students must also have three or more years of full-time paid professional experience in public health in a leadership position (or in mid- to senior-level management positions that demonstrate evidence of leadership potential).
• Grade Point Average Admitted students typically have at least a combined undergraduate/graduate grade point average of 3.00/4.00. However, all applicants are given a holistic evaluation of their application. Applicants with less than a 3.00 are encouraged to apply if they believe that their application is strong in other areas.
• Tests GRE is optional. 
• Letters of Recommendation Three required, uploaded via the SOPHAS application.
• Resume or CV Required, uploaded via the SOPHAS application.
• Personal Statement Applicants will upload a 500-800 word statement focused on their interests/experiences in public health and the program they are applying to specifically, goals with the degree, and why they would be successful in the program. For students applying to research-focused programs, the personal statement should also address potential research interests.
• Transcripts Domestic applicants must submit transcripts issued from the university for all undergraduate and post-baccalaureate work directly to SOPHAS. International applicants must upload all international transcripts directly into the UIC system after completing the Supplemental Application. International applicants may submit a course-by-course WES evaluation directly to SOPHAS, but it is not required and will not replace the upload requirement. Domestic students who have completed course work at foreign institutions must follow the instructions for international applicants for submitting those academic credentials. Students admitted to the UIC School of Public Health will need to provide sealed official transcripts to the UIC Office of Admissions prior to their second term at the university.  
• Minimum English Competency Test Score for International Applicants
  • TOEFL 80, with subscores of Reading 19, Listening 17, Speaking 20, and Writing 21 (iBT Test); 60, with subscores of Reading 19, Listening 17, Writing 21 (revised Paper-Delivered Test), OR,
  • IELTS 6.5, with subscores of 6.0 for all four subscores, OR,
  • PTE-Academic 54, with subscores of Reading 51, Listening 47, Speaking 53, and Writing 56.

Degree Requirements

• Minimum Required Hours 96.

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Required for students without an MPH or as determined by the program.

• DrPH Dissertation IPHS 699 is intended to prepare students to contribute to the evidence base of public health practice. It can take a variety of forms, such as a traditional research study; an extensive intervention design involving organizational, system, or environmental change; an evaluation of a complex program or policy; or policy formulation and analysis. Most students require more than 28 hours of research to complete the dissertation.
• Prior Master's Degree Credit Credit for up to 32 semester hours given for previous master's of public health (MPH) or related degree. Incoming students without an MPH may be required to take additional foundational, core MPH courses. Although required for completion of the degree, any credits earned to complete MPH core course deficiencies and/or the field practicum will not count toward the 96-semester-hour minimum requirement for the DrPH degree. It is the student’s responsibility to take and complete MPH-level courses at an accredited school of public health and request transfer of those credits to the UIC School of Public Health.
• DrPH Field Experience Up to 5 semester hours may be completed. Required only for students without requisite experience upon matriculation.
• DrPH Summer Institute All DrPH students will be required to attend an annual multi-day workshop in Chicago. Additional details are available on the School of Public Health website.

Non-Credit Training Requirements