Curriculum

Custom Track

DrPH Custom Track

The customized approach to the DrPH degree allows students the flexibility to tailor the program to their academic and professional goals. Students in the customized program may choose to specialize either in a cross-cutting topical area such as child health and welfare or in a particular public health field such as mental health, surveillance, nutrition, or another applied area not reflected in the listed concentrations/tracks.

This concentra­tion is well suited to those seeking leadership positions in agencies and organizations concerned with plan­ning and implementing projects designed to meet a wide variety of public health needs.

Track Co-directors

The DrPH Custom Track co-directors are:

Aruna Chandran, MD

Sean Allen, DrPH

Please click their links to learn more about their research interests, departmental and center or institute affiliations, and contact information.

Custom Track Competencies

1. Describe at least three intervention methods and their applicability to successful health education/health promotion programs.

2. Write a comprehensive evaluation plan OR design a process and impact evaluation and select appropriate qualitative and quantitative methods for each type of evaluation (depending on course selection).

3. Assess strengths and weaknesses of applying the systems approach to public health problems.

4. Determined by students in consultation with their advisors and track co-directors.

5. Determined by students in consultation with their advisors and track co-directors.

Custom Track Curriculum

Students are expected to complete a minimum of 28 credits of track-specific courses. Students pursuing a customized program of study will take three courses (10 credits) that emphasize cross-cutting competencies in the areas of 1) program development; 2) program evaluation; and 3) systems thinking.

Building on these competencies, custom students will work with their advisors and track co-directors to select a minimum of 18 didactic credits of customized coursework related to their custom area of interest and to identify two customized competencies corresponding to the learning objectives of two of these courses. This additional coursework can be selected from any of the courses offered at Johns Hopkins University with receipt of the appropriate approval.

Courses taken to fulfill foundational requirements may not be applied to fulfill track requirements.

Course Requirements for DrPH Custom Track (28 credits):

  • 410.620 Program Planning for Health Behavior Change (3 credits)
  • 221.654 Systems Thinking in Public Health: Applications of Key Methods (3 credits)
  • 221.645 Large Scale Effectiveness Evaluations of Health Programs (4 credits) OR
  • 380.611 Fundamentals of Program Evaluation (4 credits)
  • TBD DrPH Custom Track Seminar (2 credits)
  • 16 credits of customized  coursework