Online Certificate Program in Public Health

Drexel’s online Certificate in Public Health, offered through the CEPH-accredited Dornsife School of Public Health, provides the foundational knowledge of public health you need to enhance or further your career. Designed for working professionals coming from a variety of backgrounds, including physicians, nurses, public health administrators, health educators, clinical research professionals, policy experts, and more, the public health certificate focuses on the following key competencies outlined by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) in eight domains:

• Evidence-Based Approaches to Public Health
• Public Health & Health Care Systems
• Planning & Management to Promote Health
• Policy in Public Health
• Leadership
• Communication
• Interprofessional Practice
• Systems Thinking

Upon completion, you will be able to:

• Understand the systems that drive population health
• Use critical thinking to characterize population health and answer public health questions
• Describe the mission, historical context, values, and ethical principles of public health
• Effectively gather, analyze, and interpret quantitative data
• Translate knowledge into actions that improve population health
• Engage and partner effectively with multiple disciplines, sectors, and communities to promote health
• Communicate effectively about public health topics with diverse audiences
• Understand the principles of effective leadership, administration, and funding in public health

Certificate in Public Health Online Program Features

• U.S. News & World Report ranks Drexel Dornsife the #1 graduate school of public health in Philadelphia and a top school nationwide
• Courses taught by experienced faculty from Drexel’s Dornsife School of Public Health, an accredited school of public health by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH)
• Fully online format is convenient for busy professionals
• Relevant coursework prepares you to sit for the Certified Public Health (CPH) exam
• Six-course public health certificate online program that includes one elective to allow you to align your education with your career goals
• Upon completion of the Certificate in Public Health, you'll earn 20 quarter credits that may be transferred into our online Master of Public Health program

What can you do with a Certificate in Public Health?

The diversity of the public health field provides a multitude of opportunities to enrich, protect, educate, and improve population health and reduce health disparities. This program provides the foundational knowledge and skills that those from a broad spectrum of health disciplines can apply to understand and improve the health of populations. This might include those in clinical fields who wish to better understand how community and social factors affect the health of their patients or who wish to transition to work in a public health agency, as well as those who already work in public health and wish to deepen their understanding of population health.

As an enhancement to your previous education and current career, completing Drexel's online Certificate in Public Health program will prepare you for possible careers or advancement in the public health industry, in roles such as:

• Clinical Research Professional
• Community Wellness Administrator
• Environmental Scientist or Specialist
• Government Employee
• Health Educator or Community Health Worker
• Health Specialist
• Medical and Health Services Manager
• Physician
• Public Health Nurse
• Public Health Social Worker
• Research Associate
• Urban Planner

How Long Does it Take to Earn a Public Health Certificate?

Drexel's online public health certificate is a 20 quarter credit program, which is the equivalent of 13 semester credits. The program features 6 courses, including one elective that allows you to customize your learning experience to your career goals. On average, you should be able to complete the certificate in as little as 9-18 months.

Will this Program Prepare Me for Public Health Certification?

Since Drexel University’s Dornsife School of Public Health is the first CEPH-accredited school of public health in Philadelphia, the public health certificate online program will help you to become eligible to sit for the Certified Public Health (CPH) exam. The Certified in Public Health (CPH) exam is administered by the National Board of Public Health Examiners (NBPHE). More than 7,000 public health professionals in the United States have successfully passed the CPH exam to become Certified in Public Health. The CPH exam is held throughout each calendar year at specialized testing centers and will take you about four hours to complete the 200 question test.

To be eligible to sit for the exam, you must be either a:

• Current student or alumni of a Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) accredited or CEPH applicant graduate school
• Bachelor’s prepared public health professional with at least five years of continuous public health work experience

As a student in the Drexel Dornsife public health certificate online program, you may become eligible to sit for the Certified in Public Health (CPH) exam once you have three years of public health experience and complete the necessary CEPH foundational competency coursework that is part of the certificate in public health curriculum.

Can I Transfer My Public Health Certificate Credits into an Online Master's in Public Health (MPH) Program?

Drexel Dornsife’s certificate of public health online program provides the foundational knowledge you need to complete Drexel’s online Master’s in Public Health (MPH) program. As a result, you will have the opportunity to roll all credits received from Drexel’s online public health certificate into our online MPH program.

Computer Requirements

The software used in many of our courses, including biostatistics and epidemiology, requires you to have access to a PC. Apple doesn’t currently support the software needed to complete this coursework.

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State restrictions may apply to some programs.