News — The California State University will soon offer Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) degrees, educating a new generation of highly skilled and diverse professionals to address California’s—and the nation’s—vital community public health needs.
Senate Bill 684, signed into law in September 2022, grants authority to the CSU to offer independent DrPH programs. In January 2023, the CSU Board of Trustees voted to amend the California Title 5 education code outlining the DrPH degree and admission requirements. And in March 2023, trustees approved four CSUs to move forward with plans to develop and offer a DrPH program on their campuses in the coming years.
The DrPH is an advanced professional degree that prepares individuals for leadership roles in community public health across a variety of settings, such as health departments, communications, health advocacy, community organizations, marketing and others. The is the accrediting body for the DrPH degree.  
Nationally, there is a significant shortage of trained DrPH-level public health professionals. This need became more apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic. In California as well, there is a shortage of advanced trained public health professionals, especially those who are ethnically and racially diverse.
“As a greater realization of disparities in public health continues to emerge, the popularity of health degree programs, such as the Master of Public Health, and now the Doctor of Public Health, will continue to grow,” said Brent M. Foster, Ph.D., assistant vice chancellor and state university dean of CSU Academic Programs. “As the nation's largest and most diverse four-year university system, the CSU is uniquely positioned to prepare California’s workforce for professional, advanced careers in health care.”
The Doctor of Public Health represents the latest addition to the CSU’s independent professional doctoral degree offerings, with their unique focus on workforce placement and social and economic mobility. Existing CSU doctoral programs include the Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT), Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), Doctor of Audiology (AuD) and Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD). The CSU currently awards more than 600 doctoral degrees each year in these disciplines.
Since 2005, the CSU has sought legislative authority to offer independent professional doctoral degrees in areas where there is an identified workforce or accreditation/licensure need that may not be fulfilled through existing educational opportunities in California. In addition to offering select independent professional doctoral degrees, the CSU is authorized by California Education Code to offer joint doctoral programs with other accredited California universities.
The CSU’s professional and degree programs better position students for careers in high-demand fields while continuing to provide a superior return on investment to the Golden State. Learn more about the CSU’s broad array of degree programs at campuses across the state by searching the
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