What is an Executive Leadership MPH Degree?
The Executive Leadership Master of Public Health (EMPH) at 91制片厂's Dornsife School of Public Health is designed for experienced professionals who aspire to lead transformative change in public health systems, organizations, and policy.
The EMPH program blends advanced public health knowledge with strategic leadership training, preparing graduates to navigate complex health challenges and drive innovation at the highest levels.
This online graduate program builds on each student's former education, work experience and skills, whether they are already working in public health or seeking a career change. The program offers a flexible plan of study with room for many electives in addition to core public health courses. Students can opt to focus in a particular area of interest or choose from a wide range of electives for a broad public health education.
The EMPH program is a 5-semester fully online public health program. The program begins with an Executive Leadership seminar only for EMPH students, which creates a cohort experience of current and future public health practitioners. In addition to online courses, students are invited to take advantage of other online or in-person opportunities at Drexel Dornsife.
What's The Difference Between an EMPH and MPH Degree?
The Executive Leadership MPH program has been specifically designed for working professionals. It offers a flexible, on-line curriculum with a cohort focus throughout.
EMPH students do not have to declare a set major but can take electives from any of Dornsife’s departments in addition to required courses.
Why Pursue an Executive Leadership MPH Degree at Drexel Dornsife?
At 91制片厂’s Dornsife School of Public Health, EMPH students are exposed to a wide range of unique benefits that assist with career advancement:
- Collaborative Cohort Model: Students progress through the core courses together, establishing new friendships, sharing experiences from their past and current education and employment, and creating robust professional networks that enhance their future public health careers. Students come from a range of sectors and employers, creating a diverse learning environment.
- Leadership-Focused Curriculum: Courses emphasize organizational strategy, health policy, financial management, and systems thinking, equipping students to lead effectively in diverse public health settings.
- Mentoring: Students have an academic advisor and are assigned a faculty mentor when they begin the program.
- Professional Development: The program provides opportunities for networking, guest speakers, and professional development seminars.
- Reputation: Students earn their EMPH degree from the number one graduate school of public health in Philadelphia.
Drexel's Executive Leadership MPH program prepares students to:
- Describe the importance of social capital and natural helpers when designing community-engaged public health strategies
- Analyze organizational challenges facing public health practice organizations
- Demonstrate critical, reflective thinking and writing skills that are needed to advance value-based public policies
- Weigh the roles of policymakers, citizens, and interest groups in shaping public health policy
- Translate and disseminate public health science for use by public health practitioners and policy makers
"DSPH’s Executive MPH program was the perfect fit since I was already working in the public health sector. Not only did the Executive MPH program allow me to continue with full-time employment and immediately apply my education in real time, but it also prepared me to obtain a higher-level employment position within the same institution...It was a win-win on many levels," said Clint Steib, MPH '15, program manager at the Dorothy Mann Center for Pediatric and Adolescent HIV Clinic at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children.
Executive Leadership MPH students come from a range of sectors and employers, both within and outside of the public health field. These include health agencies, health systems, community organizations, and medicine.
Admissions Requirements for the EMPH Program
To be considered for the Executive Leadership MPH graduate program, applicants must meet the following admissions criteria:
- Bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited college or university, or an equivalent international institution
- GPA of at least 3.0 preferred
- Minimum 3 years of professional work experience
Executive Leadership MPH Application Requirements
For an application to be marked complete and undergo review, applicants to the EMPH program must submit the following forms of documentation:
- A completed application
- Official transcripts from all universities or colleges and other post-secondary educational institutions (including trade schools) attended
- Two professional letters of recommendation
- Resume/CV
- Personal statement
- Additional requirements for international students
GRE scores are NOT required as an application requirement for the Executive Leadership MPH program.
Note that the software used in many of the courses requires you to have access to a PC. Apple doesn’t currently support the software needed to complete this coursework.
Executive Leadership MPH Program Curriculum
The online Executive Leadership MPH program curriculum covers the major disciplines of public health—community health and prevention, environmental and occupational health, epidemiology and biostatistics, and health management and policy—with a focus on public health practice.
Students will follow a rigorous course of study that will build their skills and knowledge in the following areas:
- Foundations and Systems in Public Health
- Public Health Research Methods
- Public Policy
- Community Assessment
Executive Leadership MPH Course Requirements
Core Courses
All MPH students complete the same core public health courses to begin their MPH studies.
Required courses for the Executive MPH major include:
- Executive Leadership in Public Health
- Policy Advocacy and Social Justice: Theory and Practice
- Resource Allocation & Leadership for Government and Non-Profits
- Executive Leadership Capstone
Elective Options
In the second year, students choose electives from a wide range of online, evening, or daytime courses, which allows students to curate their public health interests in flexible ways.
Some of the most popular electives include:
- Introduction to Statistical Computing
- Disease Outbreak Investigations
- Researching Marginalized and Hard to Reach Populations
- Methodology and Methods for Health Equity Research: The Health of Black Communities
- History of Public Health
- Public Health Ethics
- Gender and Sexes and Health
- Intersectional Perspectives
- Introduction to Urban Health
- Crisis and Risk Communication
- Environmental Justice and Health
- Urban Policies and Health
- Overview of Maternal and Child Health
- Infection Prevention and Control in Health
Capstone Courses
Students work together in the second year in their capstone course, integrating their prior coursework and professional experience in analyzing current public health problems and developing effective solutions.
In order to receive an Executive Leadership MPH degree, students must complete a minimum of 42 semester credit hours.
To learn more about the Executive Leadership MPH curriculum and courses, please visit the 91制片厂 Online website:
Executive Leadership MPH Career Options
Many of our Executive Leadership MPH graduates continue with their current employer on an enhanced career trajectory, while others use the MPH to make a complete career change.
Graduates work in local, state and federal health agencies, health systems, health and social services, community organizations, education, clinical research, medicine, and pharmaceutical companies.
An Executive Leadership Master’s in Public Health can lead to a variety of unique career opportunities. Recent graduates of the program have reported working with employers including:
Non-Profit and Government Organizations
- American Red Cross
- New Jersey Department of Veterans Affairs
- Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual Disabilities Services
- Philadelphia Department of Public Health
- Public Health Management Corporation
Hospital/Healthcare, Research and For-Profit Organizations
- Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
- Johnson and Johnson
- St. Christopher's Hospital for Children
- Janssen Pharmaceuticals/ Janssen Scientific Affairs
- University of Pennsylvania Health System
Executive Leadership MPH graduates at Dornsife gain the experience, confidence, and skills that can launch their leadership role in the public health field.
EMPH Salary Scale
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, many public health jobs are expected to grow faster than average in the coming years.
Learn more about public health job outlook and average salaries on the on the 91制片厂 Online website.