DrPH vs. PhD in Public Health: A Sliding Scale of Discovery and Practice

The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) and Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) are both the highest degrees in the field of public health, but they serve different purposes along a continuum of inquiry and application.

Rather than viewing these two degrees as completely separate or opposing choices, it is more accurate to consider them as endpoints of a sliding scale. On one end lies the PhD, rooted in academic research, theory generation, and scientific discovery. On the other hand lies the DrPH, focused on translating evidence into practice, shaping policy, and leading public health programmes in real-world settings.

Each programme emphasises competency, research approaches, and career outcomes, yet both contribute critically to advancing public health knowledge and practice.

The comparison below illustrates this spectrum across key domains.

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DrPH vs. PhD

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Area	DrPH	PhD
Primary Purpose	– Translate evidence into practice – Solve complex public health problems	– Generate new theories and insights – Focused on scientific discoveries
Research Questions	Driven by real-world community or organisational needs	Focused on specific knowledge gaps in theory or literature
Intended Impact	Shape policy, practice and implementation	Advance academic thoughts and future research
Methodology	Observation, experimental, implementation science, and mixed methods	Advanced theoretical, statistical, or computational methods (e.g., epidemiology, informatics)
Stakeholder Engagement	Actively involved public health stakeholders and practitioners.	Optional but increasingly valued
Assessment Criteria	Immediate and short-term through practical application.	Long-term through academic publication and theory development.
Skilled Developed	– Leadership – Evidence translation – Programme implementation – Policy development	– Research design – Scholarly publication – Academic rigour
Career Preparation	Leaders in public health agencies, NGOs and ministries.	Academic researchers, university faculty, and think tanks