The MPP-MPH program is particularly demanding, and unless the student is clearly able to see the applicability of both degrees to future career plans, he or she should not assume that the chance to squeeze one year from a normal five-year sequence is in itself a persuasive rationale for this undertaking.

Curriculum

The program takes three years to complete. In brief, it consists of the complete first year program of each school followed by one year of courses taken from the curricula of the two schools and, in appropriate cases, from other graduate offerings at the University. A student who has been admitted to the program will ordinarily be allowed to elect whether to start in the Batten School or in the Department of Public Health. The student will then spend the second year in the program as a regular first year student in the other school.

At the conclusion of the third year, students who have earned a minimum of 42 credits in the Department of Public Health Sciences and a minimum of 39 credits in the Batten School will be awarded both the MPH and MPP degrees. The MPP-MPH candidate is obligated, as part of these credits, to take all of the required curriculum in both graduate public policy and public health. A maximum of two courses (six credits) can be counted toward both degrees. The remaining credits will be elective credits and can be chosen from the respective public policy and public health curricula after consultation with the program committee. In no circumstances will a dual degree student be permitted to complete the program in fewer than three years (six semesters) of coursework.