Public Health and Professional Degree Programs Records

The Public Health and Professional Degree Programs (PHPD) was established in 1996, when the success of a combined Master in Medicine/Master of Public Health program at Tufts prompted the School of Medicine, in partnership with the faculty of Arts and Sciences and the School of Nutrition Science and Policy, to develop a freestanding interdisciplinary Master of Public Health. Originally called the Graduate Programs in Public Health (GPPH), around 2006 the program’s name changed to the Public Health and Professional Degree Programs. The Public Health and Professional Degree Programs now provides oversight, administration, and student services for all master’s degree programs offered by the medical school. Approved in 1985 by the Tufts University Board of Trustees, the MD/MPH is one of fifteen degree or joint degree programs offered by the medical school. The MD/MPH was the first program in the country to allow both degrees to be earned in four years. The first students enrolled in 1986. The combined program was designed to fill a growing need for physicians with advanced understanding of health promotion, disease prevention, epidemiology, the environment, health planning and global health problems. A combined DVM/MPH program, modeled after the successful MD/MPH program, was approved by the university to begin admitting students in 1994.

The combined MD/MPH was originally located administratively in the Department of Community Health, but with the advent of the newly established stand-alone MPH program in 1996, was situated in a reconfigured Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, which fell under the aegis of the Graduate Programs in Public Health along with the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine/Master of Public Health, Master of Public Health, and Master of Science in Health Communications (approved in 1994). This organizational move was intended to foster integration of the programs. The program was located on the first floor of the Medical and Veterinary building (now the Biomedical Research and Public Health Building). The new environment provided an interdisciplinary setting for the educational programs, providing students with access to varied areas of expertise and a public health setting. The programs also drew on multidisciplinary faculty resources from various schools at Tufts, other universities in the Boston area, and public and private agencies.

The commitment to interdisciplinary integration is reflected in the various degree programs as of 2017: the Physician Assistant/Master of Public Health, Master of Science in Nutrition/ Master of Public Health, Juris Doctor/Master of Public Health, Master in Medicine/Master of Business Administration, Bachelors/Master of Public Health, Master of Science in Biomedical Science/ Master of Public Health, Doctor of Medicine in Dentistry/ Master in Public Health, Master of Arts in Urban and Environmental Planning/ Master in Public Health, Doctorate of Public Health, Master of Science in Pharmacology and Drug Development, and Master of Science in Pain Research, Education, and Policy, approved in 1999.

The governance of the GPPH initially included two distinct structures: the combined program was integrated into the medical or veterinary curriculum planning and approval processes while the MPH operated under a more flexible structure. The combined program was served by two standing committees: the Policy Advisory Group (PAG) and the Admissions Committee. A single academic affairs/admissions committee served as a standing committee for the MPH program. By 2001, GHHP governance was divided into several committees: academic affairs, admissions and recruitment, student life committee, student ethics and grievance committee, external advisory board, and steering committee. All committees reported to the Director of the GPPH. The initial curriculum for the MPH program offered 36-credit, 48-credit and 60-credit programs of study. The curriculum was presented in a traditional academic calendar and emphasized evening courses to attract working students. Students in the 36 and 48 credit MPH programs could select from four concentrations: epidemiology and biostatistics, nutrition, environmental health, and health service management and policy. The MPH program now offers an additional concentration in Global Health.