CSULB to introduce a Doctor of Public Health degree in fall 2025

Cal State Long Beach is set to debut its fifth doctoral program in fall 2025. The forthcoming Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) will be an interdisciplinary degree, adding to The Beach's strength in health education while preparing future graduates for advanced practice and leadership.

Beach leaders and faculty foresee the new degree will prepare recipients to improve health outcomes for underserved communities in the post-COVID world.

"We're excited to launch our new Doctor of Public Health degree program at CSULB," Provost Karyn Scissum Gunn said. "This program is a valuable addition to the College of Health and Human Services and addresses the significant need for advanced, trained, and culturally aware DrPH-level public health professionals in our local community and beyond."

"We declare in our campus values the public good as our responsibility, and this new program is a super example of how we remain focused on those time-honored commitments," Scissum Gunn continued.

The College of Health and Human Services, which already hosts two doctoral degrees, will offer the new program with three specialties: global health, health policy and management, and public health informatics and technology. A focus on reducing health disparities will be common to all three, and program faculty are inviting colleagues from additional colleges to instruct future doctoral students in subjects including cultural diversity and equity issues, information systems and statistics.

"This is not just us, this is interdisciplinary," said Lucy Huckabay, professor of global health and nursing. "This is not something to keep for ourselves, but to share it."

The upshot is that future graduates can look forward to serving in a wide range of areas - and at high levels. The newly approved proposal anticipates future graduates serving as senior officials in public health departments and health-focused organizations operating at the local, state, national and global levels. The degree could also lead to academic and research assignments or consulting work.

"Their marketability will be significantly improved when they have a terminal degree," Huckabay said.

Three pathways to advanced practice

As the new degree may lead to myriad professional opportunities, it is also designed to welcome students who, united by an interest in public health, have diverse interests and aptitudes.

Whatever one's chosen focus, the program is designed to prepare practitioners for evidence-based, advanced decision making, said Kamiar Alaei, chair of the Department of Health Science. He anticipates the DrPH's inaugural cohort will include 10-12 students in each of the program's three specializations.

The global health specialty can lead to professional opportunities abroad or within the United States with organizations like the World Health Organization to prevent contagions from crossing international lines or reduce the incidence of disease and other health problems abroad. A global health expert could support clinicians' efforts to increase vaccination rates, test or illness, or distribute medicines by developing needs assessments or advising on understanding of cultural norms, Alaei said.

The health policy and management option would be for students who see themselves working in the halls of government. The objective behind this program is to educate policy experts who, after earning their doctorates, would be able to reduce disparities in health outcomes at the local through global levels.

And finally, the public health informatics and technology concentration is for those who want to work at the intersection of healthcare and big data. Students taking this route can look forward to using technologies, including AI and machine learning, to analyze, understand and visualize data.

Students who develop expertise in this area would be able to work on applications that became prominent during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as contact tracing, and be able to combine datasets from public and private organizations, Alaei said.

The College of Health and Human Services has already invested in informatics programs, thanks to a $10 million grant the federal government awarded in 2022. Intended to help prepare students for professions at the nexus of public health and technology, the grant has enabled the college to create a new Public Health Informatics & Technology Certificate, Alaei said.

An academic boost

The new DrPH degree also stands to strengthen CSULB itself, Alaei said. He anticipates that the additional degree will call attention to the campus' scholarship and lead to new opportunities for grants and research publishing.

"This is a big deal," he said. "It's transformative for the campus."

He also looks forward to enabling ambitious public health students to remain at The Beach after completing master's degrees.

"A lot of our gifted students who traditionally go to another university for a terminal degree, they can stay with us," Alaei said.

Among the prospective students looking forward to joining the doctoral program is Banafshe Sharifian-Attar, who has been an instructor at The Beach since 2007. Sharifian-Attar's research interests center on substance abuse problems and mental health. She is interested in joining the program for its health policy and management option with the intention of enhancing her abilities to teach at a high level, and to be an advocate for public health policies.

"I love teaching, and I want to stay in that profession," she said. "There's a lot of competition and in order to do that, I want to be able to get my doctorate."

The new degree will be open to students who, like Sharifian-Attar, have already earned master's level degrees in public health. The program will also welcome the likes of physicians and nursing practitioners who have professional doctorates in healthcare.

"I am thrilled to launch our new Doctor of Public Health program, designed to equip future public health leaders with the advanced skills and knowledge needed to drive meaningful change," said Grace Reynolds-Fisher, interim dean of the College of Health & Human Services. "This program will empower professionals to tackle complex health challenges, influence policy, and enhance community well-being on a global scale. It is the culmination of four years of work by Dr. Kamiar Alaei and is a strong addition to our CHHS portfolio of doctoral programs."

The Beach has helped nearly 400 students complete the Master of Public Health degree since 2004-05. The College of Health and Human services also houses California's highest-rated nursing school and two additional doctorates, in nursing practice and physical therapy. The new degree comes with a sense of optimism that students from the diverse communities in and around Long Beach will enter advanced practice and contribute their perspectives to the ranks of faculty and public health organizations.

"The new DrPH program emphasizes CSULB's commitment to serving the needs of local and regional communities by training professionals who are deeply connected to and invested in public health," said Pei-Fang Hung, interim vice provost for academic programs. "This new program emphasizes applying evidence-based strategies to solve pressing public health issues and lead impactful change."

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