DrPH in Health Policy Leadership and Management
Available Fall 2025
Enhance Your Leadership in the Public Health Sector with a DrPH in Health Policy Leadership and Management
Are you a leader in the public health sector or looking to become one? If so, understanding the complexities of policy, management, and financial systems can effectively support you in making a lasting impact. Liberty University’s Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) in Health Policy Leadership and Management is designed to help equip you with the knowledge and skills to navigate these challenges.
Through specialized coursework, you’ll explore vital concepts like accounting theory, financial planning, and resource management, helping enable you to make informed decisions that can secure the financial well-being of healthcare organizations. You’ll study how to engage stakeholders, lead strategic initiatives, and foster effective teams in public health environments.
Special emphasis is placed on qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods research approaches to community diagnosis, social networking, and coalition building, helping you address public health challenges and improve the quality of life in communities. Whether through capacity building or policy advocacy, you can pursue the skills that can help you lead transformative change in the public health sector.
Credit Hours
View CoursesNext start date: Aug 18, 2025
Liberty University is accredited by SACSCOC
Highlights
Highlights of Our Doctorate in Public Health Degree
Hands-on Training
Apply your knowledge in real-world public health settings through a hands-on practicum that provides practical experience in the field.
Research Practice
Develop advanced research skills through courses in quantitative and qualitative methods, preparing you to tackle public health challenges.
Relevant Learning
Engage in a comprehensive dissertation process, allowing you to potentially contribute original research that addresses key issues in health program administration and government health policy.
Well-rounded Support
Gain mentorship and guidance from expert faculty with extensive real-world experience throughout your academic journey.
Career Potential
What Can You Do with a DrPH – Health Policy Leadership?
Liberty University’s Doctor in Public Health with a specialization in Health Policy Leadership and Management can help prepare you for the following occupations:
- Health officer
- Health policy advisor
- Health services manager
- Healthcare administrator
- Policy analyst
- Public health director
#4 Best College Campus in America
At Liberty, you’ll find an affordable, high-quality education designed to help equip students like you for the real world. Our commitment to excellence has earned us recognition as the #4 Best College Campus in America by Niche.com.
Earning your degree from a nonprofit university with state-of-the-art resources like ours can help set you apart from your peers.
Courses
What Will You Study in Our Doctorate of Public Health Management and Health Policy Leadership Program?
In Liberty’s health policy leadership program, you can explore how effective leadership and strategic planning drive organizational success in the public health sector. You can cultivate skills to analyze team dynamics and recognize strategies to enhance team performance.
In this program, you will explore essential concepts and challenges that leaders face today in the health sector. The program can help equip you to navigate complex organizational environments by focusing on essential skills such as organizational development, policy advocacy, and capacity building. In your financial management coursework, you will focus on the application of accounting theory, budgeting, and resource management within the context of public health.
You will study how to collaborate with diverse stakeholders, design strategic plans, and foster teamwork to achieve organizational goals. The coursework emphasizes practical leadership skills, such as building cohesive teams and promoting multilevel cooperation. The program can also help prepare you to manage crises and communicate risk appropriately in the face of public health emergencies.
You will also study how to navigate decentralized models of information dissemination. In addition, the program covers the complexities of policymaking, where you will study the roles of government, economic, and political factors in shaping health policy. Your leadership and management program will culminate in a dissertation that will explore an area related to public health. In addition to the dissertation, you will have the chance to apply your learning to real-world settings in a practicum.
View the Degree Completion Plan (coming soon) and check out our featured courses below for more information!
Featured Doctor of Public Health Courses
PCHR 820 – Finances in Public Health Practice
PCHR 826 – Leadership and Management in Public Health
PCHR 830 – Crisis and Response in Public Health Policy and Practice
PCHR 832 – Formulating Policy: Strategies and Systems of Policymaking in the 21st Century
Degree Information
- This program falls under the School of Health Sciences
- View the Degree Completion Plan (coming soon)
- Check out our course catalog
- Transfer in up to 50% of the degree total
BENEFITS
Why Choose Liberty’s Doctorate of Public Health – Health Policy Leadership and Management Degree?
Join a Christ-Centered Academic Community
At Liberty, you’ll be part of a community that values both academic rigor and spiritual growth. By choosing the DrPH in Health Policy Leadership and Management, you align yourself with a university committed to helping you grow intellectually, professionally, and personally. Your education is shaped by faculty who integrate real-world experience and Christian principles into every lecture and discussion.
Faculty with Real-World Experience
Liberty’s faculty members bring more than academic credentials to the classroom, they bring practical insight from years of professional service. As a residential student, you can benefit from face-to-face collaboration with your professors and peers. This close-knit environment fosters innovative thinking and allows you to engage deeply with complex public health challenges from a leadership perspective.
Apply What You Study Through Hands-On Practice
This program emphasizes learning that extends beyond textbooks and theory. With a strong focus on real-world application, the DrPH program includes a practicum experience that places you in the heart of public health organizations and communities. You’ll have the chance to address real challenges, apply classroom knowledge in the field, and build leadership skills that can serve you throughout your career.
Receive Support that Helps You Thrive
Your experience at Liberty includes more than academics. You’ll have access to academic advising, career development services, and spiritual mentorship designed to support your success. With a Christian worldview woven into the curriculum, this program encourages you to grow as both a skilled public health leader and a compassionate, ethical decision-maker.
Admissions
How Do You Become a Student in the DrPH – Policy Leadership and Management Program?
Every application is reviewed on a case-by-case basis, and all applicants must submit the following documents and meet the minimum requirements for admission:
- Admission application
- Official transcripts showing a Master of Public Health or a Master of Science in Public Health from a CEPH-accredited program with at least a 3.0 GPA for admission in good standing
- Those with a non-CEPH accredited MPH, MSPH, or health-related master’s degree can be considered but may be required to take PCHR 700 (Introduction to the Foundations of Public Health) and any of the following missing prerequisite courses:
- Biostatistics
- Principles of Environmental Health
- Principles of Epidemiology
- Public Health Administration
- Research Methods in Public Health
- Social & Behavioral Theory App. in Public Health
- Those with a non-CEPH accredited MPH, MSPH, or health-related master’s degree can be considered but may be required to take PCHR 700 (Introduction to the Foundations of Public Health) and any of the following missing prerequisite courses:
- 2 faculty/professional recommendation letters submitted via email to admissionsdocs@liberty.edu (must include physical signature of recommender). One must be from current or former faculty. One must be from current or former work supervisor or related
- Public Health Essay (see our Statement of Purpose page for details)
- Department approval
Have Questions?
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