Dual Degrees
The Penn MPH program fosters a truly interdisciplinary learning model, welcoming students and faculty with vastly different training, experience, and perspectives. This ultimately mirrors the workforce and field of public health, where public health professionals work in every job sector at every impact level. The program’s unique interdisciplinary environment has borne a plethora of dual degree opportunities with our partner programs. By combining disciplines, students gain a more specific skillset across sectors such as medicine, law, social work, public policy, veterinary science, and beyond!
Why Consider a Dual Degree?
It’s a big decision and even larger commitment to pursue a dual degree; it’s important to ensure it makes sense for your future personal and career goals! Dual degrees only make sense when a student’s career goals rely heavily on both degrees to be a marketable candidate when pursuing a job. The Penn MPH program has 13 established dual degrees, and we are open to crafting new ones! Each dual degree has a different mechanism to maximize credit-sharing, avoiding redundancy in your training, and requires a different amount of additional time, coursework, and money. Please note their requirements below! Interested students must apply to both programs of a dual degree separately and receive acceptance before planning can begin.
Dual Degrees At a Glance
25%dual degree students
13+dual degrees
Pari Thakkar
DMD/MPH Class of 2026I am a dual degree DMD/MPH student who began my MPH journey in 2023. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, I developed a deep interest in the social determinants of health and their impact on access to care during such a critical time. Growing up in Chicago, I came across the history of redlining and its lasting effects on modern-day healthcare. I was both shocked and inspired—realizing how much I had yet to learn, I felt a strong desire to continue exploring these crucial issues.
As I considered dental schools, I discovered the DMD/MPH dual degree at Penn, and I immediately knew it was the perfect opportunity to merge my passions for dentistry and public health. I am incredibly grateful to be part of this unique interdisciplinary program, where I can learn alongside researchers, medical professionals, and veterinary students, among others. This experience allows me to make an impact not only in the dental chair but also on a broader, community-wide scale. I look forward to continuing my journey at Penn and beyond, bridging the gap between individual patient care and public health initiatives.
Student Spotlight
Dual Degree Options
Expand the items below to read more about the different dual degree options:
The Doctor of Medicine (MD) and MPH dual degree is available to Penn medical students already matriculated in the Perelman School of Medicine. Although applications into the dual degree do not occur until the 3rd year of medical school, interested students are strongly encouraged to reach out to the MPH program once they have committed to Penn as a medical student.
Read More HereFor Perelman School of Medicine medical students who are not interested in the full dual MD/MPH, there is a Certificate in Public Health Medicine. Students take two public health classes, do a public health immersion experience, and have a public health focus to their scholarly pursuit.
Read More HereThe Doctor of Medicine in Dentistry (DMD) and MPH dual degree is available to dental students already matriculated in Penn’s School of Dental Medicine. Applications occur in spring of the 1st year, and the process is highly selective. Most students complete both degrees within four years.
Read More HereThe Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (VMD) and MPH dual degree is available to veterinary students already matriculated in Penn’s School of Veterinary Medicine. Students pursuing this dual training can strengthen their methodological practices for doing public health, understand the important connections between human and animal health, as well as the implications of environmental health at the ambient, occupational, and global spheres, and provide an understanding for the theories and framework necessary for designing interventions and educational campaigns. VMD/MPH students concentrate on the One Health track and can complete the dual degree in 4 to 4.5 years.
Read More HereThis possibility is only open to students who are already matriculated into a PhD program at the University (we do not currently offer a PhD in Public Health). Not all PhD programs allow students to add another degree, so it’s essential to confirm this with the PhD program and faculty advisor first. If the student is able to add the MPH to their PhD training, students apply separately to the MPH program for consideration. PhD students matriculated into a Biomedical Graduate Studies (BGS) program are not eligible to do a dual PhD/MPH, but they are eligible for the Public Health Certificate Program (PHCP). PHCP students take four public health classes, attend a seminar class, and complete a small public health project.
Read More HereThe Juris Doctor (JD) and MPH dual degree program is a partnership between the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School and the Master of Public Health program in the Perelman School of Medicine. Prospective students can apply to both programs at the same time, or apply to the MPH in the first year of the JD program. This dual degree can be completed in four years and will add an additional year to the JD program. This combined training can lead to careers in decision making and policy spaces, including local, state, and federal government health departments, as well as opportunities in advocacy and interdisciplinary health research.
The Master of Social Work (MSW) and MPH dual degree program is a “natural.” Both disciplines are vitally concerned with human and social well-being, whether at micro (clinical practice) or macro (societal and policy) levels. The challenges of substance use and abuse, mental and behavioral health policy and practice, violence incidence and interventions, and access to health care are particularly vital areas of mutual focus. Research-based strategies in both disciplines address differential access and treatment in these and other health domains stemming from such categories as race, ethnicity, socioeconomic position, and gender. This dual degree is open to either MPH students or MSW students on the clinical or macro concentrations that have a vision for how this combined training will take them where they want to go in the future. Interested students will have to apply to both programs and be accepted to be considered for a dual degree.
The Master of Science in Nonprofit Leadership (NPL) and MPH dual degree program combines the efforts of public health and nonprofit leadership to support students passionate about public health research and practice and social impact through nonprofits and social enterprises. The NPL/MPH builds on a practical and theoretical foundation to prepare public health workers to: Start and lead nonprofit organizations in the local, national, and global health spheres; and plan, implement, evaluate, and disseminate programs to address health needs and inform public debate and policymaking. Interested students will have to apply to both programs and be accepted to be considered for a dual degree.
The Master of Science in Social Policy (MSSP) and MPH dual degree prepares graduates for leadership positions in: Understanding how decisions about social and health policy issues are made, shaped and influenced at local, state, national, and global levels; Careers in health services research and health policy research in academic, government, community, and industry settings; Formulating a social reform agenda that is evidence-based and aims at improving the equity, effectiveness, and efficiency of health policy creation and implementation; and Generating and considering a wide array of policy options to address social and health problems. Interested students will have to apply to both programs and be accepted to be considered for a dual degree.
The Master of Public Administration (MPA) and MPH dual degree program prepares students for leadership roles in government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and private firms engaging in public sector work. The joint program with MPH invites students to do so while also gaining specific research, education, and service experience to promote public health. This combination gives graduates a competitive advantage in careers focused on policy and the public health sector, locally and nationally. The ability for students to earn robust dual degrees also gives the University a competitive advantage when compared to peer institutions offering policy and public administration degree programs. Interested students will have to apply to both programs and be accepted to be considered for a dual degree.
The Master in Environmental Studies (MES) and MPH dual degree program expands the range of skills and knowledge that students would be able to develop in each program on its own. The MES program provides structure for study within this broad field, which ranges from air pollution and geographic mapping to addressing complex and ever-changing legal regulation. Coupled with the exposure to how public health is monitored, impacted, and intervened on, students leave this dual training ready for careers in environmental regulation and policy, working in sectors across government, nonprofit organizations, and industry. Interested students will have to apply to both programs and be accepted to be considered for a dual degree.
The Master of City Planning (MCP) and MPH dual degree program offers a unique training that provides graduates with the necessary knowledge to address the complexity of the built environment, housing, and economic development. This combination provides students with a deeper understanding of health in all planning and policies. Students will gain the foundational competencies in public health as a valuable complement to the Master of City Planning. Graduates from this dual degree program would be strong candidates for positions in nonprofit organizations, private consulting, a variety of businesses, and government agencies. Additionally, the multi-disciplinary approach of the MPH degree would expose Master of City Planning students to faculty and students with similar interests in public health topics throughout the Penn community. Interested students will have to apply to both programs and be accepted to be considered for a dual degree.
The Master of Public Health (MPH) and Masters in Law (ML) dual degree program is for students who will practice, lead, teach or otherwise work in core knowledge areas of public health where being knowledgeable about the legal systems and underpinnings is essential. Students enrolled in the program’s specialized curriculum will gain a solid understanding of how the U.S. legal system functions coupled with the law in their areas of interest. Interested students will have to apply to both programs and be accepted to be considered for a dual degree.
The Master of Public Health (MPH) and Masters in Bioethics (MBE) dual degree program is for students who are interested in knowing how to navigate the ethical underpinnings in public health and healthcare settings. Interested students will have to apply to both programs and be accepted to be considered for a dual degree.