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Leadership Concentration in Public Health Degrees
To many, public health is a dynamic, interdisciplinary field. There are several specializations students may choose to focus on in their course of study, including community health, epidemiology, and leadership.
Since leadership plays an important role in public health, many schools include leadership coursework in their curricula. Additionally, some Master of Public Health (MPH) and Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) programs allow students to specialize in leadership.
- What is Leadership in Public Health?
- Public Health Leadership Bachelor’s Degrees
- Public Health Leadership Master’s Degrees
- List of MPH Programs with Leadership Concentrations
- Public Health Leadership Doctorate Degrees
- Careers Options for Those Focusing on Public Health Leadership
- FAQs about the Public Health Leadership Concentration
Sponsored Online MPH Programs
| Institution & Program | Study Length | Test requirement |
|---|---|---|
| As few as 20 months | No GRE required | |
| As few as 12 months | No GRE required |
What is Leadership in Public Health?
Leadership in public health encompasses a variety of skills, competencies, and goals, such as learning to effectively orchestrate change, communicating and implementing problem-solving strategies, and becoming a positive community influence through knowledge-based ideas and approaches. The definition of leadership in public health is fostering key community needs such as disease prevention, education, and policy development by implementing organizational change, community building, and collaboration between different sectors of public health, such as medicine, biology, anthropology, and education.
Focusing on leadership in public health means taking a collaborative approach to community issues to best solve problems and drive positive change. It also means learning to become an informed leader who is equipped to take on complex public health challenges by leading teams, managing projects, and designing solutions.
Why is Leadership Education Important in Public Health?
What is the importance of leadership in public health? By focusing on leadership during your public health studies, you can learn key skills, theories, and practices that will ultimately help you resolve issues within communities once you begin your career. Professionals who focus on leadership in public health design strategies to address conflict, reduce resistance, and increase cooperation as they implement plans and policies related to community change. They apply their knowledge to communicate recommendations, improve organizational strategy, and enhance accountability across public health domains.
Students can expect coursework within this specialization to cover topics such as health administration, policy analysis, conceptual skills, and applied skills.
Leadership in public health is significant because it teaches future change-makers how to best deal with issues that have a lasting impact on public health at the local, national, and global levels. These issues include bioterrorism, infectious diseases, obesity, famine, and substance abuse.
Public Health Leadership Bachelor’s Degrees
Completing a bachelor’s degree in public health may prepare students to work in a variety of public health careers and continue their education in the public health realm with a master’s or doctoral degree.
There are currently no Bachelor of Public Health programs accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) that offer a leadership concentration in public health, but students may still take courses that teach key skills related to the concentration and prepare them for more specialized leadership in public health education in the future.
Students who wish to complete coursework related to leadership in public health may take classes such as Leadership, Communication, & Group Dynamics, Public Health Leadership, or Organizational Leadership & Management.
Public Health Leadership Master’s Degrees
Students who wish to pursue a Master of Public Health in Leadership will focus on using a combination of research and practice-based evidence to strategically align systems and organizations, mobilize community resources, and implement broad change. These programs help students bridge competencies from different areas of public health such as policy, environmental and global health, and political analysis.
Every program has different admissions requirements—but most expect aspiring students to have a bachelor’s degree, and some don’t require that degree to be in a specific area of study. In addition to an undergraduate degree, certain schools seek applicants with at least two years of applicable work experience.
For some programs, acceptance requires full-time enrollment, but there are also online MPH programs available—some of which allow part-time study.
In addition to offering an MPH in Leadership, some programs offer concentrations in Leadership in Practice and Health Policy and Management. Though there are some differences in these concentrations, the overall focus is very similar.
Leadership concentrations are available in MPH programs but not in Master of Science in Public Health (MSPH) programs. MPH programs focus on the applied and practical elements of public health, while MSPH programs are more research-focused.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • Chapel Hill, NC
Master of Public Health (MPH)
Enrollment Type
Full-Time and Part-Time
Length of Program
As few as 20 months
Credits
42
Concentrations
Leadership, Nutrition, Applied Epidemiology
Admission Requirements
- A bachelor’s degree, or its international equivalent, from a regionally accredited institution
- Resume or Curriculum Vitae
- Unofficial transcripts from all postsecondary institutions
- Statement of Purpose
- Three letters of recommendation
- TOEFL or IELTS Test Scores for international applicants
- MPH/RD Prerequisites: Chemistry (Chemistry I and Lab, Chemistry II and Lab, and at least one term of Organic), Biochemistry, Human Anatomy, Human Physiology, Microbiology (with Lab), Human Nutrition, General Psychology, Introduction to Anthropology or Sociology I
Table was last updated June 2026
Curriculum for MPH in Leadership
The MPH in Leadership curriculum includes a variety of coursework. Since leadership in public health focuses on collaboration across many sectors, students can expect to take courses in several realms of the field, not just those specifically related to leadership. Below is a list of example courses students may take:
Project Management Principles & Practices. This course focuses on project management skills applicable to organizations in the public health sector. Students will learn about topics such as the project lifecycle, improving project management systems, and achieving maximum efficiency when working as an organizational team.
Principles in Public Health Leadership. This course will introduce students to major concepts and theories in public health leadership. Topics may include leadership models, leadership ethics, and approaches to implementing change at various community levels.
Political and Policy Analysis. This course will teach students how to analyze policy and approach issues with a goal of actionable change. Topics covered include cost-benefit analysis, consensus building, and policy assessment.
Public Health Leadership Doctorate Degrees
A doctorate in public health, commonly referred to as a DrPH degree, combines professional and academic skills. Many programs are geared toward mid- to senior-level professionals who wish to advance in their careers. Students can expect to learn about leadership in public health from an interdisciplinary perspective and to gain the skills needed to take on greater leadership roles in both the public and private sectors at the community, national, and global levels.
Though only a few schools offer specific concentrations in leadership at the doctoral level, students can still learn key leadership skills in public health by taking coursework focused on leadership in public health.
Doctorate programs in public health generally require several years of work experience, demonstrated leadership ability, and a graduate degree (although some programs do not require a master’s in public health) for admission.
Concentrations in leadership are available in DrPH programs but not in Ph.D. programs. DrPH programs are geared toward professionals who wish to work in the field, focusing on applications and practices, while Ph.D. programs are more research-oriented.
Curriculum for a DrPH in Leadership
Since these programs are interdisciplinary, students can expect to take courses that help them develop a range of skills and competencies across different sectors of public health, as well as courses specifically related to leadership. Below is a list of example courses students may take:
Program Evaluation for Health Leaders. This course will cover fundamental program evaluation frameworks. Students will learn to identify appropriate evaluation and data-collection strategies. This course will also go over research design.
Health Policy Analysis and Advocacy for Leaders. This course will teach students to understand and evaluate policy design and to implement strategies for policy-level change.
Careers Options for Those Focusing on Public Health Leadership
What can you do with a public health degree? There are a variety of career options available to those who pursue an MPH in Leadership or focus on leadership at other academic levels. The field is broad and interdisciplinary, meaning there is some overlap between jobs for those focusing on leadership and those focusing on other sectors of public health. Career options for students who specialize in leadership include roles in project, organizational, and program management. These roles can be found at various local, national, and global levels, as well as in both public and private capacities.
As mentioned above, a public health leadership concentration offers students the opportunity to develop a range of skills, competencies, and practices related to public health leadership. Leadership is an important element of public health, and narrowing your studies to focus on this aspect may present various career and educational opportunities.
Sponsored Online MPH Programs
| Institution & Program | Study Length | Test requirement |
|---|---|---|
| As few as 20 months | No GRE required | |
| As few as 12 months | No GRE required |
Information last updated: June 2026