DVM/MPH Dual Degree Program

Our dual DVM/MPH degree offers many career opportunities for today’s growing demands for Veterinary Public Health experts. Earning a veterinary public health degree along with a DVM at SGU, will increase a veterinary practitioner’s employment opportunities for positions in the public sector and private practice.

If you are interested in pursuing a veterinary public health degree, first you must be admitted to the DVM program and express interest our dual Public Health Graduate Degree Program. When you have been acceptance into SGU’s School of Veterinary Medicine, the Office of Admission will send you an application for SGU’s Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine.

The DVM/MPH program consist of the following forty-two (42) graduate course credit hours:

• Twenty-seven (27) Public Health and Preventive Medicine Basic Curriculum Credits (15 credits of core courses, 6 credits of MPH program-required courses, 6 credits practicum and capstone paper)
• Fifteen (15) veterinary public health track-specific credits (10 shared credits from the DVM curriculum [Students in the dual DVM/MPH program can incorporate up to 10 of the designated DVM course credits into their dual degree program as veterinary public health track-specific credits]; 2 credits of required Veterinary Public Health courses; 3 credits of elective Veterinary Public Health courses) 

To meet the dual degree MPH/DVM requirements, most students use the following schedule template:

After completing the MPH-DVM degree requirements, you would have developed a skill-set based on the following competencies:

• Identify and evaluate microbial and non-microbial hazards to human health of animal origin
  • Microbial hazards such as: zoonotic diseases; animal-associated foodborne diseases; potential bio-agroterrorism agents, foreign animal disease.
  • Non-microbial hazards such as: animal-related injuries (dog bites); animal-related environmental and occupational problems such as animal waste pollution.  

• Identify and effectively work with community and governmental resources appropriate for addressing animal-associated human health risks.

• Apply appropriate epidemiologic methods for the investigation and surveillance of animal-associated public health problems.

• Identify and facilitate the implementation of appropriate prevention and control strategies for animal-associated human health risks.

• Identify cultural attitudes and behaviors towards animals and disease to be considered in risk prevention and control.

• Effectively communicate (orally and in writing) and work with human health care providers (physicians, nurses, health educators, environmental health workers, etc.), other public health stakeholders, veterinary sciences providers and consumer groups on policy and program planning and implementation on animal-related human health issues.