SAQA All qualifications and part qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework are public property. Thus the only payment that can be made for them is for service and reproduction. It is illegal to sell this material for profit. If the material is reproduced or quoted, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) should be acknowledged as the source.
SOUTH AFRICAN QUALIFICATIONS AUTHORITY 
REGISTERED QUALIFICATION: 

Doctor of Public Health 
SAQA QUAL ID QUALIFICATION TITLE
79143  Doctor of Public Health 
ORIGINATOR
University of Limpopo 
PRIMARY OR DELEGATED QUALITY ASSURANCE FUNCTIONARY NQF SUB-FRAMEWORK
CHE - Council on Higher Education  HEQSF - Higher Education Qualifications Sub-framework 
QUALIFICATION TYPE FIELD SUBFIELD
Doctoral Degree  Field 09 - Health Sciences and Social Services  Promotive Health and Developmental Services 
ABET BAND MINIMUM CREDITS PRE-2009 NQF LEVEL NQF LEVEL QUAL CLASS
Undefined  360  Level 8 and above  NQF Level 10  Regular-Provider-ELOAC 
REGISTRATION STATUS SAQA DECISION NUMBER REGISTRATION START DATE REGISTRATION END DATE
Registered-data under construction  EXCO 0324/24  2024-07-01  2027-06-30 
LAST DATE FOR ENROLMENT LAST DATE FOR ACHIEVEMENT
2028-06-30   2031-06-30  

Registered-data under construction

The qualification content is currently being updated for the qualifications with the status “Registered-data under construction” or showing “DETAILS UNDER CONSTRUCTION” to ensure compliance with SAQA’S Policy and Criteria for the registration of qualifications and part-qualifications on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) (As amended, 2022). These qualifications are re-registered until 30 June 2027 and can legitimately be offered by the institutions to which they are registered.

 

In all of the tables in this document, both the pre-2009 NQF Level and the NQF Level is shown. In the text (purpose statements, qualification rules, etc), any references to NQF Levels are to the pre-2009 levels unless specifically stated otherwise.  

PURPOSE AND RATIONALE OF THE QUALIFICATION 
1). To provide leaders in public health practice, teaching and research
To improve the practice of public health.
To improve the teaching of public health.

2). To encourage public health research that leads to new knowledge and improved practice . 

LEARNING ASSUMED TO BE IN PLACE AND RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING 
Applicants who want to register for the Dr PH degree must be in possession of a Master 's degree in public health (MPH ). Candidates who have Master 's degrees in other health sciences will be required to successfully complete core courses in public health before they can register for this degree. The core courses are in the five major areas of public health, i.e. Epidemiology, Biostatics, Health Education, Environmental and Occupational health and Health Systems Management and Policy. 

RECOGNISE PREVIOUS LEARNING? 
N 

EXIT LEVEL OUTCOMES 
CRITICALLY CROSS-FIELD OUTCOMES:
The candidate who has successfully completed the DrPH degree must be able to:

Understand quantitative methods of Epidemiology and Biostatics generally and more specifically as they apply to the health care system.
Understand qualitative research methods generally and specifically as they apply to public health issues.
Understand the relationships between social structures and health.
Play a leadership role in teaching public health and the training of public health professionals .

CRITICALLY SPECIFIC OUTCOMES:
The candidate who has successfully completed the Dr PH programme must be able to:

Design, develop and implement public health-specific programmes, using the sciences of Epidemiology, Biostatics, Environmental Health, Occupational Health, Social and Behavioural Sciences e.g. Health Education and Health Systems Management and Policy.
Demonstrate expertise in at least one cognate area of public health (Epidemiology, Biostatics, Social and Behavioural Health Sciences, Environmental and Occupational Health and Health Systems Management and Policy).
Demonstrate the generation of new knowledge by the development and completion of a research project in the field of public health.
Link his/her speciality with other public health disciplines to address health issues in South Africa, the region and the continent.
Implement novel approaches to the prevention of disease and promotion of health.
Provide consultation services to other health professionals.
Develop and conduct research, using public health methodologies that will have a positive impact on the health of South Africans. 

ASSOCIATED ASSESSMENT CRITERIA 
In order to assess whether exit-level outcomes have been achieved, a range of formative and summative assessments are done throughout the period of study. These include individual and group projects associated with each learning objective, practical work in public health, written tests and examinations, research project development, implementation, report writing and the presentation of a research project. Furthermore, there are pre-requisites to specific areas of study to ensure integrated assessment. The qualifier's knowledge is tested for depth and breadth and the qualifier must prove through the above assessment procedures that s/he has achieved the NQF level 8A standards. 

INTERNATIONAL COMPARABILITY 
The DrPH degree is directly comparable with the programs offered at 29 accredited schools of public health, offering DrPH and PhD degrees in the USA. It is also comparable with doctoral degrees offered at universities in Australia and the United Kingdom. 

ARTICULATION OPTIONS 
  • Articulation with qualifications offered at other universities: none
  • The qualifications towards which the DrPH graduate may proceed: none.
  • Exit level outcomes articulating with other qualifications are: none 
    		•

    MODERATION OPTIONS 
    External assessors are selected from both national and international experts in the various areas of public health. All these moderators will, at a minimum, have a doctorate in Public Health. 

    CRITERIA FOR THE REGISTRATION OF ASSESSORS 
    All members of the academic staff who have a DrPH or PhD.in Public Health and have the necessary skills and experience, are used as internal assessors 

    REREGISTRATION HISTORY 
    As per the SAQA Board decision/s at that time, this qualification was Reregistered in 2006; 2009; 2012; 2015. 

    LEARNING PROGRAMMES RECORDED AGAINST THIS QUALIFICATION: 
    When qualifications are replaced, some (but not all) of their learning programmes are moved to the replacement qualifications. If a learning programme appears to be missing from here, please check the replaced qualification.
     
    NONE 


    PROVIDERS CURRENTLY ACCREDITED TO OFFER THIS QUALIFICATION: 
    This information shows the current accreditations (i.e. those not past their accreditation end dates), and is the most complete record available to SAQA as of today. Some Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionaries have a lag in their recording systems for provider accreditation, in turn leading to a lag in notifying SAQA of all the providers that they have accredited to offer qualifications and unit standards, as well as any extensions to accreditation end dates. The relevant Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionary should be notified if a record appears to be missing from here.
     
    1. University of Limpopo 


    All qualifications and part qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework are public property. Thus the only payment that can be made for them is for service and reproduction. It is illegal to sell this material for profit. If the material is reproduced or quoted, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) should be acknowledged as the source.