Dual Degree Programs

D.P.M./M.B.A. Degree
In the evolving and highly competitive healthcare industry, it is critical for podiatrists to plan, organize and control the issues impacting their profession. This combined degree offers students the expertise to manage their own practices and to educate and train students for leadership roles in podiatry management within healthcare organizations. In this five-year program, students spend the first two years in the podiatric medicine program, the third year earning and completing the M.B.A. degree, and the fourth and fifth years completing their podiatric medical education and earning their D.P.M. degree.

D.P.M./M.P.H. Degree
Temple University's Department of Public Health and Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine have created a program whereby podiatric students may obtain a Masters in Public Health (MPH) while they complete the DPM program. This degree combination will enhance careers in medicine by enabling physicians to better understand and address the social, behavioral and environmental factors that influence the health and health practices of their patients. Additional benefits include new career opportunities and access to a broader base of external funding.
Temple's MPH is fully accredited by the Council on Education in Public Health (CEPH) and provides a credential that indicates competency in social, environmental, and behavioral aspects of health, the analytic sciences of epidemiology and biostatistics, and principles of health service management, including program planning, evidence-based practice, and evaluation.
The combined DPM-MPH degree program interweaves the podiatric school curriculum and the public health curriculum so that podiatric students will add only one year to their clinical training experience. Podiatric students will begin the MPH curriculum on a part time basis during the second semester of their first year of medical school and complete the program with one year of full time MPH course work taken during a leave of absence from the School of Podiatric Medicine after completing the second year of podiatric school.
MPH Degree Requirements for Dual Degree Students in Podiatry:

• 27 semester hours [9 courses] of required courses
• 3 semester hours [1 course] of elective coursework approved by advisor
• 9 semester hours of Fieldwork-Practicum in conjunction with a field placement

Dual degree students receive 6 semester hours (2 courses) of credit towards the elective requirement of the MPH based on their podiatric schoolwork. As such, the dual degree program is an efficient way for students to complete the two degrees.
In the Fieldwork-Practicum, students complete an in-depth community-based project in one of a wide range of approved local health agencies in order to gain experience in applying skills acquired in the academic program, including epidemiological assessment of health problems, program development, data management and analysis, and program evaluation.

D.P.M./Ph.D. Degree in Bioengineering
The Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine offers a joint program with the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science and Drexel University's Biomedical Engineering and Science Institute, leading to a D.P.M./Ph.D. degree in Bioengineering. This unique and challenging opportunity is for those students who are interested in biomedical engineering and research.
The seven-year program consists of the regular four-year medical course of study at TUSPM and three years of graduate work at either Penn or Drexel. Students enter the Ph.D. program after completion of the first two years (basic sciences) of the D.P.M. curriculum, and return to TUSPM for two clinical years when the Ph.D. work is completed. This Ph.D. curriculum consists of coursework in mathematics, engineering, and life sciences, as well as research, culminating in a dissertation.
To be eligible for this program students should have a bachelor's degree in science or engineering and must meet the D.P.M. prerequisites. Specific suggestions to prepare for the Ph.D. curriculum include:

• Calculus-based physics sequence rather than algebra-based
• Two additional courses in calculus, including differential equations
• A computer science course requiring proficiency in a high level language
• Any courses in mechanical or electrical engineering and statistics or research design

Although interested students do not have to apply to Penn or Drexel before admission to TUSPM, they should start with these suggested courses as soon as possible. Students deficient in a math/engineering background will need to take such courses during the summer before TUSPM matriculation, the summer between the first two TUSPM years, or at the beginning of the graduate program. The Ph.D. program advisors at Penn and Drexel will help students prepare for doctoral work.