This paper summarises the context and rationale behind developing a European doctorate in health promotion and public health and its relevance to the international context. Since no Pan-European doctorate exists to date, a network of universities and higher education institutions across Europe has been working towards the establishment of a European doctorate in health promotion and public health. This paper describes the consensus-building process among this network of core stakeholders, combining key learning outcomes with the results of a scoping study. We critically examine some of the challenges encountered and discuss the potential need for such a doctoral level qualification.

The consensus-building process included several meetings as well as a qualitative scoping study, consisting of nine qualitative interviews with and two written responses from different stakeholders in the area of doctoral education.

We describe the different requirements, benefits and challenges linked to the development of a European doctorate in health promotion and public health that were identified within the consensus-building process and in the qualitative data.

Overall, the benefits identified suggest that a European doctorate in health promotion and public health would be a positive and progressive initiative. However, the potential added value and the demand for such a doctorate still need to be examined.