The Faculty of Public Health Diplomate Examination (DFPH) Preparation

Hints and tips for the Diplomate Examination

A video of hints and tips from Professor Derek Ward, Chair of the Diplomate Exam Development Committee, can be found here.

Following each sitting of the Diplomate examination, an Examiners’ Comments report is produced, these can be found under the Results and Feedback section.

This hints and tips document highlights recurrent issues highlighted by the examiners, with the aim of helping those who are preparing to sit the exam.

Past examination and specimen questions 

While postgraduate courses such as the MPH or MSc in Public Health provide most of the skills and knowledge necessary for the examination, most deaneries also hold study days for examination candidates.

Past examination papers are available to download below. Please note that past papers are only available for Paper I and Paper IIA.

DFPH exam uses a closed bank of questions therefore past exam papers are not published. The specimen papers published below are from recent exam sittings and indicative of real style of exam questions. 

Paper IA and IB

Please note that the two specimen papers have been compiled with ‘real’ questions used in recent past papers. You can download these from the links below. 

• Specimen Paper A Questions Only 2025
• Specimen Paper A Questions and Mark Scheme 2025
• Specimen Paper B Questions Only 2025
• Specimen Paper B Questions and Mark Scheme 2025

Paper IIA

Download the specimen questions for Paper IIA here.

These have been developed with the involvement of members of the FPH Specialty Registrars Committee.

• Paper IIA specimen questions 2020

Paper IIB

Questions for Paper IIB are drawn from a reusable question bank and are therefore not published. Specimen questions are available as an indication of the type of questions candidates can expect from Paper IIB. 

• Specimen questions. These specimen questions were used in the pilot of Paper IIB involving Specialty Registrars in June 2008.

Booklist

There is no FPH-recommended reading list for this examination. We advise you to study the syllabus and look at what books are available, preferably in consultation with the organiser of your study course (MSc or MPH).

Revision

A supportive aid for planning revision can be found below. Please note that this is not definitive guidance. 

Revision Preferences Guide

Past examination papers (2011- January 2017)

All papers are PDF documents and are free to download. If you experience any difficulties, please contact the Education Department. To open PDF files you need the latest version of Adobe Acrobat which is free to download.

Please note that the examination format of the current syllabus applies only to papers from June 2001 onwards.

For examiners' comments from 2018 onwards please see Diplomate Examination Results and Feedback

TestReach Tutorial and FPH Diplomate Exam Functionality Test

We strongly recommend that candidates take the Diplomate Exam Functionality Test to ensure they are fully prepared for the exam.  

The Functionality test enables candidates to view the exam canvas before receiving their personal log in details. All FPH Diplomate Exam Candidates will receive a personal login to TestReach along with their Candidate Pack after the application closing date.

The tutorial also provides candidates the ability to review the different types of exam canvas options available and decide which may be best to support their individual needs. 

Please find the details to access the TestReach tutorial and Diplomate Functionality Test below. 

Please note that the alternative exam canvases can be switched on for any candidate once they have a personal login. It is not necessary to apply for a reasonable adjustment to be able to use this if preferred. This is available for anyone to use.  

Inclusion of a formulae sheet

In discussion with the Specialty Registrars’ Committee, it has been agreed to publish a formulae sheet to support those taking the Diplomate exam. This list of formulae will be available to candidates in all four papers from the March 2023 exam as an information tab within the test platform.

Please see the link below to the formulae sheet available on the test platform.

Following feedback received after the October 2025 sitting, the Diplomate Exam Development Committee has agreed that all candidates from March 2026 sitting will now have access to a printed copy of the formulae sheet at the test centre in addition to the electronic copy in the TestReach exam canvas.