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Ph.D. in Health Behavior

Advancing healthy behaviors and effective preventions.

Our Ph.D. in Health Behavior allows you to pursue research across a spectrum of subjects from the broad field of applied health science. You will work with fellow outstanding students and an award-winning faculty in a versatile department that emphasizes the study of the promotion of health and the prevention of health problems. Whether your career goals involve research, teaching in higher education, or executive leadership positions within governmental health agencies, this degree is designed to support your individual needs.

See degree information in the bulletin

Learn more about the Department of Applied Health Science

See faculty in this program

Meet our students

A comprehensive and collaborative program

Our doctoral program in health behavior trains students to conduct rigorous research to address today's most pressing public health issues. Student take coursework in health behavior, quantitative and/or qualitative research methods, and a minor area outside of our department. Most importantly, PhD students work closely with a faculty advisor to design a program of study and conduct independent research including the dissertation. The faculty members available to advise new doctoral students are listed in our faculty directory . Prospective students are encouraged to communicate with a potential advisor to confirm a match of research interests before applying

Tips for your Application

A master's degree is required for admission.
In your research statement, clearly articulate your area of research interest, any research experience you have, what research questions you would like to pursue as a doctoral student, which faculty member you have identified and communicated with as a potential doctoral advisor, and your plans after completion of the degree.
Make sure that your recommendation letters speak to your potential to conduct research.
If you have one, include a writing sample that demonstrates any research experience or skills that you have.
Applicants are required to complete both a SOPHAS and Indiana University application .

Funding for PhD Students

Our PhD students receive a funding package that includes a stipend, student health insurance, and tuition remission. First year PhD students are appointed as Research Assistants and work with their advisor on research projects. Starting in the second year, our students gain valuable teaching experience as Associate Instructors after taking a pedagogy course during their first semester.

PhD Course Sequence

Although there is a lot of flexibility in the courses that PhD students can choose to take, most students take the following sequence of core doctoral level courses:

Year 1: Methods for public health research, Advanced health behavior theory, Quantitative methods

Year 2: Advanced evaluation research in public health, Pedagogy in health behavior, Acquiring external funds for research, Qualitative methods

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School of Public Health-Bloomington 1025 E. Seventh Street, Suite 111 Bloomington, IN 47405-7109

Phone: 812-855-1561 Fax: 812-855-4983

Doctoral Program

The doctoral program is for students with a master’s degree in public health (or equivalent field) who want to advance understanding of health-related behaviors and their determinants at all social levels. Doctoral students gain skills and knowledge in the theoretical foundations of the health behavior field as well as research methods, intervention development and evaluation, and professional development topics. Graduates apply their training to research focused on domestic and global issues.

Program manuals and guidelines are available on the Health Behavior Degrees page. Meet our current Health Behavior doctoral students here .

Competencies Guiding Doctoral Training

Doctoral students are expected to gain and demonstrate competency in theoretical foundations of the field, quantitative research methods, interventions, and in professional development topics. These competencies represent minimum objectives that form the foundation of doctoral training. All students have additional learning objectives and develop specialized and in-depth competencies in areas of interest.

Theoretical foundations

1) Know, critically evaluate, and assess the empirical evidence for contemporary and emerging behavioral and social science theories relevant to understanding psychological, social, and environmental determinants of health and health behaviors.

2) Know, critically evaluate, and assess the empirical evidence for contemporary and emerging conceptual paradigms that have motivated the discipline of health behavior within the field of public health.

3) Use empirical evidence, theories, and conceptual paradigms when developing research questions; posit research questions that address topics of significance to the public’s health.

4) Apply theories, conceptual paradigms, and evidence to understand disparities, inequities, and inequalities in health and health behavior.

5) Demonstrate an understanding of how social determinants (e.g., disproportionate distribution of resources by race and class, characteristics of where we work and live, policies) impact general patterns of health and health behaviors.

6) Understand the health and health behavior implications of global development, globalization processes, and migration.

Quantitative research methods

7) Demonstrate advanced understanding of quantitative research methods relevant to health behavior.

8) Understand a range of methods for analyzing data and their applications.

9) Critically analyze research from the literature in terms of the appropriateness of the study design, sample, measures, data analysis, results, and interpretation.

10) Select and apply appropriate methods for answering research questions that address topics of significance to the public’s health.

Interventions

11) Know and critically evaluate historical and contemporary advances in health behavior interventions that target public health problems.

12) Use theories, conceptual paradigms, and evidence to inform the planning, implementation, evaluation, and dissemination of US and internationally-based interventions, including programs and policies.

13) Demonstrate skills in process and outcome evaluations of interventions.

Professional development

14) Develop information competencies, including knowledge about information resources, skills to conduct a search strategy, and ability to create and maintain a bibliographic database.

15) Demonstrate the ability to review and synthesize a body of research literature.

16) Develop competencies related to research funding information, including knowledge of, and ability to use, online funding resources and databases.

17) Demonstrate the ability to develop a fundable research proposal.

18) Communicate research findings and conclusions in a clear and concise manner and at the appropriate level for the intended audience.

19) Demonstrate the ability to write manuscripts of publishable quality for peer-reviewed scientific journals.

20) Demonstrate the ability to explain complex concepts in public health and health behavior.

21) Uphold the highest ethical standards in planning, conducting, and analyzing research involving human subjects.

A fundamental assumption of the practicum requirements is that, with proper mentorship, practical experience can enhance knowledge and skills. Students complete a primary practicum in research and a secondary practicum in teaching, research, or some other experience that enhances professional skills (e.g., an internship in a congressional office, government agency, or non-profit organization). More time is devoted to the primary practicum (480 hours) than to the secondary practicum (240 hours). Practica are often, but are not required to be, paid learning experiences. Each practicum is individually designed by and for the student. A practicum can occur within the department or elsewhere. The mentor is usually a department or adjunct faculty member, but that is not required. Regardless of where the practicum takes place and the affiliation of the mentor, the student’s academic adviser is responsible for assuring that the student has a worthwhile and appropriately mentored practicum.

Doctoral Written Comprehensive Exam

The written comprehensive examination tests competency in the core areas: (a) theoretical foundations of health behavior, (b) research methods, and (c) interventions. The exam is designed for students to demonstrate critical thinking, the ability to integrate knowledge and understanding across competency areas, and readiness to undertake the dissertation. The format of the exam is determined on a periodic basis. Students must be registered with the Graduate School when the comprehensive examination is taken.

Doctoral Dissertation

Each doctoral student is required to propose, write and defend a dissertation based on original research of a high scholarly standard. The major purposes of the dissertation are to provide the student with an educational experience that results in a significant contribution to the field of health behavior and knowledge and skills to make continuing, important contributions to the field. In the dissertation, students pose specific research questions to be examined, the argument supporting the research questions, and the scholarly gap to be addressed.

Recent dissertations list ( pdf) with links to abstracts.

After Graduating

Graduates of the health behavior doctoral program hold faculty and research positions at leading universities and organizations in North Carolina, throughout the United States and abroad. They are on the faculty of many distinguished universities, including UNC-Chapel Hill, University of Michigan, Emory University and John Hopkins University. Alumni are also employed by major research organizations, such as FHI 360, RTI International and the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, as well as federal health agencies, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health.

The Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases at the UNC School of Medicine in Chapel Hill is a research engine for global health innovation and pan-university collaboration, transforming health in North Carolina and around the world through research, training and service.

The UNC Injury Prevention Research Center (IPRC) develops, tests, and implements prevention solutions that reduce the impact of injury and violence in North Carolina and worldwide.

Launched in August 2011, CounterTobacco.Org is the first comprehensive resource for local, state, and federal organizations working to counteract commercial tobacco product sales and marketing at the point of sale (POS).

The UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center is a cancer research and treatment center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Serving patients at the N.C. Basnight Cancer Hospital, UNC Lineberger is the only public comprehensive cancer center in the state of North Carolina.

The Carolina Center for Healthy Work Design and Worker Well-being is one of 10 Centers of Excellence for Total Worker Health® funded by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

Gillings students build local public health connections through new Partnership Hubs

Featured events, 29th national health equity research webcast, biostatistics 75th anniversary conference and celebration, information for:.

Health, Behavior and Society, PhD

Bloomberg school of public health, overview of phd program.

The PhD in Social and Behavioral Sciences program is designed for students seeking training for careers in social and behavioral sciences, health education, and health communication, most often in academic or research settings. The curriculum emphasizes the application of social and behavioral science perspectives to contemporary health problems. The training in this program focuses on the theoretical perspectives and methods of the social and behavioral sciences that enable scholars to understand and influence the social contexts and behaviors relevant to health.

The PhD degree represents outstanding scholarly achievement and the accomplishment of independent research. The University’s Doctor of Philosophy Board oversees the granting of all PhD degrees.

The following two areas are examples of significant work in the PhD program:

Social and Psychological Influences on Health

This area focuses on social and psychological factors and processes in the etiology and prevalence of disease, in healthcare-seeking behavior, adaptation and coping, and disease prevention. Students are exposed to current research on contextual factors and their relation to health knowledge, attitudes and beliefs; social and psychological factors in disease etiology; risk reduction; and cultural influences in public health, including cross-cultural studies.

This sociological and psychological conceptualization of health and illness, theories of stress and coping, and the special problems in the design and measurement of social and psychological variables are emphasized in the training of the PhD student. The interactive and independent roles of psychosocial factors for disease, with a focus on the social context in which illness is defined and treated, are emphasized. Major social structural divisions such as gender, socioeconomic status, and ethnicity are influential in health outcomes. The basic structure and function of health care systems of societies are also considered in their social-political context.

Health Education and Health Communication

Research and practice in this area focus on how principles from educational, behavioral, social, psychological, and communication theory influence health practices and behaviors conducive to optimal health in individuals, groups, and communities. Students are exposed to current research on health education and communication, with a particular focus on ecological models of health, evaluating multi-faceted intervention programs, and patient-provider communication.

Health education and communication programs are laboratories for the study of effective intervention strategies. Students in this area focus on needs assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation of comprehensive health promotion programs with an eye toward improving both theory and practice. Specific intervention strategies of interest may include individual behavior change strategies based on learning theory and theories of psychosocial dynamics; use of mass media communication; interpersonal communication; mobilization of social and community support; and advocacy. Program implementation issues such as administrative and staff development and support are also considered. Interventions studied include those directed at patients, health care professionals, administrators, legislators, the general public, or combinations of the above.

Program Requirements

Course location and modality is found on the BSPH website .

Our doctoral curriculum is designed to help students master a set of program competencies through corresponding required and recommended courses. Courses listed as required must be taken by all doctoral students. Students should meet with their advisers prior to registering for courses each term to discuss the selection and sequence of HBS-recommended courses, as well as courses offered by other departments and divisions appropriate for their individual areas of interest.

Students are expected to take methods courses relevant to the field of their dissertation research. Students who wish to take advanced biostatistics courses ( PH.140.651 Methods in Biostatistics I - PH.140.654 Methods in Biostatistics IV ) in place of the basic requirements are encouraged to do so, provided they have the necessary background. To register for the advanced series, a working knowledge of calculus and linear algebra is required.

At the end of the first year of coursework, first-year doctoral students take the qualifying exam. This exam tests whether the student has mastered the basic knowledge of the field (as exemplified by the competencies) and whether the student is ready to specialize in a specific area of study.

Students take the Departmental and School-wide Preliminary Oral Examinations in sequence by the end of their third year in the PhD program. In these exams, the goal is for faculty members to examine the student’s readiness to conduct independent research. Upon passing, students pursue a research topic under the guidance of an academic adviser and faculty committee. The student’s written dissertation is presented in a formal public seminar and then defended at a closed oral examination. Most students complete the PhD within four to five years, and the School requires that students complete it within seven years.

Course Requirements - School

The School requires that at least 18 credit units must be satisfactorily completed in formal courses outside the student's primary department. Among these 18 credit units, no fewer than three courses (totaling at least 9 credits) must be satisfactorily completed in two or more departments of the Bloomberg School of Public Health. The remaining outside credit units may be earned in any department or division of the University. This requirement is usually satisfied with the biostatistics and epidemiology courses required by the department and taken in Year 1 of the PhD program.

Students who have completed a master’s program at the Bloomberg School of Public Health may apply 12 credits from that program toward this School requirement of taking at least 18 credit units outside the department. Contact the Doctoral Program Coordinator for further information.

Council on Education in Public Health (CEPH) Requirements

All students matriculating into a graduate program in an accredited school of public health (such as BSPH) are required to take courses that expose them to content that covers 12 ‘introductory learning objectives’ before graduation. For PhD students in HBS, some of these exposures will come through regular program courses, and others will come through ½ credit “Cells to Society” (C2S) online modules developed by the school. The C2S modules will be offered at least twice a year and will be taken in the first 4 weeks of the term in which they are held. Some courses fulfill more than one learning objective. These courses need to be successfully completed prior to graduation, and it may be advisable to take some of them in years 2 and 3. HBS PhD students will fulfill the CEPH requirements by taking the following courses:

Explain public health history, philosophy and values: 552.601.81 Foundational Principles of Public Health
Identify the core functions of public health and the 10 essential services of public health: 552.601.81 Foundational Principles of Public Health
3a. Explain the role of quantitative methods and sciences in describing and assessing a population’s health: 140.62 1 Statistical Methods in Public Health 3b. Explain the role of qualitative methods and sciences in describing and assessing a population’s health: 410.710 Concepts in Qualitative Methods (or another qualitative course of at least 3 credits)
Discuss the science of primary, secondary and tertiary prevention in population health, including health promotion, screening, etc.: 340.721 Epidemiological Inferences in Public Health
List major causes and trends of morbidity and mortality in the US or other community relevant to the school or program: 340.721 Epidemiological Inferences in Public Health
Explain the critical importance of evidence in advancing public health knowledge: 340.721 Epidemiological Inferences in Public Health
Explain effects of environmental factors on a population’s health: 552.607.81 Essentials of Environmental Health
Explain biological and genetic factors that affect a population’s health. Choose 1 of the following : 552.608.81 Biologic, Genetic, and Infectious Bases of Human Disease , 380.604.01 Life Course Perspectives on Health , 550.631.81 Biological Basis of Public Health
Explain behavioral and psychological factors that affect a population’s health: 410.650 Persuasive Communication
Explain the social, political and economic determinants of health and how they contribute to population health and health inequities: 410.860 Graduate Seminar in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Explain how globalization affects global burdens of disease: 552.611.81 Globalization and Health: A Framework for Analysis
Explain an ecological perspective on the connections among human health, animal health and ecosystem health (e.g. One Health): 552.612.81 Essentials of One Health

Curriculum - Social and Behavioral Sciences

Note: Minimum of 16 credits (including special studies and thesis research) is required each term throughout the first 4 years of the PhD program. After Year 4, most students will elect to go part-time and register for 3 credits per term.

Students must take the free, non-credit mini-course “Introduction to Online Learning (IOL) .” Students are now required to take IOL before beginning their first term.

Plan of Study Grid
First Year
First Term		Credits
	Academic & Research Ethics at JHSPH (online-should be automatically enrolled in this course)
	Statistical Methods in Public Health I	4
	Epidemiologic Inference in Public Health I	5
	Graduate Seminar in Social and Behavioral Sciences	2
	Doctoral Seminar in Social and Behavioral Research and Practice	1
	Fundamentals of Health, Behavior and Society	4
	Sociological Perspectives on Health	3
	Credits	19
Second Term
	Statistical Methods in Public Health II	4
	Graduate Seminar in Social and Behavioral Sciences	2
	Research Design in the Social and Behavioral Sciences	3
	Introduction to Persuasive Communications: Theories and Practice	4
	Credits	13
Third Term
	Statistical Methods in Public Health III	4
	Graduate Seminar in Social and Behavioral Sciences	2
	Credits	6
Fourth Term
	Statistical Methods in Public Health IV	4
	Graduate Seminar in Social and Behavioral Sciences	2
	Credits	6
Second Year
First Term
	HBS Research and Proposal Writing Process for Doctoral Students I	2
	Research Ethics and integrity	3
	Credits	5
Second Term
	HBS Research and Proposal Writing Process for Doctoral Students II	2
	Credits	2
	Total Credits	51

Students are required to discuss course selections with their advisors prior to registration. Students who would like to waive an HBS requirement and/or substitute another course must complete and submit the "Petition for Course Waiver or Substitution" which can be found in My Portfolio in CoursePlus.

Students who have taken prior similar coursework should discuss this with their advisors to ensure that they have covered the course content and have met the learning objectives of this course in prior training. Students who would like to waive an HBS requirment and/or substitute another course must complete and submit the "Petition for Course Waiver or Substitution" which can be found in My Portfolio in CoursePlus. The course should be taken in 1st term by students who plan to take the course.

Students not taking PH.410.600 FUNDAMENTALS OF HEALTH, BEHAVIOR AND SOCIETY in 1st term are required to select at least one 1st term HBS course in addition to PH.410.860 GRADUATE SEMINAR IN SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES and PH.410.863 DOCTORAL SEMINAR IN SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH AND PRACTICE (often this will be Sociological Perspectives/410.612).

Recommended HBS Courses

Students should discuss the selection and sequence of recommended and other courses relevant to their research interests with their advisers. Students will select some recommended courses in their first year; other courses may be taken in their second and later years of the program. Note: methodological training requirements in the next section.

The Department offers a flexible PhD curriculum. Students are strongly encouraged to balance breadth and depth, theory, and methodology in pursuing training in the Department. The Department has a broad focus, incorporating health education/health communication as well as social and psychological influences on health.

Students are required to take at least 12 credits of the following HBS courses before they sit for their departmental oral exams. For students with a prior master's in HBS or a BSPH MPH with an SBS concentration, 10 of these credits can be transferred.

HBS courses recommended for doctoral students and offered by term (list does not include required courses noted above):

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
Term 1
	Fundamentals of Health, Behavior and Society	4
	Program Planning for Health Behavior Change	3
	Contemporary Issues in Health Communication	1
	Entertainment Education for Behavior Change and Development	4
	Communication Network Analysis in Public Health Programs	4
	Graduate Seminar in Community-Based Participatory Research	1
	Ethnographic Fieldwork	3
Term 2
	Implementation Research and Practice (extradepartmental)	3
	Introduction to Community-Based Participatory Research: Principles and Methods	3
	The Epidemiology of LGBTQ Health	3
	Global Tobacco Control	3
	Policy Interventions for Health Behavior Change	4
	Decoloniality and Global Health Communication	3
	Concepts in Qualitative Research for Social and Behavioral Sciences	3
	Graduate Seminar in Community-Based Participatory Research	1
Term 3
	Health Communication Programs I: Planning and Strategic Design	4
	Psychosocial Factors in Health and Illness	3
	Health Literacy: Challenges and Strategies for Effective Communication	3
	Scientific Writing in Health Sciences: Developing A Manuscript for Publication I	3
	Organizing for Public Health with the Six Steps to Effective Advocacy: Turning Public Will into Public Policy	3
	Translating Research into Public Health Programs and Policy	3
	Children, Media, and Health	3
	Designing Health Communication Programs for Social and Behavior Change	4
	Graduate Seminar in Community-Based Participatory Research	1
	Theory and Practice in Qualitative Data Analysis and Interpretation for The Social and Behavioral Sciences	3
Term 4
	Housing Insecurity and Health	3
	Under Pressure: Health, Wealth & Poverty	3
	Program Planning for Health Behavior Change	3
	Injury and Violence Prevention: Behavior Change Strategies	2
	Doctoral Seminar in Mixed Methods for Public Health Research	3
	Implementation and Sustainability of Community-Based Health Programs	3
	Global Tobacco Control	3
	Health Communication Programs II: Implementation and Evaluation	4
	Communication Strategies For Sexual Risk Reduction	3
	Latino Health: Measures and Predictors	3
	Media Advocacy and Public Health: Theory and Practice	3
	Organizing for Public Health with the Six Steps to Effective Advocacy: Turning Public Will into Public Policy	3
	Social Ecological Approaches to Health Regimen Adherence in Chronic Conditions	3
	Foundations of University Teaching and Learning	3
	Scientific Writing in Health Sciences: Developing A Manuscript for Publication II	3
	Translating Research into Public Health Programs II	2
	Graduate Seminar in Community-Based Participatory Research	1
	Advanced Quantitative Methods in The Social and Behavioral Sciences: A Practical Introduction	4

School of Public Health course listings for courses in HBS and other departments.

Students also have the opportunity to take courses in other divisions of the University. Contact Records and Registration regarding interdivisional course registration procedures.

Additional Requirements in Methodological Training

In addition to the specific required courses listed above, students are required to complete, prior to their preliminary oral examination , at least one HBS course in each of four areas of methodological training in the social and behavioral sciences: quantitative methods (QN), qualitative methods (QL), evaluation methodologies (EV), and methods applications specific to the social and behavioral sciences (SBS). HBS courses are easily identified by the 410-course number prefix. These courses should be taken for a letter grade and not on a Pass/Fail basis. From the menu of courses listed below, students should carefully choose methods training by considering both their previous training and future research goals. Departmental faculty should be consulted as needed.

One HBS course in each of the four areas is considered the minimum; students are encouraged to build their methodological expertise in all areas relevant to their proposed thesis activities and scientific areas of interest. It is valuable for students to seek both breadth and depth in methods training. Therefore, we strongly recommend that students also elect an area of methodological focus and take multiple courses (3 or more) in this area . Not all courses in an area of methodological focus need to be in HBS. Whatever one’s area of methodological focus, we recommend that all students take at least two courses in the Qualitative area (with at least one being in HBS).

Students who would like to propose taking a methods course not currently listed in lieu of the listed courses may, with their adviser’s consent, request such a substitution in writing using the "Petition for Course Waiver or Substitution" form in My Portfolio.

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
Qualitative (QL)
	Ethnographic Fieldwork	3
	Concepts in Qualitative Research for Social and Behavioral Sciences	3
	Theory and Practice in Qualitative Data Analysis and Interpretation for The Social and Behavioral Sciences	3
	Doctoral Seminar in Mixed Methods for Public Health Research	3
	Qualitative Research Theory and Methods	3
	Qualitative Data Analysis	3
Quantitative (QN)
	Advanced Quantitative Methods in The Social and Behavioral Sciences: A Practical Introduction	4
	Communication Network Analysis in Public Health Programs	4
	Statistical Methods for Sample Surveys	3
	Survival Analysis	3
	Analysis of Multilevel and Longitudinal Data	4
	Multilevel and Longitudinal Models - Data Analysis Workshop	4
	Statistics for Psychosocial Research: Measurement	4
	Methods for Conducting Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses	4
	Methods in Analysis of Large Population Surveys	3
Evaluation (EV)
	Translating Research into Public Health Programs and Policy	3
	Translating Research into Public Health Programs II	2
&	Probability Theory I and Translating Research into Public Health Programs II	5
	Research and Evaluation Methods for Health Policy	3
	Fundamentals of Program Evaluation	4
	Applications in Program Monitoring and Evaluation	4
	Methods in Formative Research and Human Centered Design for Intervention Development	4
SBS Research Approaches (SBS)
	Introduction to Community-Based Participatory Research: Principles and Methods	3
	Health Systems Research and Evaluation in Developing Countries	4
	Infectious Disease Dynamics: Theoretical and Computational Approaches	4
	Health Survey Research Methods	4
	Demographic Methods for Public Health	4
	Issues in Survey Research Design	3
	Spatial Analysis I: ArcGIS	4

Note: Qualitative Reasoning in Public Health (550.604) cannot count towards fulfilling the qualitative requirements for HBS PhD students

HBS faculty instructor

Course/Credit Load

The Department strongly encourages doctoral students to register for fewer than 19 credits (including special studies and thesis research) in any one academic term. While a credit registration of more than 18 credits is possible through the registration system, departmental faculty think that the additional course burden prohibits doctoral students from dedicating the appropriate time needed for the educational activities being undertaken. Any decision to register for more than 18 credits should be carefully considered and discussed with the student’s adviser prior to registering. Doctoral students should register for a minimum of 16 credits each term; the maximum number of credits per term is 22.

Satisfactory Academic Progress

Doctoral students in the Department of Health, Behavior, and Society are expected to maintain satisfactory academic standards for the duration of the degree program. In the Department, satisfactory academic progress is defined as follows:

A minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.00. Any doctoral student who does not obtain the minimum 3.00 GPA by the end of the third term during the first year will not be permitted to sit for the written qualifying exams. In this situation, an appropriate course of action will be determined by the Department Chair. If students fall below a 3.0 GPA, they have up to 2 terms to regain at least a 3.0 GPA.
All courses required for the program must be taken for a letter grade. All HBS departmental courses must be taken for a letter grade except with prior consent of the adviser. The pass/fail option may only be used for elective courses and only with the consent of the student’s adviser.
No grades below a “B” in core courses. Any required course (or course taken to fulfill a methodological requirement) for which a grade of C or below is received) must either be retaken, or an alternative mechanism for material mastery must be agreed upon between the PhD program director, the adviser and the student. This should be successfully completed before taking the schoolwide oral exam.
All grades will be calculated into the student’s GPA.
All doctoral students will have their transcripts evaluated at the end of their first year. This evaluation will be completed in conjunction with the qualifying exam review process.

Independent Developmental Plans (IDP)

It is now university policy that each Ph.D. student and Post Doctoral Fellow will develop an individual development plan (IDP) in conjunction with their adviser. This is in line with the 2014 NIH notice that strongly encourages the development of an institutional policy on Individual Development Plans for all graduate students and postdoctoral scholars who are supported by NIH funds. Beginning in 2017-2018, all matriculating PhD students must complete an IDP, review it with their adviser and submit a signed IDP form for departmental records on an annual basis. The completed and signed IDP must be submitted via the "Independent Development Plan" touchpoint in My Portfolio in CoursePlus by January 15th of each year.

The IDP is a mechanism for self-reflection as well as a communication and planning tool for the student and their faculty mentor/s. The IDP can be useful to make sure that the student's and the adviser’s expectations are clearly outlined and in agreement so that there are no big surprises, particularly at the end of the student’s training.

The goal of the IDP and the annual review process is to support the student in their success in the program and in attaining readiness for their intended future career. To this end, the IDP creates a structure for the student to:

assess current skills, interests, and strengths;
make a plan for developing skills to meet academic and professional goals; and
communicate and collaborate with supervisors, advisers, and mentors about evolving goals and related skills.

The onus to engage in the IDP process is on the student, with the support and input of the adviser. Although the IDP is kept on file in the department, it is primarily a document for use by the student. Through the IDP process, it is possible that the student may decide to identify various additional mentors to whom they can go for expertise and advice.

Once an IDP is written, it is expected that it will be revisited and revised by the student and their adviser (and when appropriate, the dissertation committee) on an annual basis and that this review will be integrated into an annual review process for each student. It is expected that the department will keep a record of this document and of the process by which it was developed and revised.

There are three aspects of the HBS IDP that will be completed on an annual basis, and uploaded to the “ Ind epe nd e n t D e velop me nt Plan” touchpoint in My Portfolio in CoursePlus by January 15th of each year. The IDP summary and the signature form will both be kept in the student’s departmental file.

Self-assessment and goal setting , primarily accomplished by the student through the completion of an assessment tool provided by the department.
The student should set up a meeting with their adviser specifically to review the IDP. The IDP should be forwarded to the adviser in advance of this meeting so that the adviser has time to review before the meeting. The student and the adviser should discuss the IDP and possibly revise (e.g. add goals or members of the mentorship team).
Both student and adviser should sign the signature form. Once completed, the student must submit the signed form using the “ Ind epe nd e n t D e velop me nt Plan” touchpoint in My Portfolio in CoursePlus.
Annual Departmental and program feedback to the student . Written feedback will be provided from the department/program, that evaluates student progress in the program to date and the student's graduation trajectory, and progress toward stated career goals. Departmental feedback should be integrated into the IDP process. After Year 1, students will receive written departmental feedback before the beginning of the first term of each year . The goals outlined in the IDP will be reviewed in preparation of this feedback. Other elements of the IDP will not factor into departmental feedback.

Ideas for Items/Topics to Consider in Creation/Review of the IDP

Career goal for PhD program (long-term goals)
Coursework plans/goals for Year 1 (other than required courses)
Coursework plans/goals before embarking on dissertation
Skills assessment (areas of strength and needs for additional training)
Goals for establishment of professional identity and network
Goals for research opportunities in coming year/entire PhD program
Goals for teaching opportunities
Goals for practice opportunities
Funding targets/opportunities
Preparation for qualifying exams

Year 2/3 (before departmental and schoolwide preliminary exams)

Achievements/goals met over the past year
Challenges faced over the past year
Remaining coursework plans/goals (other than required courses)
Goals related to identification of dissertation topic/focus
Progress on identification of broader mentorship team/committee
Progress on preparation of dissertation proposal

Years 3+ (after preliminary exams)

Dissertation goals for the coming year
Planned timeline for program completion and remaining activities and milestones
Non-dissertation (research/teaching/practice) goals for remainder of program
Identification of possible career opportunities

Departmental Qualifying Examination

As stated in the School’s Policy and Procedure Memorandum for doctoral degree programs, the examination should constitute a comprehensive inquiry into the student's grasp of the subject matter underlying their discipline. It should explore the student's understanding of scientific principles and methods as well as their substantive knowledge of the major field and related areas.

Doctoral students become eligible for the departmental qualifying examination upon successful completion of the first-year required courses while maintaining the minimum GPA required.

The exam is offered in June and is under the purview of the HBS Exam Committee. Specific details on the nature of the exam and policies related to grading will be distributed well in advance of the exam.

Research Hours

The School requires all doctoral students to engage in research in addition to the research conducted as part of their dissertation, so that they will gain exposure to and experience in different research skills, and approaches. While HBS encourages students to work within the Department, students are free to pursue opportunities of interest throughout the School, University, or off-campus. Research hours can be fulfilled by engaging in either paid or unpaid research tasks.

The research hours can involve participation in any of the following aspects of research, including but not limited to:

elements of research design (literature review and development of the conceptual framework of a study);
community development and liaison activities;
community needs assessment and its related social, epidemiological, behavioral, or political diagnosis;
development and piloting of health interventions or materials;
data collection;
data analysis and interpretation;
policy analysis;
literature reviews;
manuscript preparation;
grant preparation and any other form of research approved by the adviser.

Students must discuss their plan for fulfilling the research hours requirement with their academic adviser and have the plan approved by their academic adviser prior to engaging in the research tasks. Students are expected to engage in at least two different research tasks, which may be related to a single study or two separate studies. These tasks should reflect different elements of the research design as outlined above. The student must identify a primary mentor to work with for each of the tasks, and this mentor must agree to serve in this capacity by signing the research hours form in advance. Up to 50% of the required hours can be accomplished through off-campus work, as long as the work has been approved by the student’s academic adviser. A student’s academic adviser can serve as a primary mentor for one but not both of the research tasks. A minimum of 300 hours for total work on research tasks is required, with at least 100 hours on each task.

The research hours should be completed between matriculation and the Departmental preliminary oral exam. Completion of this requirement will be monitored by the Department through submission of the Research Hours Form to the HBS Doctoral Program Coordinator.

Departmental Preliminary Oral Examination

Students must successfully pass the Departmental preliminary oral examination before taking or scheduling the School-wide preliminary oral exam. The format of the exam is similar to the School-wide preliminary oral exam and is intended to determine if the student is academically prepared to pass the School-wide preliminary oral exam and to carry out independent dissertation research. Students must have successfully completed the departmental qualifying exam before taking the departmental or schoolwide oral exam.

The examination requires the student to prepare a dissertation protocol that will be examined by the committee members before the exam takes place. This protocol should be between 7,000 and 9,000 words (rough guide) and no more than 10,000 words. The proposal should provide the committee with the student's rationale for the proposed study and the research questions to be examined and the approach and methods the student proposes to use.

The departmental preliminary orals committee consists of four faculty members and an alternate. The student's adviser is included in the four committee members. All committee members should have primary appointments in the Department of Health, Behavior, and Society. (An exception is made when the student’s adviser has a primary appointment in another department and a joint appointment in HBS.) The senior faculty member from the department who is not the student's adviser will serve as chair of the committee. The exam is closed, with only the committee members and the student in attendance.

The student will coordinate the date of the exam with the exam committee members and will distribute a copy of the research proposal to all committee members at least three weeks before the exam is scheduled to be held . The student is required to complete the Departmental Oral Form, available from the HBS Doctoral Program Coordinator. The information required on this form includes the names of the committee members, the title of the research protocol, and the date, time, and location of the exam. Committee members will receive formal written notification of the exam date and time by memo.

Immediately following the examination, the committee evaluates the success or failure of the student. One of the following results must be reported to the HBS Doctoral Program Coordinator by the Committee Chair. The two main criteria to determine the outcome of this exam are:

The student is academically prepared to pass the School-wide oral examination.
The student is academically prepared to carry out their dissertation research. Note: The exam is an evaluation of the student’s general academic preparation and is not limited to an assessment of the student’s proposal or the details of the proposed study.

Based on the above criteria, students can then receive:

Unconditional Pass: If the members each vote “unconditional pass” on the first ballot, this result is reported with no further discussion. If one or more members vote “conditional pass” or “fail,” then the committee should discuss the specific concerns of those members as discussed below.
Conditional Pass: The committee may decide that further evidence of qualifications is necessary and impose a specific condition that the candidate must fulfill within a given period of time. Those who feel the need for a condition or failure must convince others or vice versa. The committee should make a concerted effort to reach a consensus. In the case of a conditional pass, the committee will remain appointed until the condition is removed. Terms of the condition and its removal must be reported in writing to the HBS Academic Office. Students will not be permitted to sit for the School-wide preliminary oral until the conditions have been removed. It is recommended that conditions are met within six months unless otherwise recommended by the examination committee.
Reexamination by the same Committee
Reexamination by a new committee.

HBS Guidelines for the Dissertation Proposal

Research Plan: The student must provide a narrative project description that contains a detailed discussion of the following specific points.

An introduction that describes the public health problem and brief overview of the sample, aims/research questions, and public health significance.
A literature review that describes the supporting literature and a synthesis of the themes, gaps, and weaknesses in the literature related to the social and behavioral aspects of the proposed project.
A conceptual framework and theoretical foundations discussion.
The methodology section will discuss sampling, recruitment, data collection procedures, measures, analysis, and steps that will be taken to protect human subjects as appropriate.
The strengths and limitations of the proposed project.
Timeline for completion of the proposed study.
Other pertinent information deemed appropriate by the student and their adviser such as facilities and resources, timeline, etc.

School-wide Preliminary Oral Examination

The School-wide preliminary oral examination takes place after the student has successfully completed the departmental qualifying examination and the departmental preliminary oral examination and completed PH.550.600 LIVING SCIENCE ETHICS - RESPONSIBLE CONDUCT OF RESEARCH (it is only offered in 1st term) . You will not be approved to complete the school-wide exam if you have not taken this course. The purpose of this examination, as stated in the School’s Policy and Procedure Memorandum (PPM), is to determine whether the student has both the ability and knowledge to undertake significant research in their general area of interest. Specifically, the examiners will be concerned with the student's:

capacity of logical thinking;
breadth of knowledge in relevant areas;
ability to develop and conduct research leading to a completed dissertation.

Discussion of a specific research proposal, if available, may serve as a vehicle for determining the student's general knowledge and research capacity. However, this examination is not intended to be a defense of a specific research proposal.

It is a School requirement that the School-wide preliminary oral exam be taken by the end of the student's third year in residence and before significant engagement in their own research. Note: The school has placed a time limit of three years between matriculation into a degree program and successful completion of the preliminary oral exam. Students are encouraged to keep this time limit in mind when planning their academic schedule.

All requests for extensions beyond the stated time periods to take and pass the School-wide Preliminary Oral Examination or to complete the doctoral degree requirements must be approved by the Committee on Academic Standards. School policy regarding extension requests can be accessed here . Contact the HBS Doctoral Program Coordinator for the most up-to-date information on extension policies.

The School-wide preliminary oral examination must be scheduled at least one month in advance by submission of a preliminary oral examination form to the HBS Doctoral Program Coordinator. Instructions on scheduling the examination and information on committee composition are available on the Records and Registration website :

After successful completion of School-wide preliminary oral exam, students register for 16 credits of PH.410.820 THESIS RESEARCH IN HEALTH BEHAVIOR AND SOCIETY each term (or a combination of Thesis Research and other courses totaling at least 16 credits) until completion of all degree requirements.

Dissertation Advisory Committee

The progress of each doctoral student is followed regularly, at least once a year, by a committee consisting of the dissertation adviser and two to four other faculty members. Other committee members can come from either inside and/or outside the student’s department. The student and their adviser, with the consent of the Department chair, decide on the composition of this committee. The objective of the Dissertation Advisory Committee is to provide continuity in the evaluation of the student’s progress during the dissertation phase of the student’s training. Students should form their advisory committees and obtain IRB approval soon after passing their preliminary oral exams and well before the Office of Graduate Education and Research deadline.

Each month, the Office of Graduate Education and Research will generate a report of the students who passed their Preliminary Oral Exam within the past three months. (Students receiving a conditional pass must meet the conditions before this contact is initiated.) An e-mail and “Dissertation Research Documentation Form” will be sent to the student and copied to the student’s Dissertation A (as identified on the Preliminary Oral Exam Committee) and the HBS Doctoral Program Coordinator. The form is to be completed and returned within three months of contact (or six months past preliminary oral exam date) to the Office of Graduate Education and Research for tracking and inclusion in the student’s academic file. A copy is kept by the HBS Doctoral Program Coordinator.

As noted in the “Milestones” table of this handbook, students should schedule meetings with their advisers at least once per term to review their dissertation progress. Students are required to meet at least once per year with their Dissertation Advisory Committee and provide this committee with a written progress report and a copy of the “HBS Doctoral Dissertation Progress Evaluation Form” (available from the HBS Doctoral Program Coordinator) to be completed by the student’s adviser, attached to the progress report, and submitted to the HBS Doctoral Program Coordinator for the student’s file. The first progress report and evaluation form should be completed by one year from the date the "Dissertation Research Documentation Form” was submitted.

Completion of this requirement each year will be monitored by the student’s adviser and the HBS Doctoral Program Coordinator.

Dissertation Guidelines

All doctoral students must complete an original investigation presented in the form of a dissertation. The dissertation must be based on original research, worthy of publication, and acceptable to the Department of Health, Behavior, and Society and to a committee of dissertation readers. During the student’s application process, various research ideas may have been discussed with faculty members. However, each student’s dissertation proposal must be developed, reviewed, and found acceptable to departmental faculty while the candidate has been enrolled as a doctoral student .

The traditional doctoral dissertation consists of a statement of the problem and specific aims; a literature review; data and research methods; analyses and results; and a discussion of findings and their implications. The form these take will reflect the specific academic discipline or orientation guiding the student's research. Doctoral students also have the option of a manuscript-oriented dissertation as an alternative to the traditional dissertation. See the “Dissertation Policy for HBS Doctoral Students” at the end of this section for more information on manuscript formats.

Students should discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each option with their adviser before deciding on a dissertation strategy.

Completion of a satisfactory investigation of the principal subject and its presentation in the form of a dissertation, approved by a committee of the faculty, is the next step toward the doctoral degree. The material contained in the dissertation should be worthy of publication in a scientific journal in the field involved. To establish this committee, the student and adviser recommend four faculty members to serve as dissertation readers. These faculty members, one of whom is the dissertation adviser, should hold an appointment as Assistant Professor or higher and represent at least three departments of the University and at least two departments of the School of Public Health. One member must hold the rank of Associate Professor or Full Professor and not hold a joint appointment in the student’s department. This individual will serve as the Chair of the Final Oral Examination Committee. One adjunct or one scientist faculty member may serve on the Committee but not both. All faculty members must serve as Dissertation Readers representing the department of their primary faculty appointment.

The committee of readers may be increased to five members provided the conditions stated above are satisfied for four readers. If a fifth member was approved to serve as a Dissertation Reader, that individual does not have voting privileges on the Final Examination Committee.

Oral Defense of Dissertation

The oral defense of the dissertation by the candidate before a committee of the faculty is the final step for the doctoral degree candidate. Instruction and forms for the appointment of dissertation readers and scheduling the final oral exam can be accessed here .

Records and Registration require that the “Appointment of Dissertation Readers & Final Oral Examination Committee” form be submitted at least one month in advance of the proposed date.

The completed form must be submitted to the HBS Doctoral Program Coordinator for review. The HBS Doctoral Program Coordinator will obtain the Department Chair's signature and forward the form to Records and Registration. Committee members should be given at least 30 days to properly read the dissertation before the defense, and the “Dissertation/Dissertation Approval Form,” signed by the adviser, should be included with the dissertation copies. The adviser should consult with committee members at least two weeks prior to the exam date to ensure that the student is ready to proceed with the exam.

Students must be continuously registered up to and including their term of completion. A doctoral student is not considered complete at the time they pass their final defense. Note that students must be registered in the term of their final oral exam. Doctoral students who schedule their exams after the end of 4th term must register for the summer term. They then have until the end of the add/drop period of the following term to complete all requirements. Students are considered complete:

when copies of their acceptance letters from the Examining Committee Chair and Dissertation Adviser are on file in the Office of Records & Registration;
the dissertation is submitted electronically to The Milton S. Eisenhower Library; and
a pdf copy of the dissertation and a dissertation form submitted to the HBS Doctoral Program Coordinator once approved by the library.

Students should be sure to check both graduation and registration deadlines with the HBS Doctoral Program Coordinator well in advance.

Public Seminar

As a culminating experience, all doctoral students are required by the School to present a formal, public seminar. A room that holds no less than 25 people should be reserved for the public seminar. A three-hour period should be allowed for the final oral examination, consisting of the public seminar and session with the examination committee. It will begin with an approximately 45-minute public seminar followed by 15 minutes of Q&A with the audience. This will be immediately followed by the closed portion of the examination, which is closed to all except the doctoral candidate and the examination committee. Records and Registration posts the seminar announcement to the School's events calendar.

Dissertation Policy for HBS Doctoral Students

Students in HBS have the choice of completing a “traditional” doctoral dissertation or a manuscript-oriented dissertation. Ideally, this decision should be made by the time the student undergoes the departmental preliminary oral examination. There are advantages and disadvantages to each option which should be carefully discussed with the student’s adviser.

Each of these options is described briefly below.

The traditional doctoral dissertation generally consists of an abstract, five chapters, references, and any appendices. The outline of chapters below is merely a guide. The page numbers are rough estimates, and the form of the chapters will vary, reflecting the academic discipline or orientation of the student’s research.

Abstract: The abstract is a short overall summary of the work. It lays out the purpose(s) and aims of the study, the methods, and the key results and implications. The abstract generally is 2-3 double-spaced pages.

Chapter 1: Introduction: Statement of the Problem and Specific Aims. This chapter, which tends to be relatively short (5-6 double-spaced pages), provides an introduction to the dissertation. It describes briefly why this work was undertaken, what background conditions or data suggested it was an important problem, and what, then, this project was intended to accomplish.

Chapter 2: Literature Review. The literature review summarizes existing literature that informed the dissertation research. It is generally organized topically. The literature review tends to be a fairly detailed review, particularly for those topics most directly related to the content and methods of the dissertation. The literature review tends to be 30-60 pages in length.

Chapter 3: Methods. The content of the methods chapter varies tremendously with the methodological approach taken by the student for the dissertation research. With traditional empirical studies, it will generally include the specific aims, research questions, and/or hypothesis; a description of the source of study data, a description of the study instrument and its development, if relevant; a description of secondary data obtained, if relevant; analytic methods, including data cleaning, creation of a data set, creation of variables and/or qualitative codes, types of analyses done, and human subjects issues. The methods chapter ranges from 20-40 pages.

Chapter 4: Results. The results chapter reports the main findings of the dissertation. It is often organized by research question or specific aim or hypothesis but need not necessarily follow this format. The results chapter ranges from 25-50 pages.

Chapter 5: Discussion of Results and Policy Implications. The discussion chapter both summarizes key findings and discusses findings in light of existing literature and in light of their policy implications. Also included generally is a description of the study’s limitations and implications for future research. The Discussion chapter is generally 25-50 pages.

References: A listing of all citations used for the dissertation must be provided. The Department allows any standard format for references.

Appendices: Appendices can be used for many purposes. They can include study instruments, if relevant; they can include additional tables not included in the main body of the dissertation; also to be included must be a copy of the student’s CV. The traditional dissertation should be able to “stand alone” without appendices; however, such results should never be put in appendices that are key to the study’s main findings.

All components of the traditional dissertation will be judged by the committee to be one of the following: Acceptable, Acceptable with Revisions, or Unacceptable. Students, with guidance from their adviser, will rework their dissertation until all components are judged acceptable.

The manuscript dissertation consists of the following:

A total of three (or more) papers, linked to the student’s dissertation topic. One of these papers may be the literature review, provided it is a comprehensive critical review, suitable for publication. If one of the three papers is not a literature review, the dissertation must still contain a chapter that critically surveys the literature.
A chapter that integrates and discusses the findings reported in the manuscripts. It should include a discussion of the conclusions of the research, and it should make recommendations for further studies.
An appendix outlining in detail the study methods and any accompanying data tables necessary to fully understand the data.

A manuscript-oriented dissertation must also meet the following criteria:

The doctoral student must be the first author on the three manuscripts used to satisfy this requirement.
No manuscript will be accepted as part of the dissertation if it was submitted for publication before the student passes the School-wide preliminary oral exam.

As is true for the traditional doctoral dissertation, all components of the manuscript-oriented dissertation will be judged to be one of the following: Acceptable, Acceptable with Revisions, or Unacceptable. Students, with guidance from their adviser, will rework their dissertation until all components are judged acceptable.

Role of Faculty Adviser in Relation to the Dissertation:

The adviser's role is to facilitate successful completion of the doctoral dissertation. The type of assistance provided should be tailored to the individual student's needs. Both the traditional dissertation and the manuscript-oriented dissertation must reflect work that is the student’s independent and original work. The adviser, then, can and should provide ongoing and critical feedback, but the research must be that of the student.

Maintaining this balance may be particularly challenging for manuscript-oriented theses. Even if the adviser (or another committee member) will be a co-author on a manuscript, the manuscripts must be viewed first and foremost as fulfilling the student's needs in the dissertation process, with publication as a secondary goal. Advisers or other committee members who are co-authors may not undertake the first draft of any portions of the manuscripts nor substantial re-writes. Whether an adviser will be a co-author on any manuscript should be decided early in the dissertation process.

Link to Thesis guidelines and deadlines

Link to School PPM on PhD Degree

Career Development Resources for PhD Students

The BSPH Career Services Office provides a variety of assistance including individual career coaching, a university-wide job and employer database , career development workshops and events , a list of career resources , and an annual career fair . More information is available here .

The Professional Development and Career Office (PDCO) provides professional development training and career services to support PhD students and Postdoctoral Scholars in designing their life. The PDCO supports academic careers by providing grant writing workshops, teaching opportunities at local undergraduate institutions, and an annual academic job search series. It also supports career exploration outside the academy by hosting alumni career panels, organizing an alumni mentorship program, running leadership workshops, and by offering paid internships in science policy, consulting, business development, etc. PDCO staff can also meet with PhD students or post-doctoral fellows one on one to meet their specific career goals. The PDCO services are outlined here . They also send monthly emails that list events for PhDs happening across the university (sent through the doctoral student listserv).

Milestones for the PhD Program

PH - Milestones for the MHS in Social Factors in Health Program
Key Dates	Task/Event


Before 1st term registration	Introductory Advisor Meeting
	Course selections – Discussion of required and highly recommended courses, courses in area of interest, and special studies.
	Identify professional and educational goals. Review deadlines. Review the Individual Development Plan Procedures

Before 2nd term registration	Advisor Meeting
	Course selections
	Satisfactory academic progress
	Discuss research plans. Identify faculty resources.
	Discuss the individual Development Plan (IDP)

Before 3rd term registration	Advisor Meeting
	Course selections
	Satisfactory academic progress
	Submit IDP to Academic Coordinator

Before 4th term registration	Advisor Meeting
	Course selections
	Satisfactory academic progress
By end of first year	Residency requirement met
	Student has discussed research hours requirement with advisor
	Departmental qualifying exam in June


Before 1st term registration	Advisor Meeting
	Course selections
	Satisfactory academic progress
	Discuss possible composition of oral exam committees.
	Review IDP and procedures

Before 2nd term registration	Advisor Meeting
	Course selections
	Satisfactory academic progress

Before 3rd term registration	Before 3rd term registration
	Course selections
	Satisfactory academic progress
	If student plans to take oral exam in 2nd year, committee members should be identified by 3rd term.
	Submit CV and IDP to academic coordinator

Before 4th term registration	Advisor Meeting
	Course selections
	Satisfactory academic progress


Before registration each term	Advisor Meeting
	After successful completion of school preliminary oral exam, student registers for Thesis Research each term until completion of all degree requirements (see timetable at end of student handbook).
Prior to prelim exams	Research Hours form has been completed by student, signed by advisor, and submitted to Academic Office.
By 3 years from matriculation date	Successful completion of departmental and school preliminary oral examinations
Within 3 months of successful completion of school prelim oral exam	Student has identified a dissertation advisory committee and submitted the School’s Thesis Research Documentation form to the HBS Doctoral Student Coordinator via the appropriate touchpoint in My Portfolio in CoursePlus.
	Review IDP
	Submit CV to HBS Doctoral Program Coordinator via the appropriate touchpoint in My Portfolio


At least once per term	Advisor Meetings to review thesis progress
Annually, post prelim oral exam	Dissertation Advisory Committee meets to evaluate progress and submits evaluation to HBS Academic Office
	Ensure that students who have an interest in an academic career have had some teaching experience as TA or the opportunity to apply for a Dean’s Teaching Fellowship.
	Review IDP
	Submit CV to Academic Coordinator

Timetable for Completion of Degree Requirements

Please direct questions regarding the timetable for completion of degree requirements to the Office of Records & Registration ( [email protected] ).

For a full list of program policies, please visit the PhD in Social and Behavioral Sciences page where students can find our handbook.

Our curriculum is designed to help students master the following competencies:

Design a research study using qualitative or quantitative methods to answer social science questions relevant to public health at a doctoral level
Demonstrate that the theoretical perspective one begins with influences the scientific questions analyzed
Critically discuss theoretical concepts and orientations in the social and behavioral sciences
Integrate understanding of concepts related to multiple levels of determinants of health and inequality
Demonstrate skills for oral presentation and defense of their research in both academic and professional settings
Design public health interventions based on theoretical foundations to address health determinants outlined by the socioecological model
Apply core methodological concepts and analytical approaches for social and behavioral sciences in public health

According to the requirements of the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH), all BSPH degree students must be grounded in foundational public health knowledge. Please view the list of specific CEPH requirements by degree type .

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PhD Health Behavior Health Promotion

Offered On Campus in Tucson

The PhD in Health Behavior Health Promotion (HBHP) is offered by the Department of Health Promotion Sciences . The doctoral degree program in Health Behavior Health Promotion has an emphasis on the biological, behavioral, and socio-cultural determinants of health and health behavior, as well as the interventions and policies aimed at improving community and population health. The doctoral program offers a diverse and challenging curriculum addressing health behavior health promotion theory, knowledge and skills for working on health issues within the diverse communities of the Southwestern United States.

Outstanding course performance and strong evidence for research interest and aptitude in health behavior health promotion is required for all admitted students. A bachelor's degree is required for entry into the PhD program. However, applicants without a prior related master’s degree will complete a Master of Science in Public Health (MSPH) in route to their PhD in Health Behavior Health Promotion. The MSPH develops the student's ability to think critically, develop and execute research, while also providing depth in health behavior health promotion, epidemiology and biostatistics, essential skills of a future PhD student and health promotion health behavior scholar.

The MSPH is not a stand-alone degree; students interested in graduate studies in HBHP who are uncertain of a research career focus are encouraged to discuss applying for the Master of Public Health (MPH) with department faculty and MEZCOPH’s Office of Student Services and Alumni Affairs. The MPH with a concentration in HBHP affords sound preparation for the PhD program while foremost being designed as a functional terminal degree for immediate workforce entry.

The doctoral program requires approximately four to five years for completion. The first two years of this time are usually devoted to coursework, the comprehensive doctoral examinations, and development of doctoral research. The program is research oriented and centers on a major research project.

Admission Criteria Application Deadlines How to Apply

For Students Entering with a Master’s Degree – 63 Units

The PhD curriculum requires a minimum of 63 credit hours (units). Of this, 18 units are required from major courses; 3 units are required on US minority/health disparities; 3 units on health promotion research content electives; 12 units of other electives; 9 units (minimum) for the minor; and 18 units for the dissertation. A maximum of 30 units from a prior degree may be applied towards an admitted student, pending review by the student’s advisory committee. The 63 unit curriculum is detailed below.

PhD in Health Behavior Health Promotion Competencies

Required Major Courses (18 units)

BIOS 576B Biostatistics for Research (3) *
HPS 585 Public Health Fundamentals for Researchers (3) +
HPS 607 Qualitative Research Methods in Public Health (3)
HPS 609 Evaluating Public Health Literature (1)
HPS 620A Advanced Research Methods in Health Promotion I (3) §
HPS 6 18 Introduction to Systematic Review (3)
HPS 696L Health Behavior Health Promotion Seminar (1 unit; 2 times) §

*Note: BIOS 576A or other introductory graduate statistics course is a prerequisite for BIOS 576B. Another graduate statistics course beyond an introductory graduate statistics course and with a minimum coverage of multiple linear/GLM or logistic regression may be considered with approval of the student's Faculty Advisor and the Program Director.

+ For students who have met the core competencies in HPS 585 through prior courses, for example, as would be expected in a prior degree, minor or certificate in public health, an elective may be taken in lieu of this course.

§ Permanent courses addressing this content as assessed by the Program Director are acceptable substitutions.

Required Health Promotion Emphasis Electives (minimum 3 units) ***

HPS 531 Contemporary Health Issues & Research (3)
HPS 532A Applied Aspects of Program Planning, Implementation & Evaluation I (4)
HPS 535 Multicultural Health Beliefs (3) **
HPS 577 Sociocultural & Behavioral Aspects of Public Health (3)
HPS 605 Community Based Participatory Action Research to Decrease Health Disparities (3) **
HPS 622 Applied Research Methods in Diet and Physical Activity (3)
HPS 642 Public Health Communications (3)
EPID 671 Social Epidemiology (3)
EPID 646 Measurement Issues in Epidemiology (3)

** If not already used to fulfill the prior described requirements

*** Another health promotion related graduate course may be substituted with approval of the student's Faculty Advisor.

Required US Minority/Health Disparities Course (minimum 3 units)

HPS 535 Multicultural Health Beliefs (3) or
HPS 605 Community Based Participatory Action Research to Decrease Health Disparities (3)

Other Electives (minimum 12 units; approved by faculty advisor)

These electives may include independent studies with a research focus, public health graduate courses, or other graduate theory, content or methodology-related courses at the University, relevant to the doctoral area of study).

Minor (minimum 9 units)

Each PhD student must complete a minimum of 9 credit hours of course work in a minor area. The minor area of study specifies the number of required minor units. This should consist of a coherent set of courses in an area (or in related areas) of health behavior health promotion, in consultation with the PhD students faculty advisor and/or Graduate Committee Chair. These courses may be from more than one program.

Dissertation: HPS 920 (minimum 18 units)

Total minimum credit requirements: 63 units, master of science in public health (msph) / phd in health behavior health promotion.

For students entering without a Master’s degree – 73 Units

The PhD curriculum will require a minimum of 73 credit hours (units), with 40 units required toward completing the Master of Science in Public Health (MSPH). The MSPH component requires 25 required major course credits; 3 units are required on US minority/health disparities; 6 units of other electives; and 6 units of thesis. Additional required units post completion of the MSPH include 2 additional major units, 4 additional selective units, 9 units (minimum) for the minor, and 18 units for the dissertation, allowing for a maximum of 30 units to be shared between the MSPH and PhD. Additionally, a maximum of 8 units from prior graduate coursework (6 units from a prior awarded degree) may be considered (pending review) to be applied towards the MSPH component.

MSPH in Health Behavior Health Promotion Competencies

Required Major Courses (25 units)

BIOS 576A Biostatistics in Public Health (3)
HPS 585 Public Health Fundamentals for Researchers (3)
HPS 620A Advanced Research Methods in Health Promotion I (3) §
HPS 620B Advanced Research Methods in Public Health II (3) §
HPS 696L Health Behavior Health Promotion Seminar (1) §
HPS Selective Course (minimum of 3 units) (may be met with any HPS offered 3+ unit, 500+ level course (e.g. HPS 532A; 535; 577; 605; 619; 622; 642) or another health promotion related course (e.g. EPID 573A; EPID 646; EPID 671; COMM 669) approved by Faculty Advisor
HPS 535 Multicultural Health Beliefs (3) ** or
HPS 605 Community Based Participatory Action Research to Decrease Health Disparities (3) **

Other Electives (minimum 6 units; approved by faculty advisor)

Required master’s thesis - hps 910 (minimum 6 units).

Additional core requirements for the PhD post completion of the MSPH (33 units)

Required Courses (6 units)

HPS 609 Evaluating the Public Health Literature (1)
HPS 696L HBHP Seminar (1) §
HPS Selective Course (minimum 4 units)

**If not already used to fulfill the prior described requirements

Approved Minor (minimum 9 units)

Each PhD student must complete a minimum of 9 credit hours of course work in a minor area. The minor area of study specifies the number of required minor units. This should consist of a coherent set of courses in an area (or in related areas) of health behavior health promotion, in consultation with the student’s faculty advisor and/or Graduate Committee Chair. These courses may be from more than one program.

MSPH/PhD in Health Behavior Health Promotion – Total Minimum Credit Requirements: 73 units

Phd minor in health behavior health promotion, minimum 12 units.

The PhD minor in Health Behavior Health Promotion (HBHP) is designed for individuals from other University of Arizona doctoral degree programs who wish to obtain graduate training in Health Behavior Health Promotion and is administered by the Department of Health Promotion Sciences in the Zuckerman College of Public Health. A total of 12 course units are required, as well as successful completion of written and oral questions during the PhD Comprehensive exam reflective to the home departments processes, and successful defense of the dissertation. Consult the UA schedule of classes for further details and specific course requirements.

Additional Information

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Academic Programs

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PhD Minor Programs

Academic Curriculum Guide

Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health Curriculum Guide

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University of Southern California

Sep 22, 2024

USC Catalogue 2024-2025

The Department of Department of Population and Public Health Sciences offers a degree program in Health Behavior Research, leading to attainment of the PhD. Students receive a thorough grounding in academic and research experience, encompassing theoretical and methodological training in such allied fields as communication, psychology, preventive medicine, biostatistics, public health and epidemiology. Students receive research experience by participating in projects conducted through the USC Institute for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research (IPR). The doctoral program is full-time: students are expected to enroll for fall, spring and summer semesters.

Assistantships

Financial and educational support is provided to qualified doctoral students in health behavior research. Graduate (research and/or teaching) assistantships are half-time (20 hours per week) and provide tuition remission as well as a monthly stipend.

Computer Language Requirement

Sufficient familiarity in computer languages to operate major software packages for data management and analysis is required.

Course Requirements

The doctoral program in health behavior research is structured as a four to five year course of study for students entering with a bachelor’s degree. Time requirements are subject to review and approval by the division’s Graduate Program Committee and the Graduate School.

A total of 60 units of graduate study is required for the PhD in health behavior research. Students are required to complete nine core courses: PM 500 , PM 511a , PM 511b , PM 515 , PM 530 , PM 601 , PM 604 , PM 615 and PM 756 (total of 37 units). Other requirements include: two elective PM courses, one not offered by health behavior faculty (minimum of 7 units); and a minimum of 4 units each in PM 590 , PM 690 series ( PM 690a , PM 690b , PM 690c , PM 690d , PM 690z ), PM 790 and the PM 794 series ( PM 794a , PM 794b , PM 794c , PM 794d , PM 794z ).

For students entering with a bachelor’s degree, one of the directed research projects will be equivalent in scope to a master’s thesis. All research experiences/projects must be completed before registering for the PM 794 Doctoral Dissertation series ( PM 794a , PM 794b , PM 794c , PM 794d , PM 794z ).

Screening Procedure

The progress of each student is reviewed at the end of every academic year. At the end of the second year of study, students who have not made satisfactory progress are advised that they will be dropped from the program unless their progress improves during their second year.

Qualifying Exam Committee

Each student’s qualifying exam committee consists of five members, including: no more than three health behavior faculty members; one other member from the Department of Preventive Medicine; and one member from a doctorate-granting program outside the Department of Preventive Medicine, representing the student’s minor field.

Qualifying Examination

Following course work and prior to beginning the dissertation, students must demonstrate written and oral mastery of the general field of health behavior research as well as of their chosen area of specialization. The qualifying process includes a written examination on theory and literature relevant to a selected content area. The examination is administered by the student’s qualifying exam committee.

In addition to the qualifying examination, each student is expected to produce the following as evidence of qualification to conduct dissertation research: an academic dossier consisting of a summary of the student’s academic record, teaching and research experience, and professional presentations and publications; at least one original empirical research paper of publishable quality, produced in connection with one of the student’s courses or research experiences or developed independently; a dissertation proposal; and an oral defense of all the preceding materials.

PhD in Behavioral, Social, and Health Education Sciences

The PhD in behavioral, social, and health education sciences (BSHES) is offered through Emory's Laney Graduate School. This program trains students to identify, analyze, and intervene on today's most pressing public health issues.

Application Deadline

The Fall 2023 application is now closed. You can view application information here .

Contact the department with questions, or fill out this form for more information. Please note, applications are processed through the Laney Graduate School ( not SOPHAS ).

2nd-year BSHES doctoral student

What you'll learn.

As a PhD student, you will learn how to:

Conduct original research on identifying individual and societal determinants of health behaviors, illness, and disease
Design, implement, and evaluate behavioral and structural interventions to prevent disease, reduce health risks, and improve quality of life
Translate knowledge derived from research to promote public health

Click here to learn more about our current doctoral students and alumni. Here is a list of our current doctoral students' publications for the 2020-2021 academic year. View the competencies for this program here .

Admission Requirements

Statement of purpose.

The statement of purpose should include:

A brief intellectual autobiography describing the formation of your academic interests and present concerns.
The special area of interest or particular problems, theories, movements, periods, etc., upon which your study would focus.
A description of tentative plans for research, either specific problems or general areas in which you hope to work.
A description of your research experience, including your role and the extent to which you were independently involved in the research.
An explanation of how your past experience, academic training or research experience has prepared you to pursue graduate work in your area of interest.
A master's degree in public health, or a related field, is required. If you have a master's degree in a field outside of public health, you may need to take some core master's-level coursework in the field.
Baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university
Application + $75 application fee
3 letters of recommendation
Statement of Purpose (2-3 single-spaced pages)
Transcripts from each post-secondary institution you have attended (should be uploaded through the online application, not mailed ). Unofficial transcripts issued by the Registrar to you (the student) are acceptable.
You will be asked to select up to three faculty advisors in the application.

Submitting a writing sample is required . The sample can be a journal article, paper, essay, or any other type of work that has been written by the applicant.

A small number of applicants will be invited to interview and visit the campus in late winter at no cost to the applicant.

International Applicants

In addition to these requirements, all departments require international students to submit Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) scores.

TOEFL scores should be at least 560 on the paper-based test or a 100 or higher on the Internet-based test. Students who earned a degree from an institution within the United States are waived from the TOEFL requirement.

Paying for your PhD

All full-time Emory PhD students receive merit-based support packages consisting of full tuition scholarships each year and annual living stipends for two years. The awards are renewed each year, contingent upon satisfactory academic performance. Beginning September 1, 2019, doctoral students will receive annual stipends of approximately $31,000 for the initial two years and will be supported by research projects, fellowships and/or grants for the following years. You may also choose to work as a research assistant or in other activities related to your professional development during the summer months for additional income.

Degree Requirements

Bshes phd required courses.

Course Number, Name, Credit Hours:

BSHES 700, Statistical Methods in the Behavioral and Social Sciences (4)

PUBH 701, Translational and Interdisciplinary Public Health Research (1)

BSHES 710, Approaches to Health Promotion (3)

BSHES 712, Grant Writing and Research Ethics (1)

BSHES 714, Proposal Development I (1)

BSHES 715, Proposal Development II (2)

BSHES 716, Teaching in Public Health (TATTO Requirement) (1)

BSHES 721, Applying Theory to Public Health Research and Practice (3)

BSHES 725, Health Promotion Interventions (3)

BSHES 728, Advanced Research Design and Analysis (3)

The program is designed for full-time students and typically takes four years to complete. During your first two years, you'll take all required course work, gain teaching experience, and work as a research assistant before developing your own research project. During your third and fourth years, you'll develop, complete, and defend your dissertation.

Please see the most recent Student Handbook , which describes all degree requirements in depth. You can also consult this data that the Laney Graduate School keeps on students and graduates of our program.

All PhD students must participate in the Teaching Assistant Training and Teaching Opportunities (TATTO) program. You will receive an orientation to effective teaching and a course on teaching techniques in the field and gain experience working with students as supervised teaching assistants and/or classroom instructors or co-instructors. More about TATTO

Comprehensive Exam

After completing all required 48 credit hours of coursework, with a B average or greater, you will take a comprehensive exam. The exam evaluates your abilities in the application of theory, research methods, and analysis to important public health topics. After passing the exam, you are encouraged to select a doctoral dissertation committee.

Research Rotations

Starting with your first semester, all BSHES PhD students participate in two, unpaid research rotations, which require approximately 10-12 hours of work per week.

Jones Program in Ethics

You will also need to complete the Jones Program in Ethics . This program provides students with a foundational, cross-disciplinary introduction to the question of ethics for their research, training, and careers.

Dissertation

All PhD students are required to complete and defend a dissertation. Students are encouraged to begin exploring potential research topics as soon as they enter the program by meeting with faculty advisors .

The doctoral dissertation must meet the requirements of both the department and Laney Graduate School. In particular, the dissertation must make a new contribution to the student’s field of study, or present a unique new interpretation on existing knowledge. Students are required to pass an oral defense of the dissertation proposal.

Past Dissertations

Temporary assistance for needy families (tanf), intimate partner violence and child maltreatment: how tanf generosity affects family violence, understanding capacity-building efforts to address environmental justice concerns, exploring the role of acculturation on mammography utilization among hispanic women in the united states, leaving the food desert: an activity space approach to understanding how community food environments affect health, tobacco use among sexual minority men and women in the united states and china, examining multilevel socioenvironmental factors associated with pursuit of kidney transplant among predominantly african american end stage renal disease patients undergoing dialysis, evaluating the implementation and impacts of integrated depression and diabetes treatment in india: a process evaluation of the independent study, recent graduates.

Name	Year Graduated	Position
Ghenet Besera	2022	Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) Officer, CDC
Halley Riley	2021	Data Services Specialist, Assistant Professor; Georgia State University
Caitlin Allen	2021	Assistant Professor; Medical University of South Carolina, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine
Rachael Spencer	2021	Postdoctoral Fellow; Emory University; Department of Global Health
Ha Ngan (Milkie) Vu	2021	Postdoctoral Fellow, Northwestern University
Dana Robinson Williamson	2020	ASPPH Research Fellow; US EPA Office of Research and Development
Anna Newton-Levinson	2020	FIRST Postdoctoral Fellowship; Rollins School of Public Health
Sara Redd	2020	Postdoctoral Fellow; Emory University; HPM
Juan Rodriguez	2020	Epidemiologist, Program Director; Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, CDC
Shauna St. Clair Flemming	2019	Research Scientist; NORC, University of Chicago
Casey Hall	2019	Postdoctoral Fellow; Northwestern University
Jingjing Li	2019	Postdoctoral Fellow; CDC
Ilana Raskind	2019	Senior Research Scientist; Health Resources in Action
Leslie Johnson	2018	Assistant Professor; Emory University School of Medicine
Kathleen Krause	2018	Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) Officer; CDC
Sasha Mital	2018	Epidemiologist; CDC, Heroin Response Strategy, Division of Unintentional Injury Prevention
Riley Steiner	2018	Health Scientist; CDC, Division of Adolescent and School Health
Rebecca Woodruff	2018	Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) Officer; CDC, Division of Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention
Robin McGee	2017	Assistant Teaching Professor; Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health, Department of Behavioral, Social, and Health Education Sciences
Nancy DeSousa Williams	2017	Assistant Director, Office of Multicultural Affairs; Emory University School of Medicine
Umedjon Ibragimov	2017	Research Assistant Professor; Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health, Department of Behavioral, Social, and Health Education Sciences
Daniel Murdock	2016	Recruiter Consultant; Decision Information Resources
Danielle Haley	2016	Assistant Professor; Northeastern University, Bouve College of Health Sciences, Department of Health Sciences
Yen-Tyng Chen	2016	Assistant Professor; William Patterson University, School of Public Health
Bethany Caruso	2015	Assistant Professor; Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health, Hubert Department of Global Health
Aaron Vissman	2015	Associate Director; Talbert House
Gillian L. Schauer	2015	Executive Director at the Cannabis Regulators Association (CANNRA)
Rebecca Fielding-Miller	2015	Assistant Professor of Infectious Disease and Global Health; UC San Diego School of Medicine
Lisa Oakley	2015	Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer; Kaiser Permanente of Southern California, Office of Research and Evaluation
Amanda Garcia Williams	2015	Behavioral Scientist; CDC, Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases
Erica Smearman	2015	Plastic Surgery Resident; Emory University
Emily Dauria-Russell	2014	Assistant Professor; University of California, UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences
Li Sun	2014	Associate Chief Physician; Sichuan Provincial CDC in China
Liz Walker	2013	Associate Teaching Professor/Director of Evidence-based Learning; Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health, Behavioral, Social, and Health Education Sciences
April Young	2013	Associate Professor, University of Kentucky, College of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology
Nicola Christofides	2012	Associate Professor; University of the Witwatersrand, School of Public Health
Sara Head	2012	Health Scientist, Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration
Michelle Hynes	2012	Data analyst; CDC NCCDPHP
Shilpa Patel	2012	Senior Evaluation Scientist; ICF Macro
Amy Patterson	2012	Associate Professor/Chair; Agnes Scott College, Linda Lentz Hubert School of Public Health
Aaron Siegler	2012	Associate Professor; Emory University, Rollins School of Public Healh, EPI
Erin Bradley	2011	Assistant Professor; Agnes Scott College, Linda Lentz Hubert School of Public Health
Ariela Freedman	2011	Learning and Development Consultant; MavenTree Consulting Adjunct Assistant Professor; Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health, BSHE
Laura Lessard	2011	Assistant Professor; University of Delaware, Department of Behavioral Health & Nutrition Evaluation Director, Delaware IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE)
Lara DePadilla	2010	Behavioral Scientist; CDC Division of Unintentional Injury Prevention
Kathy Hageman	2010	Branch Chief of Strategic Information; CDC Tanzania
Julia Painter	2010	Senior Epidemiologist; Fairfax County Health Department
Christina Borba	2009	Director of Research; Boston Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry
Darren Mays	2009	Associate Professor; Ohio State University, Comprehensive Cancer Center
Ashli Owen-Smith	2009	Assistant Professor of Public Health; Georgia State University

PhD, Behavioral and Community Health

Conduct research to develop innovative public health interventions

Acquire and apply essential research skills to determine the health needs of populations, design, implement and evaluate programs and policies aimed at improving the public's health.

Request Info

Perfect for...

Students who are passionate about designing interventions to influence individual and community-level health behavior and health policy
Students looking for a full-time in-person experience
Students who want exceptional and tailored advising
Students who seek to excel as public health leaders

Career Paths

Public Health Analyst
Senior Study Director
Behavioral Epidemiologist
Senior Research Analyst
Postdoctoral Fellow
Assistant Scientist
Assistant Professor
Director of Healthy Equity Research

Program Overview

The doctoral program in Behavioral and Community Health develops health professionals competent in understanding the health needs of populations and qualified to conduct research to inform programs and policies aimed at improving the public's health. Students will develop research skills essential in making significant contributions to the scientific and professional literature in behavioral and community health.

See all Behavioral and Community Health graduate student resources .

For more information, see the Behavioral and Community Health Flyer .

Build emergent themes and sub-themes within qualitative data which require re-reading of text and an iterative process of data aggregation and interpretation;
Discuss the appropriateness of a variety of statistical techniques to analyze quantitative data;
Run intermediate-level quantitative statistical techniques using a packaged program;
Choose major social, behavioral and public health theories to use with the design and evaluation of interventions;
Apply behavior change theories in the development of research questions and hypotheses, intervention development, evaluation approaches;
Identify and use mobile/computer apps to gather information or collect data for use in the evaluation of research;
Manage traditional and new media to communicate health information (e.g., statistics, reports) effectively;
Build data validation tools to measure behavioral factors that influence community health;
Write a research proposal for theory-based research;
Select an appropriate research design;
Conceptualize theoretical framework to be studied;
Conduct all aspects of single item and multi-item scale variable creation;
Conduct univariate, bivariate, and multivariate analysis; interpret the results;
Write a manuscript including introduction, methods, results, conclusions, tables, and figures;
Develop and communicate a comprehensive evaluation plan for health-related interventions at both the environmental and individual level, including a selection of a sample strategy, evaluation design, and appropriate statistical analyses;
Apply evidence-based approaches in the development and evaluation of social and behavioral science interventions

Students admitted to the doctoral program in behavioral and community health will complete 78 credit hours of coursework/dissertation research.

Course Name	Course Description
	A discussion of major paradigms in qualitative inquiry, an overview of the process of qualitative research, and an introduction to several qualitative research methods, including grounded theory, ethnography, phenomenology, and content analysis. Students will collect, transcribe, analyze, and present qualitative data using introductory interview and analytic techniques.
	Covers intermediate statistics and procedures in health-related research for doctoral students. The course focuses on the applied level of statistics rather than theoretical with the emphasis on 1) how to apply statistical models, 2) how to perform the analysis with available software, and 3) how to interpret findings.
	Intermediate and advanced statistics and procedures in health-related research for doctoral students with the focus on applications of these statistical methodological methods to public health research.
HLTH 665: Health Behavior I	The psychological, social psychological, and sociological theories of health behavior. The relation of health knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, intentions, and behavior to preventive, illness, sick-role, and health utilization behaviors.
(Preq HLTH 665)	An advanced course with intensive training in health behavior research and the opportunity to carry out original research in health behavior. Patient-provider interaction, patient cooperation with medical treatment and other social and psychological influences on health care.
HLTH 671: Public Health Communication	An exploration of the broad and diverse field of health communication including medical encounters, everyday communication about health, advertising, news, public health campaigns, community outreach, public policy and international programs. Theories and applied efforts that have been studied and documented will be examined.
	A basic overview of Informatics and its application in a public health setting. The major goal is for students to understand the basic tools and building blocks needed to utilize this technology in order to improve their professional productivity.
HLTH 688: Special Problems in Health Education	Independent study. See Independent Study Form for more information.
HLTH 674: Health Literacy	The purpose of this course is to introduce students to health literacy research, practice, and skills. The course will develop students' understanding of how health literacy is both a barrier and an asset for health and how health literacy affects a wide range of outcomes. Students will learn the basics of health literacy concepts, models, and research methods, and discuss similarities and differences in health literacy research in clinical and public health settings.
	Provides an overview of research design and methodological issues in health education. Through lecture, reading, and several exercise, students will acquire an understanding of the research process. Issues include those of experimental and non-experimental designs, and both qualitative and quantitative data collection strategies. The course is designed as an examination of several research issues, particularly those related to reliability and validity of measurement and design, instrumentation and data collection methodology.
HLTH 711: Advanced Methods of Research (Preq HLTH 710)	Quantitative techniques, advanced research methods and design issues.
HLTH 712: Applied Research Methods in Behavioral and Community Health	This course is designed to build on the research skills obtained in 710, Methods and Techniques in Research, and other fundamental research methods and statistics courses. Methods and problems that are commonly encountered in health education research will be discussed including the examination of actual research studies. Complex behavioral research issues will be addressed with existing research data sets. With these data sets, students will develop an analytic plan, and conduct data analysis.
HLTH 742: Professional Writing & Presentations	Acquaints students with a variety of types of professional writing required of public health professionals, including: grant proposals; journal articles; textbooks; presentation proposals and papers; and theses and dissertations. The scope of the course includes both the form and content of a range of technical documents as well as the processes of writing, peer review, and critique.
	An application of basic research methods to evaluate of community health programs. Students will work in groups to evaluate the effectiveness of a community health intervention.
HLTH 898: Individualized Research Plan	--
HLTH 899: Dissertation	--

Katherine Sharp, PhD Director of Graduate Studies

[email protected] (301) 405-2464

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?

Key searches, doctor of philosophy in health behavior research.

The Doctor of Philosophy in Health Behavior Research provides academic and research training for students interested in pursuing career opportunities in the field of health promotion and disease prevention research. Students receive well-rounded training encompassing theory and methods from allied fields such as communications, psychology, preventive medicine, biostatistics, public health and epidemiology. The program prepares students for research positions in the areas of preventive medicine, public health, population health science, health psychology, and health policy research.

Training is conducted via course lectures, discussions, seminars, student and faculty presentations, and field research. In addition, students gain research experience by participating in faculty projects, most often in connection with the USC Institute for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research (IPR).

Students come away from the program with an in-depth understanding of the subject matter and the intellectual capability needed to pursue a career in health-related research. Small classes, one-on-one mentoring, and research opportunities offered by internationally recognized faculty make this program an exceptional training ground for future impact.

USC Course Catalogue

This program requires completing 60 units of graduate study. Students are required to complete 9 core courses (plus the interdepartmental ethics course INTD 500), 12 units of research, a minimum of 7 units of elective coursework and 4 dissertation units. Students may take additional classes according to their unique research interests.

The Doctor of Philosophy in Health Behavior Research is typically completed in 4-5 years. Below is the recommended time frame for completing program requirements:

Years 1-2 The first two years include core and elective coursework, directed research activity, and seminar participation. Students also work as Research Assistants (RAs) or Teaching Assistants (TAs).

Year 3 During the third year, students should finish any remaining coursework and complete the Qualifying Exam (described below). Passing that exam qualifies the student to begin the dissertation study. Year 3 is a good time to apply for a predoctoral fellowship (e.g., NIH F31).

Years 4 and 5 In years 4 and 5, students move into more independent research activities and perform dissertation research. Unless they have independent funding, students are still involved in RA or TA responsibilities. Students who have not yet obtained dissertation funding or a predoctoral fellowship should apply or resubmit unsuccessful applications. Students should aim to complete and formally defend the dissertation research by the end of the fifth year.

Students are required to take the following core courses. Students who enter the program with a strong statistical background may substitute higher-level statistics classes for PM 510L, PM511aL and PM 511bL after consulting with their advisor.

PM 500 Foundations of Health Behavior | 4 Units

PM 511aL Data Analysis-SAS | 4 Units Prerequisite, 510L, Principles of Biostatistics

PM 511bL Data Analysis-Regression | 4 Units

PM 515 Multivariate Statistics in Health Behavior Research | 4 Units (Prerequisite, PM 512, Intro to Epi Methods)

PM 530 Biological Basis of Disease | 4 Units

PM 601 Basic Theory and Strategies of Prevention | 4 Units

PM 604 Health Behavior Research Methods | 4 Units

PM 615 Intervention Research Grant Proposal Development | 4 Units

PM 756 Research Seminar in Health Behavior | 1 Unit each, 5 required

Students will be expected to attend at least 10 seminar sessions during each semester they are enrolled in PM 756. These sessions can be from any reputable seminar series held at USC or outside USC focusing on research. Seminars should be research-focused and related to the student’s degree and research interests. In some cases, students may wish to attend a conference and count conference sessions toward the attendance total of 10 sessions required for PM 756 (one paper session or symposium equals one seminar). During COVID-19, all seminars may be online. When we are back on campus, students should attempt to attend the majority of the seminars in-person to facilitate networking and interaction.

At the end of the semester, students should submit a 1-2-page paper listing the seminars that they attended and describing what they learned. Examples might include theories, intervention approaches, research methods, new ideas about predictors of health behavior, or novel approaches to intervention translated from basic science research.

INTD 500 Ethics and Accountability in Biomedical Research | 1 Unit

Students must enroll in a minimum of 12 units of directed research (4 units of PM 590, 4 units of PM 690, and 4 units of PM 790; credit/no credit). Students typically begin taking directed research units during their first year. Directed research activity is designed in consultation with your faculty advisor or with another faculty member with whom you may be working. (We strongly encourage you to take directed research units with a variety of faculty members, because you will need to assemble a committee of 5 faculty members who are familiar with your work.) The student and advisor should plan a set of activities that will promote the student’s knowledge in a particular area. This activity is distinct from TA and RA responsibilities. Examples of directed research activities include development and pilot testing of health education curricula, observational studies, design and pilot testing of assessment instruments, data collection efforts (e.g., telephone surveys or face-to-face interviews), data analysis, and literature reviews. As a general rule, 1 unit of research is equivalent to 2 hours of work per week.

PM 590 Directed Research | 4 Units PM 690 Directed Research in Health Behavior | 4 Units PM 790 Research | 4 Units

Students must complete the qualifying exam and dissertation units. Before the qualifying exam, students assemble a Guidance Committee (also known as the Qualifying Exam Committee) consisting of 5 faculty members.

GRSC 800a Qualifying exam | 0 Units

GRSC 800b Qualifying exam | 0 Units

PM 794a Doctoral Dissertation | 2 Units

PM 794b Doctoral Dissertation | 2 Units

All students are required to apply for dissertation funding.

Quick Links

Phd characteristics.

The USC Graduate School is committed to providing detailed information on the inputs, outcomes, and overall characteristics of its PhD programs, for the purposes of full transparency and to support informed decision-making.

Annual Reviews

Annual reviews of graduate students occur at the end of each spring semester. The review is a constructive process in which students receive feedback on their progress in the program and plan for the upcoming year. Career goals and avenues of development are discussed. Each student schedules the review, which typically lasts 30-60 minutes. The student asks at least two faculty members familiar with his/her coursework or research activities to attend the review. In addition, the Ph.D. Program Director should be invited and will attend the review if her schedule allows.

At the time of the review, the student submits the following information to the review committee:

Written statement of activities and accomplishments during the past year
Written statement of goals for upcoming year
List of courses completed and grades received

Second year students also give a brief presentation about a current research project or paper (like a conference presentation), including the research question(s), methods, findings, and conclusions. This presentation counts as the second-year screening exam.

The Qualifying Exam

The Qualifying Examination generally occurs at the end of the third year. You must pass this exam before you are considered a PhD candidate and before you enroll in doctoral dissertation units. The Qualifying Exam has both written and oral components.

Dissertation and Defense

The dissertation is a single document that conforms to USC’s formatting requirements. After completing the written dissertation, students are required to defend their research before their Dissertation Committee. The defense generally lasts about 2 hours and includes a presentation and questions on all aspects of the study – including conceptualization, methodology, statistical analysis, conclusions, and implications.

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I study the psychosocial and cultural risk and protective factors for health-related behaviors across diverse populations.

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PHD, Health Promotion & Behavior

The primary objective of this program is to prepare researchers and leaders by fostering research and development in health promotion. Programs are interdisciplinary, recognizing that study of health behavior requires theories, information, and expertise from many fields.

Degree Type: Doctoral

Degree Program Code: PHD_HPBR

Degree Program Summary:

Students seeking a graduate degree in Health Promotion and Behavior can choose among the following degrees: Master in Public Health (MPH) and Ph.D. in Health Promotion and Behavior. Detailed information about each degree is available at the College of Public Health’s website.

The Department of Health Promotion and Behavior, through research, teaching, and service, prepares professionals in process-related competencies in health promotion programming that are based on a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the determinants of health. Health promotion efforts are directed at influencing or facilitating health-related behavior, advocating public health policy, creating supportive environments, strengthening community action, developing personal skills, and reorienting health services.

Locations Offered:

Athens (Main Campus)

College / School:

College of Public Health

Rhodes Hall 105 Spear Road Athens, GA 30602

706-542-2300

Department:

Health Promotion and Behavior

Graduate Coordinator(s):

Jessica Muilenburg

Phone Number:

706-542-4365

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HEALTH BEHAVIOR SCIENCE AND PROMOTION PHD

Health Behavior Science
Integrated Health Sciences
Nutrition and Dietetics
Nutrition and Medical Sciences
4+1 Program Health Behavior Science BS/ Health Promotion MS
4+1 Program Nutrition and Dietetics BS/ Human Nutrition MS
3+3 Program Integrated Health Sciences Pre-Occupational Therapy Concentration BS/ Occupational Therapy Doctorate OTD
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About the program

The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Health Behavior Science and Promotion provides the training and experience necessary for graduates to become independent researchers and practitioners in health promotion settings, including academia, non-governmental organizations (business and non-profit), allied health fields, and public service at all levels of national government. Students will gain the skills and expertise needed to use theoretical and empirical methods to address the health problems of diverse populations. In particular, students are provided training in research methods, program design and evaluation. Emphasis is placed on examining current research that uses multilevel, ecological models of health and health behavior that address health knowledge, attitudes and beliefs, and social, psychological, environmental and cultural factors in chronic disease etiology and risk reduction.

Program Application

Applications for Fall admission to the HBSP PhD Program will be reviewed on a rolling basis between January 15 and March 15 for admission to the program in the fall semester. Applicants are expected to submit :

Application form
A graduate application essay
Current curriculum vitae or resume
A minimum of three letters of recommendation (it is recommended that at least two be from academic references)
Official undergraduate and graduate transcripts
GRE scores and TOEFL/IELTS, if applicable

Prior to submitting an application, applicants are strongly recommended to communicate with program faculty (listed below), with whom they have shared research interests and are willing to serve as the applicant's PhD faculty mentor. Applicants should identify up to two HBSP PhD program faculty members who they would like to work with and who have agreed to work with the applicant during their doctoral training in the applicant's graduate application essay.

Admission Requirements

A master’s degree in a related field from an accredited college or university with a GPA > 3.3
GRE scores within the past 5 years
TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) score of at least 600 (paper based), TOEFL iBT of at least 100 or IELTS (International English Language Testing System) overall band score of 7.0 for non-native English speakers.
Applicants must submit all materials directly to the University of Delaware Graduate College using the online admission process before admission can be considered.
Admission decisions will be made by the Health Behavior Science and Promotion (HBS) PhD Program Committee. Students will be admitted to the program based on enrollment availability, the availability of faculty mentorship, and their ability to meet the following minimum recommended entrance requirements

Faculty Research

Bioinformatics, latent variable modeling, healthy aging, health disparities ( Adam Davey, PhD )
Health literacy, program evaluation, use of wearable technology to promote physical activity and other behaviors to improve cardiovascular health ( Gregory Dominick, PhD )
Policy and environmental change, nutrition and physical activity promotion in early care and education settings ( Laura Lessard, PhD, MPH )
Inclusion, active community living, and cardiometabolic risk factors of individuals with disabilities ( Iva Obrusnikova, PhD )
Psychosocial determinants of physical activity, aging and health, community based participatory research with eating and physical activity behaviors ( Elizabeth Orsega-Smith, PhD )
Smoking cessation, sleep health, sedentary behavior, cardiovascular health, multiple health behavior change, 24-hour epidemiology, and population health ( Freda Patterson, PhD, MS )
Social marketing and health communication, workplace stress, behavior change strategies ( P. Michael Peterson, EdD )
Developing/tailoring community and technology-based interventions to promote healthier lifestyles, especially with underserved populations, diabetes self-management/diabetes prevention, behavior change theory ( Laurie Ruggiero, PhD )
Community-engaged research, built-environment/physical activity promotion, community-level physical activity infrastructure, physical activity measurement ( Richard Suminski, PhD, MPH )
Physical activity measurement and promotion in people with disabilities, mobile health and wearable technologies, gamification for behavior change ( DH Lee, PhD )

Graduate Assistantships

A limited number of assistantships are available on a year-to-year competitive basis to full-time students (registered in at least 6 graduate credits each semester) based on admission ranking, needs of the program, experience, and expertise of the applicant. Students on assistantships are obligated to engage in assignments for a minimum of 20 hours per week on-site during the fall, winter session, and spring semesters.

Required Coursework

The HBSP PhD program requires a minimum of 48 credits that are designed to be completed over a 4-year period. Courses must be at the 600-level or higher to count toward the minimum requirements for program completion.

HBSP PhD Sample Sequence of Course Requirements


HBNS803: Advanced Health Promotion Programming (3)	Core Elective (3)
Statistics Elective (3)	HBNS856: Multivariable Statistics for Population Health (3)
HBNS855: Qualitative and Mixed Methods Research in Health Sciences (3)	Statistics Elective (3)
HBNS868: Independent Research (1)	HBNS868: Independent Research (1)
HBNS860: Seminar (0)


Core Elective (6)	HBNS820: Social and Environmental Determinants of Health (3)
HLPR830: Behavioral Change Strategies (3)	HBNS813: Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine (3)
Statistics Elective (3)	HBNS868: Independent Research (3)
HBNS868: Independent Research (1)
HBNS860: Seminar (0)


HBNS969: Dissertation Research (9)	Sustaining Dissertation Research
HBNS860: Seminar (0)


Sustaining Dissertation Research	Sustaining Dissertation Research
HBNS860: Seminar (0)

APPLY NOW >

More info >, download flyer >, current hbsp students >.

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Graduate Programs

Behavioral and social health sciences.

The signatures of Behavioral and Social Sciences training at Brown University include health behavior interventions, development, and evaluation. Our students collaborate across disciplines, researchers, and communities.

Students and faculty engage in research that seeks to identify social, psychological, and behavioral risk factors for disease and illness; understand the psychosocial determinants of health care; understand health protective behaviors, relationships, and institutions; and develop and evaluate health-promoting interventions that are grounded in behavioral and social science theory. Students in the Doctoral Program in Behavioral and Social Health Sciences demonstrate mastery of relevant theory and methods, assessed via coursework and examinations, and complete a dissertation that represents original research.

Additional Resources

The School of Public Health is home to several world-class research centers, such as the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Center for Health Promotion and Health Equity, Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine, the International Health Institute, Mindfulness Center, and the Brown University AIDS Program. Our faculty members also collaborate with researchers at Brown's Population Studies and Training Center, Institute for Brain Sciences, Providence/Boston Center for AIDS Research, Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America, as well as the Rhode Island Department of Health. These centers and institutes offer doctoral students a rich learning environment in which to explore topics of interest.

Application Information

The most competitive applicants will have an earned master's degree in public health or in a behavioral or social science field (e.g., psychology, sociology, anthropology, education, communication). To be prepared to complete the doctoral degree requirements, applicants should have taken quantitative courses, such as undergraduate or graduate level calculus, statistics or probability coursework; and demonstrate research experience relevant to public health. A key element in evaluating applications is our assessment of the fit between applicant intellectual and research interests and those of one or more of the faculty. Students should identify potential faculty mentors in their application; advance correspondence with potential faculty mentors is highly recommended to establish fit. See a list of our faculty members open to taking students.

Applicants to this School of Public Health program should apply through SOPHAS , a centralized application service for accredited schools and programs in public health. The application opens each year in mid–August. The GRE is not required.

Application Requirements

Gre subject:.

Not required

GRE General:

Toefl/ielts:.

Required if applicable

Official Transcripts:

Letters of recommendations:, personal statement:, additional materials:.

Application Fee

Additional Requirements:

International Applicants:

Language Proficiency (TOEFL or IELTS if applicable)
Transcript Evaluation (if applicable)

Comprehensive application requirements are detailed on the School of Public Health's admissions requirements website .

Dates/Deadlines

Application deadline, completion requirements.

A PhD degree in Behavioral and Social Health Sciences at Brown requires completion of 16 courses for students without a master's degree; up to four (4) of these may be fulfilled by prior graduate coursework. Doctoral students must maintain an average of B or higher in the coursework required for the Ph.D., complete written and oral qualifying exams, and a dissertation representing original contribution to the field.

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The mentorship and support I’ve received through the Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS (CIRA) as a predoctoral fellow has been invaluable and was a big factor in my decision to attend YSPH.

PhD in Social and Behavioral Sciences

The Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBS) Department aims to understand and improve health equity, both domestically and globally. SBS provides instruction in the theory and methods of the social and behavioral sciences that emphasize individual, interpersonal, community, and structural influences on health, illness, and recovery. The primary emphases are focused on (1) understanding the psychosocial, behavioral, community, and societal influences on health in the general population, with a focus on those who are disadvantaged; and (2) creating multilevel interventions that eliminate barriers to health, from infancy to old age. The SBS curriculum takes an interdisciplinary approach and focuses on integrating methods from epidemiology and the social sciences, training scientists with a broad skill set that allows them to answer a host of complex research questions. The department has numerous research strengths including in HIV/AIDS, aging health, community engaged health research, maternal child health, mental health, health equity and disparities, and stigma prevention and health.

This program does not require General GRE test scores.

Learn more about the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences

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Doctoral Degree PhD

Fill out our academic information form to request information about programs.

Doctoral Degree PhD Program

Global Innovation Challenge, Communities of Excellence: Global Health Equity

Advance your career with our research-based PhD program.

The PhD in community health and health behavior positions you to:

Address community and behavioral factors that impact health and wellness
Design and conduct original research
Succeed in your career within academia, government agencies or private/non-governmental agencies

This program is research-based and takes approximately four years to complete.

6/12/23 Requirements and Curriculum
9/6/23 Mentors for PhD Students
3/22/22 Competencies
8/28/23 Course Descriptions
8/14/24 Admissions
8/14/24 International Admissions
4/21/17 Tuition and Financial Aid

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Ph.d. in public health with a concentration in health promotion and disease prevention or health disparities.

Our doctoral programs provide research-based training to seek effective behavioral, social, and structural solutions to public health problems. Students need to complete 75-course credits (inclusive of MPH credits) to graduate and are expected to graduate within four to five years.

The Department of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention offers the following two doctoral degrees:

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Public Health with a concentration in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention (HPDP)

Our students conduct health promotion research, and advocate for continual improvements in public health programs and policies to achieve health and well-being for all.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Public Health with a concentration in Health Disparities

Our students conduct health disparities research in areas such as HIV, substance abuse, and obesity among underserved populations in South Florida, Latin America and the Caribbean

Our doctoral students

Srijana Acharya Gautam, Graduate Assistant
Islamiyat Adebisi
Yaray Agosto
Wissam Al Khoury, Graduate Assistant
Talegria Brown, Graduate Assistant
Olivia Ceavers, Graduate Assistant
Sebastian Escarfuller, Research Assistant
Tienna Fenton, Graduate Assistant
Mickey Fuentes
Gemma Galvez, CV Starr Fellowship
Amanda Ichite, UGS Dissertation Year Fellowship
Karen Iglesias
Shaina Johnson, FIU Health Disparity Initiative (HDI)
Islam Khalil
Christie Kirchoff , UGS Dissertation Year Fellowship
Ian Lee, Graduate Assistant (FIU Embrace)
Osmari Novoa, FIU Health Disparity Initiative (HDI)
Peace Nwagbo
Alvonee Penn, CV Starr Fellowship
Christofer Rodriguez, FIU Veterans Fellowship
Lakisha Thomas
Vicky Vazquez, F-31 NIH

Ari Hozman Dissertation title: Longitudinal Association between Video Game Use and Physical, Mental, and Social Health Outcomes in Early Adulthood in the United States.

Major professor: Dr. Bastida. Defended Spring 2020.

Cassandra Renee Dissertation title: Psychosocial and Structural Barriers to Seeking, Reaching, and Receiving Care for Obstetric Emergencies and Peripartum Cardiomyopathy Among Pregnant and Early Post-partum Women in Haiti.

Major professor: Dr. Devieux. Defended in Summer 2020.

Etinosa Oghogho

Dissertation title: Psychosocial and Structural Factors Related to Vesico-Vaginal Fistula and its Impact on the Quality of Life of Women in Ibadan, Nigeria: A Mixed Methods Study.

Major Professor: Dr. Devieux. Defended in Fall 2020.

Raed Jannadi Dissertation title: Border Epidemiological Study of Aging: The Role of Psychosocial Factors on Mortality of Mexican Americans in South Texas.

Major Professor: Dr. Bastida. Defended in spring 2021.

Rumi Agarwal

Dissertation title: Measurement and Predictors of Mental Health among Parents of Children with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.

Major Professors: Dr. Bastida/Shanna Burke. Defended in summer 2021.

Valerie Daniel

Dissertation title: Intersectional Stigma and Barriers to Engagement in Care among Haitian Women with HIV.

Major professor: Dr. Devieux. Defended in Summer 2021.

Sarah Suarez Dissertation title: HIV Risk Factors, Enacted Stigma, and Testing Outcomes among Men Who Have Sex with Men in Florida.

Major Professor: Dr. Devieux. Defended in Summer 2021.

Gabriella Wuyke

Dissertation title: The moderating role of traditional Latino gender norms on stressors and depressive symptoms among immigrant Latino men in Miami-Dade County.

Major Professor: Dr. Rojas. Defended in Summer 2021.

Derrick Forney Dissertation title: The Impact of HIV-Related Stigma on the Racial/Ethnic Disparities Across the HIV Care Continuum Among Adults Living with HIV in Florida.

Major Professor: Dr. Sanchez. Defended in Fall 2021.

Amani Othman

Dissertation title: Mental Health, Intersectionality of Religious Identity Struggles, and Islamophobia in Muslim Young Adults in South Florida : An Exploratory Study.

Major Professor: Dr. Bastida. Defended in Fall 2021.

Afrah Saad Saif (Farah )

Dissertation title: Examining the Role of Knowledge and Cultural values on Utilization of Mammograms among a Sample of Saudi Women.

Major professor: Dr. Bastida. Defended in Fall 2021.

Program contact

Comments, questions or concerns? We're here to help.

For information about the Ph.D. program, contact the program advisor below.

Mariana Sanchez Associate Professor, Health Promotion & Disease Prevention; Program Director, FIU-[...] [email protected]

Elena Sebekos Assistant Teaching Professor and Graduate Program Director [email protected]

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PhD Program

THE APPLICATION DEADLINE FOR FALL PHD ADMISSION IS JANUARY 1. APPLY NOW

The PhD in Health & Behavioral Sciences (HBS) prepares students to be leaders in the interdisciplinary field of population health. Our program draws on theories and methods from the social, behavioral, and health sciences, to understand health, health behaviors, and health care. A few recent research topics in our program include the AIDS epidemic, the social contexts of medical care, the diffusion of health behaviors through social networks, the ethics of health care, biases that shape decision making, the mechanisms that link social conditions to biological health, and the determinants of health disparities. Graduates from our program are leaders in analyzing the conditions that give rise to the inequitable distribution of health within and across populations.

More Information

Our faculty have expertise in fields including medical anthropology, health psychology, medical sociology, demography, gerontology, health disparities, social epidemiology, community health, using new technologies to promote health, and social networks. Our research crosses disciplinary lines as we use a range of quantitative and qualitative methods to answer critical population health questions. For example, these are just a few recent research projects by our faculty: Why men in sub-Saharan Africa are less likely to have HIV but more likely to die from it. How we can exploit cognitive biases to nudge individuals into healthier behaviors including hand washing and influenza vaccination. How health care systems may generate or exacerbate health disparities. The number of lives we could save if all adults in the U.S. had at least a high school degree. How race and physical functioning intersect to shape participation in the labor force among older adults. Whether cardiovascular reactivity and recovery from acute stress explain socioeconomic status disparities in cardiovascular health. Preferences for punishing norm violators or compensating victims in Papua New Guinea How older siblings of Mexican-origin young women in immigrant families may protect younger sisters from risky sexual behaviors. Whether text message based interventions have long-term benefits on adolescent sexual health behaviors. How social context may shape network based interventions that target adolescent smoking behavior. For more information please see our faculty pages .

Students are admitted for the fall semester, whereupon they spend two years taking required courses within a cohort of fellow students. The coursework focuses on social and behavioral theory, research design, statistics, qualitative methods, and the social determinants of population health. After coursework, students usually spend one to two years preparing a proposal for their dissertation research with mentorship from their dissertation committees. After successfully defending a prospectus, students typically take one to two years to finish their dissertations, also with mentorship from their committees. Students who work full-time on their studies usually finish the program in four to six years. Throughout the program we encourage students to pursue mentored research with faculty, and independent research on their dissertations and other projects.

We welcome students who have training and work experience in diverse fields. In recent years, we have accepted students with training in fields including anthropology, community health, engineering, geography, nutrition, physiology, policy, psychology, public health, sociology, social work, and health professions including medicine, nursing, and physician assistants. The faculty consider multiple factors when evaluating applications: A well written statement that describes your research experience and interests is essential for evaluating your fit with our program. Please contact us at so we can explore how your interests fit with our program. Strong letters of recommendation from people who can speak to your potential for success in our PhD program provide additional background on your academic aptitude and preparation. GREs are not required, but you may submit your scores if you believe they will strengthen your application.

Students in the Ph.D. program in Health & Behavioral Sciences will demonstrate proficiency in the following core competencies by the time they graduate from our program:

An ability to integrate and apply multiple social and behavioral science theoretical perspectives to particular health and health care problems.
A basic understanding of the broad range of methods and research designs employed in the health and behavioral sciences.
Advanced proficiency in a particular method or set of methods.
Precision and clarity in the oral and written communication of complex ideas.

Our program prepares students for academic, government, or professional careers that involve independent research, publication-quality writing, advanced research skills, critical thinking skills grounded in theories from the social and behavioral sciences, and the ability to thrive in interdisciplinary settings.

Health and Behavioral Sciences has historically provided tuition assistance and stipends to first and second year PhD Students (the first 32 credit hours of required classwork) provided they remain in good academic standing. Please note all departmental tuition assistance is net of any other sources of tuition support students may have. We also typically offer funding to support mentored research with faculty during the first few years of the program.

All Health and Behavioral Sciences PhD students are eligible for paid Teaching Assistant positions for our undergraduate major in Public Health. Beginning in third year, PhD students are eligible for Teaching and/or Research Fellowships. Other funding opportunities (e.g., undergraduate advising, work with faculty on grants) sometimes become available. The department, college, and university also have small grants available to support conference travel or other professional development. We also work with interested students to develop grant propsals to support dissertation research.

Additionally, students have access to funding opportunities including (but not limited to): a dissertation grant after successfully defending their prospectus, annual conference funding to support travel to conferences where they will be presenting research, and other scholarships and awards. Continued funding support is contingent on good academic standing.

There are three dimensions to the required curriculum:

A core curriculum that focuses on problem-oriented, interdisciplinary approaches to theory and method
Elective course work intended to provide the student with a solid base from which to launch the dissertation research
Dissertation research and writing

The curriculum is subject to change. What appears below is intended to give students a general idea of the extent, shape and content of the curriculum. Students should check with the program office for up-to-date information on specific course requirements and scheduling.

The Core Curriculum

The core curriculum should be completed by students by the end of their second year of full-time study. It consists of the following series of courses which, together, constitute 29 semester hours:

I. Health and Behavioral Sciences Colloquium

Each fall, the HBSC program will organize a series of presentations by scholars working in the health and behavioral sciences. The presentations provide students with the most current science and theory in the field. Required of all first- and second-year students, who must take at least two times.

HBSC 7001 - Colloquium Series in the Health and Behavioral Sciences

Total: 2 Hours

Ii. theoretical perspectives in the health and behavioral sciences.

This series is designed to give students a thorough background in how the principles of the social and behavioral sciences have been applied to health issues. Topics include: the interplay between structure and agency in creating and maintaining health; social epidemiology; critical theory and social determinants of health; issues affecting Western biomedicine and public health systems; diffusion of healthy behavioral change among populations; social construction of health and illness; health policy and bioethics; social networks; and stress.

HBSC 7011 - Theoretical Perspectives in Health and Behavioral Science I
HBSC 7071 - Social and Behavioral Determinants of Health and Disease

Total: 6 Hours

Iii. human ecology and environmental adaptation.

This course will emphasize the biological/physiological dimensions of human health and disease.

HBSC 7031 - Human Ecology and Environmental Adaptation

Total: 3 Hours

Iv. research design and methods in the health and behavioral sciences.

Three HBSC core research design and methods courses, plus one additional advanced methods course of student’s choosing. This series covers the philosophy of science and the structure of scientific inquiry, procedures for hypothesis-testing, quantitative and qualitative methodological strategies commonly employed in the field, epidemiology and program evaluation.

HBSC 7041 - Research Design and Methods in the Health and Behavioral Sciences I
HBSC 7051 - Qualitative Research Design and Methods
HBSC 7061 - Quantitative Methods in the Health and Behavioral Sciences
HBSC 7161 - Quantitative Methods in Health&Behavioral Sciences II

Total: 12 Hours

V. applications of the health and behavioral sciences.

This course offers students the opportunity to focus on individual research interests with guidance from faculty and input from peers.

HBSC 7111 - Applications of the Health and Behavioral Sciences

TOTAL CORE: 26 Hours

Elective Courses

Elective course work together constitutes 6 semester hours, which can be drawn from the large number of offerings in the health and behavioral sciences at CU Denver. Students will be expected to fulfill the necessary prerequisites for taking these courses, and final authority as to whether a student may enroll in the course will rest with the department in which the course is offered.

TOTAL ELECTIVES: 6 Hours

Doctoral Dissertation Research

The doctoral dissertation research topic is chosen by the student. The student is expected to define a research question in health and behavioral science, identify the research strategy to be used for answering the question, conduct the research required and document the project in the form of a doctoral dissertation. The student will be guided in this process by a doctoral dissertation advisor and the additional members who comprise the student’s doctoral dissertation committee (see below). A minimum of 30 semester hours of dissertation work is required. Students must register for a minimum of 5 dissertation credits each semester of their dissertation work. Students may not take more than a year’s leave of absence or fail to enroll for semester hours more than three semesters before they are dropped from the program.

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Health Behavior and Health Promotion - PhD

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The Health Behavior and Health Promotion doctoral program provides students with advanced understanding of the field and strong abilities to develop original research. Students partner with and learn from faculty who study behaviors and health choices as well as the methods used to change behaviors and individual and community levels.

Learn more about the Public Health PhD

Get answers to your questions about Ohio State's PhD in Public Health. Sign up for an upcoming information session and learn how you can become a Public Health Buckeye.

Available dates

Wednesday, October 23, 2-3:30 p.m. EST
Thursday, November 14, 2-3:30 p.m. EST

Research Expertise

Our faculty are experts in community-placed work in urban and rural centers of the state. They work with ethnic and gender minorities in Columbus as well as those from the rural Appalachia parts of the state to prevent and intervene the unique health issues faced by the diverse populations across Ohio.

Health equity disparities and health equity

Social determinants of health

Tobacco and substance use

Cancer prevention and control

Vaccination adoption

Sexual and reproductive health

Global health

Explore faculty interests

Program of study

The doctoral program consists of 80 credits or 50 credits beyond a master's degree. Coursework includes foundation, advanced health behavior and health promotion and research methods courses, a related minor and dissertation. Up to 30 credits of master’s level coursework may count toward the PhD, with approval.

Sample curriculum

Program competencies

Funding opportunities

Ohio State offers paid research, teaching and administrative assistantships as well as competitive fellowships and other grant opportunities. Learn more about how financial support is awarded to graduate students.

Graduate funding

Prepare your application

Priority deadline

Regular deadline

We have prepared a list of recommendations for you to use as you prepare your application to the PhD program. Remember, to be considered for funding, you must submit your application to SOPHAS before the December 1 priory deadline.

Get your application ready

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Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Social and Behavioral Interventions

Offered By: Department of International Health

Onsite | Full-Time | 4 years

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Rebecca Lobb, ScD, MPH
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About the PhD in Social and Behavioral Interventions Program

The SBI program offers multidisciplinary training for researchers and public health practitioners who wish to use the social sciences in the design, implementation and evaluation of public health programs, particularly community-based interventions. The combined use of qualitative and quantitative methods is a defining characteristic of the program.

This is a STEM designated program . Eligible F-1 visa students can receive an additional 24 months of work authorization, beyond the initial 12 months of post-completion Optional Practical Training (OPT).

PhD in Social and Behavioral Interventions Program Highlights

Students are trained in survey research methods, in-depth open ended interviewing, focus group discussions, observation methods, social and environmental mapping, and computer-aided management and analysis of quantitative and qualitative data. Students are also given insight into factors related to gender and health, community participation in health programs, and cultural and environmental factors that affect global health.

GLOBAL NETWORK

Research opportunities around the world

MIXED METHODS

Develop qualitative and quantitative skills

HANDS-ON TRAINING

Learn by working in our field sites

STEM DESIGNATED

Eligibility for a 24-month STEM OPT extension

What Can You Do With a Graduate Degree In Social And Behavioral Interventions?

Graduates are able to provide technical assistance in assessing the socio-cultural context surrounding public health interventions, and in the development, implementation and evaluation of social and behavior change programs to improve the health of underserved communities in a variety of settings. Visit the Graduate Employment Outcomes Dashboard to learn about Bloomberg School graduates' employment status, sector, and salaries.

Curriculum for the PhD in Social and Behavioral Interventions

Through multiple practicum opportunities, the program offers students an extensive hands-on exposure to the development and implementation of social and behavioral interventions globally or locally.

Browse an overview of the requirements for this PhD program in the JHU Academic Catalogue , explore all course offerings in the Bloomberg School Course Directory , and find many more details in the program's Academic Guides .

Core competencies

Courses Available in the Following Areas:

Qualitative and quantitative data analysis
Behavior change
Community mobilization
Maternal and child health
Anthropology
Social epidemiology
Behavioral psychology
Sexual and Reproductive Health
Mental health
Indigenous health

Admissions Requirements

For general admissions requirements, please visit the How to Apply page. This specific program also requires:

Prior Graduate Degree

Master's degree in related field

Prior Work Experience

Not required but highly desirable

Standardized Test Scores

Standardized test scores are required for this program. This program accepts the following standardized test scores: GRE. Applications will be reviewed holistically based on all application components.

Student Spotlight

Diana rayes.

PhD Student, Class of 2024

Dissertation Title: Barriers and Facilitators to Mental Health Service Utilization Among Refugees in Sweden

Dissertation description: My dissertation research explores the barriers and facilitators to the utilization of mental health services among refugee adults in Sweden, with an emphasis on the Syrian population. Findings from the Swedish example can be used to further understand mental health service utilization among refugee populations in other high-income countries, including the U.S., in order to improve the mental health services provided to refugees and migrants.

Dissertation organization: Stockholm University

Program Faculty Spotlight

Victoria M. O'Keefe

Victoria M. O’Keefe, PhD, MS, works to achieve strengths-based and culturally informed suicide prevention, mental health promotion, and wellness among Indigenous communities.

Melissa Lynn Walls

Melissa Walls, PhD, MA, is an Indigenous researcher who works with American Indian and First Nations communities to promote health equity through culturally centered projects.

Caitlin Elizabeth Kennedy

Caitlin Kennedy PhD ’09, MPH ’04, is a social and behavioral scientist with a focus on sexual and reproductive health and HIV prevention, and resource-limited settings.

Haneefa Tasleem Saleem

Haneefa Tasleem Saleem, PhD ’14, MPH, ’09, conducts research to inform and evaluate approaches aimed at improving HIV prevention and treatment and other health outcomes for people who use drugs globally.

Per the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the JHU PhD Union, the minimum guaranteed 2025-2026 academic year stipend is $50,000 for all PhD students with a 4% increase the following year. Tuition, fees, and medical benefits are provided, including health insurance premiums for PhD student’s children and spouses of international students, depending on visa type. The minimum stipend and tuition coverage is guaranteed for at least the first four years of a BSPH PhD program; specific amounts and the number of years supported, as well as work expectations related to that stipend will vary across departments and funding source. Please refer to the CBA to review specific benefits, compensation, and other terms.

Need-Based Relocation Grants Students who are admitted to PhD programs at JHU starting in Fall 2023 or beyond can apply to receive a need-based grant to offset the costs of relocating to be able to attend JHU. These grants provide funding to a portion of incoming students who, without this money, may otherwise not be able to afford to relocate to JHU for their PhD program. This is not a merit-based grant. Applications will be evaluated solely based on financial need. View more information about the need-based relocation grants for PhD students .

Questions about the program? We're happy to help.

Elisabeth Simmons, MEd Academic Program Administrator [email protected]

IMAGES

Health Behavior, PhD
PhD in Health Behavior Science and Promotion
Health Behavior Science and Promotion PhD
PhD Health Behavior Science and Promotion
PhD Health Behavior Science and Promotion
A Prospective Ph.D. Student Asks 7 Questions About Studying Health

VIDEO

Student POV: Julia Stal, PhD, Class of 2024
Promoting the Science and Practice of Health Behavior Maintenance–Workshop 3
4. Initial Behavioral Health Clinician Appointment
Warning! These 5 bad habits are sabotaging your PhD journey
PhD mental health habits
Prominent Harvard psychologist to lead The Ballmer Institute for Children’s Behavioral Health

COMMENTS

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The PhD degree is a research-oriented doctoral degree. In the first two years, students take core courses in the Departments of Mental Health, Biostatistics, and Epidemiology, in research ethics, and attend weekly department seminars. Students must complete a written comprehensive exam (in January of their second year), a preliminary exam, two ...
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Health, Behavior and Society
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PhD Health Behavior Health Promotion
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PhD in Behavioral, Social, and Health Education Sciences
As a PhD student, you will learn how to: Conduct original research on identifying individual and societal determinants of health behaviors, illness, and disease. Design, implement, and evaluate behavioral and structural interventions to prevent disease, reduce health risks, and improve quality of life. Translate knowledge derived from research ...
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PHD, Health Promotion & Behavior
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Health Behavior Science and Promotion Phd
The PhD in Health Behavior Science and Promotion provides the highest degree for health promotion and behavioral science professionals, preparing graduates for research careers in many settings, including academia, non-governmental organizations, allied health fields, and public service at all levels of national government.
Behavioral and Social Health Sciences
A PhD degree in Behavioral and Social Health Sciences at Brown requires completion of 16 courses for students without a master's degree; up to four (4) of these may be fulfilled by prior graduate coursework. Doctoral students must maintain an average of B or higher in the coursework required for the Ph.D., complete written and oral qualifying ...
Programs
Health, Behavior and Society. Programs. We offer three master's programs and one PhD program focused on behavioral and societal impacts on public health, as well as postdoctoral training for new doctoral graduates. Undergraduate Johns Hopkins University students of all majors may also apply to our two combined bachelor's/master's programs.
PhD in Social & Behavioral Sciences
SBS provides instruction in the theory and methods of the social and behavioral sciences that emphasize individual, interpersonal, community, and structural influences on health, illness, and recovery. The primary emphases are focused on (1) understanding the psychosocial, behavioral, community, and societal influences on health in the general ...
PhD: Health Behavior
Format: In-Class only. The PhD in Health Behavior is offered by the Department of Health Behavior. Health Behavior doctoral students learn to use theories and methods from the social and behavioral sciences to develop programs that encourage healthy behaviors. They are exposed to state-of-the-art techniques and methods for research and program ...
Doctoral Degree PhD
The PhD in community health and health behavior positions you to: Address community and behavioral factors that impact health and wellness. Design and conduct original research. Succeed in your career within academia, government agencies or private/non-governmental agencies. This program is research-based and takes approximately four years to ...
Ph.D. in Public Health with a Concentration in Health Promotion and
Our doctoral programs provide research-based training to seek effective behavioral, social, and structural solutions to public health problems. ... (PhD) in Public Health with a concentration in Health Disparities; Our students conduct health disparities research in areas such as HIV, substance abuse, and obesity among underserved populations ...
Behavioral Health
A PhD in Health Education and Promotion with a specialization in Behavioral Health can help you better understand and address the many factors and influences on health and well-being. You will investigate the motivation, psychology, and theory behind health and health-related behaviors of diverse populations.
PhD Program
The PhD in Health & Behavioral Sciences (HBS) prepares students to be leaders in the interdisciplinary field of population health. Our program draws on theories and methods from the social, behavioral, and health sciences, to understand health, health behaviors, and health care. A few recent research topics in our program include the AIDS ...
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PhD in Social and Behavioral Interventions
Tuition and Funding. Per the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the JHU PhD Union, the minimum guaranteed 2025-2026 academic year stipend is $50,000 for all PhD students with a 4% increase the following year. Tuition, fees, and medical benefits are provided, including health insurance premiums for PhD student's children and spouses of ...