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Graduate Committee
Dr. Tzeyu Michaud (Chair & Graduate Program Director), Dr. Michelle (Shelley) Strong (MPH Program Director), Dr. Fabiana Brito, and Dr. Regina Idoate, and Dr. Chad Abresch  

The PhD in Health Promotion & Disease Prevention Research provides students with the training necessary to become skilled research scientists who will have a significant impact on the health of the population by thinking critically and integratively about complex public health problems and applying scientific rigor to the design and evaluation of health promotion and disease prevention research and programs.  The program is housed in the College of Public Health Department of Health Promotion, Social & Behavioral Health, where students have the opportunity to pursue research involving epidemiological, intervention, evaluation, and dissemination studies, using qualitative, quantitative, and/or systems tools. Graduates of the program will be prepared for careers as scientists in government and private research agencies, as faculty in colleges and universities, and as leaders in public health.

PhD Curriculum

Students pursuing the PhD degree in Health Promotion & Disease Prevention Research are required to complete the courses listed below. All coursework (except HPRO 999) must be completed prior to starting the dissertation.

Core Curriculum (27 credits)
GRAD 800RESPONSIBLE CONDUCT IN RESEARCH TRAINING *0
HPRO 901ADVANCED THEORIES IN HEALTH PROMOTION & DISEASE PREVENTION *3
HPRO 902COMPLEX SYSTEMS THINKING *3
HPRO 915FOUNDATIONS OF THE CBPR APPROACH *3
HPRO 916IMPLEMENTATION SCIENCE MODELS AND METHODS *3
HPRO 917ADVANCED RESEARCH METHODS IN HEALTH PROMOTION DISEASE PREVENTION STUDY DESIGN3
HPRO 996DIRECTED READINGS AND RESEARCH *3
HPRO 970SEMINAR (3 semesters)3
HPRO 925SCIENTIFIC WRITING FOR PUBLIC HEALTH RESEARCH3
BIOS 808BIOSTATISTICS II *3
Selectives (Minimum 6 Credits)6
HPRO 910HUMANISTIC TRADITIONS OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH *3
HPRO 903MIXED METHODS RESEARCH *3
BIOS 835DESIGN OF MEDICAL HEALTH STUDIES *3
EPI 837SOCIAL EPIDEMIOLOGY *3
Electives (15 credits)15
At least 9 of these credits must be at the 900 level; HRPO 996 can be taken up to an additional 6 credit hours
Dissertation
HPRO 999DOCTORAL DISSERTATION (12 credits)12
College of Public Health Required Course
HPRO 830FOUNDATIONS OF PUBLIC HEALTH (Required for students who have not completed an MPH or taken a foundational course at a CEPH-accredited institution.) *3
Each Student and his/her Supervisory Committee will determine the appropriate elective courses
*indicates course must be completed prior to Comprehensive Exam

Students entering the PhD program without a master's degree must complete an additional 27 credit hours of coursework: HPRO 830, EPI 820, BIOS 806, HPRO 895, HPRO 814, HPRO 827, HPRO 860, HPRO 805, and HPRO 809.