Public Health, Ph.D.

Required Prerequisites - MPH Core Courses (3 - 13 Hours)

All Ph.D. graduates are grounded in the following foundational public health knowledge learning objectives (and the course where the learning objective is assessed is noted in parenthesis):

Profession & Science of Public Health

1. Explain public health history, philosophy and values. (PHPH 7010 )
2. Identify the core functions of public health and the 10 Essential Services. (PHPH 7010 )
3. Explain the role of quantitative and qualitative methods and sciences in describing and assessing a population’s health. (PHPH 7010 )
4. List major causes and trends of morbidity and mortality in the US or other community relevant to the school or program. (PHPH 7010 )
5. Discuss the science of primary, secondary and tertiary prevention in population health, including health promotion, screening, etc. (PHPH 7010 )
6. Explain the critical importance of evidence in advancing public health knowledge. (PHPH 7010 )

Factors Related to Human Health

1. Explain effects of environmental factors on a population’s health. (PHPH 7010 )
2. Explain biological and genetic factors that affect a population’s health. (PHPH 7010 )
3. Explain behavioral and psychological factors that affect a population’s health. (PHPH 7010 )
4. Explain the social, political and economic determinants of health and how they contribute to population health and health inequities. (PHPH 7010 )
5. Explain how globalization affects global burdens of disease. (PHPH 7010 )
6. Explain an ecological perspective on the connections among human health, animal health and ecosystem health (eg, One Health). (PHPH 7010 )

For students admitted to the PhD program who have not completed a CEPH-accredited bachelor’s degree in public health or MPH degree, the following course will be required as prerequisite to the PhD program:

• PHPH 7010 - Foundations of Public Health  

Two additional courses may be required upon review of the student’s completed graduate coursework by the PhD Director and Faculty Advisor.

• PHPH 7011 - Epidemiology for Public Health 
  or
• PHPH 7711 - Epidemiologic Methods I 
   
• PHPH 7017 - Fundamentals of Biostatistics I  

Based upon the PhD program concentration area declared by the incoming student, the following courses will be required:

• For students declaring Health Promotion and Behavior as a concentration: PHPB 7140 - Health Promotion Planning, Administration and Evaluation  
• For students declaring Environmental Health as a concentration: PHPH 7150 Environmental Health
• For students declaring Health Services and Policy Research as a concentration: PHPB 7160 - Fundamentals of Health Systems, Leadership, and Policy  

Doctoral students may waive these prerequisite MPH Core Courses if they:

• enter the Ph.D. program with a CEPH accredited MPH degree that included “B” grades or better in their MPH courses related to the MPH Foundational Public Health Knowledge learning objectives and MPH Foundational Competencies, as documented by an official university transcript. Syllabi for courses may also be requested.
• and/or have completed employment or other training(s) that enable them to demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities acquired in the MPH core courses listed above. Note: PHPH 7010 - Foundations of Public Health  cannot be waived by employment or other training(s). PHPH 7010 - Foundations of Public Health  is only waived after the School verifies a students’ previous completion of a CEPH-accredited bachelor’s degree in public health or MPH degree.

Students meeting the above criteria should provide a petitions for waiver for each of the five courses being requested for waiver. The Petition for Waiver is a written statement, along with any evidentiary documentation, that assures the School that the doctoral student has mastered one (or more) of the MPH Foundational Public Health Knowledge learning objectives and/or MPH Foundational Competencies through another manner (i.e. MPH degree, career experience, etc.). This Petition must be approved by the Doctoral Program Director. The Doctoral Program Director may defer to the Department Chair in which the petitioned course is offered. Upon approval by the Doctoral Program or Department Chair, the Petition is then forwarded to the Office of Academic Assistance and Career Services (OAA) for their approval. OAA may request the input of the Senior Associate Dean for Academic and Strategic Initiatives and/or the Academic Affairs Committee Chair and/or members, but that is not required. Once the Director of OAA notes OAA’s approval, the student’s file and PAWS electronic program of study is updated to note satisfaction of the required prerequisite(s).

Doctoral Degree Requirements (62 Hours)

Concentration Requirements

• Environmental Health Concentration
   
• Epidemiology Concentration
   
• Health Promotion and Behavior Concentration
   
• Health Services and Policy Research Concentration