The PhD program in Public Health Sciences prepares professionals for research, teaching, and service with the overall objective of improving the health of populations. To meet this objective, all students in the program pursue excellence in conducting research and disseminating knowledge. The primary focus is on research that advances knowledge and facilitates discovery regarding etiology, interventions, and policies that promote health at the individual, population, societal, and/or global levels. The concentration in epidemiology prepares students contemplating a career as scientists employed in academia, research institutions, or in research units within industry or other agencies and organizations. The program is comprehensive, with a strong emphasis on epidemiologic methodology, theory, and practice. This broad and rigorous training will fully equip students with skills they need to be engaged in conducting cutting-edge epidemiologic research within the many areas of public health.
Upon completion of the PhD in Public Health Sciences degree with a concentration in Epidemiology, the student will have demonstrated proficiency in the following competencies:
Describe the theory underlying epidemiological methods.
Comprehend and apply epidemiologic methods to solve a variety of public health problems.
Conduct primarily etiologic or other analytic and descriptive research studies, through appropriate formulation of a health problem, and the collection, assimilation, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination of data on human populations and the physical, chemical and biologic environment.
PhD CORE COMPETENCIES
Upon completion of the PhD in Public Health core courses, the student will have demonstrated proficiency in the following competencies:
Research Theories: synthesize historical, contemporary, and emerging theories and paradigms of significance to public health.
Critical Analysis: Critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of existing research evidence and identify significant gaps in knowledge.
Research Methodology: Comprehend, design and apply relevant and advanced research methods based on rigorous standards of evidence.
Scientific Communications: Develop professional skills in scientific and grant writing, oral communication, and teaching.
Ethics: Uphold the highest ethical standards in all professional endeavors, including the design and implementation of research and the participation of human subjects.
Discovery and Translational Theory: Conduct investigative research, including areas that facilitate the translation and application of discovery to practice.