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Department of Health Promotion, Social & Behavioral Health Proposed PhD In Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research Anticipated Starting Date: Fall 2008 The Ph.D. in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research is designed to provide students with the instruction and research experience necessary to become high quality academic faculty, researchers and public health leaders. They may also choose careers as scientists in government and private research agencies. It is anticipated that this program will provide faculty in the area of health promotion and disease prevention for colleges and universities throughout Nebraska and the Midwest. It will also provide individuals for leadership positions for public health agencies throughout Nebraska and the Midwest. The students will be trained to conduct research related to public health. The current primary focus will be in the areas of smoking cessation, obesity prevention, nutrition, substance abuse, and physical activity intervention with a focus on the elementary and secondary school population. However, as the program grows, students may develop other lines of public health research at the discretion of their dissertation committee. Degree Program Information
Proposed Admission Requirements Any applicant desiring admission into the Ph.D. in Health Promotion and Disease
Prevention Research at UNMC must submit a fully completed application. It is the applicant’s
responsibility to request an official copy of the academic record be sent to the graduate office
from each college or university that the applicant has attended. A minimum cumulative grade-point
average of 3.00/4.00 on all graduate course work attempted at a regionally accredited institution
of higher education is required for admission. A MS, MA, MPH or equivalent degree is required
for admission. A minimum combined score of 1000 on the verbal and quantitative sections of the
Graduate Record Exam is required. The official results from the GRE must be submitted to the
graduate office. There is no time frame during which the GRE must have been completed. All
international applicants whose native language is not English and do not have a MS from an
accredited institution are required to submit a TOEFL of 550 (paper), 213 (Computer), and
80 (Internet). Each applicant must submit a written statement of career goals. This writing
sample of 500-1250 words will be used to assess writing competence as well as career objectives.
Three letters of recommendation are required for admission. At least one of these letters must
be a letter from a faculty member in the applicant’s previous program who can attest to the
applicant’s ability to pursue successfully a PhD program. The remaining two letters may be
academic or professional references.
Proposed Degree Requirements The PhD Program in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research will
require a total of 90 semester hours in the following areas: research, writing, ethics,
health promotion, cognate or related courses, and dissertation hours. The courses or
categories to meet the 90 semester hours required are specified below. It is possible
that some of the courses needed to meet the 90 semester hours for this PhD Program will
have been completed as part of a masters or other professional degree program. No more
than one-third of the courses for the PhD may be master’s level or “introductory” courses
(800 level with 600 or lower counterparts). At least 50% of the coursework for the doctoral
degree must be completed at the University of Nebraska. No graduate credit will be accepted
for transfer unless earned at an institution fully accredited to offer graduate work; nor
should the student expect any graduate credit to be transferred unless the Graduate Committee
evaluates the quality and suitability as equal or superior to the offerings available at the
University of Nebraska. A candidate must maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average
of 3.0 for all graduate courses completed for the PhD. Failure to maintain a 3.0 GPA will
result in suspension or termination from the PhD Program. Students must conform to all
scholarship requirements specified in the University of Nebraska Medical Center Graduate
Studies Bulletin. Students are expected to complete the courses listed below or an
equivalent. Specific course numbers recommended at this time are listed in appendix A. Additional
courses will be developed to meet the needs of the students in the program. These courses are
therefore subject to change and other courses can be substituted at the discretion of the
supervisory committee.
Research Core It is expected that all students completing the PhD Program will have successfully completed 21 semester hours in the research core including the following:
Writing Core It is expected that all students completing the PhD Program will have successfully completed 6 semester hours in the writing core including the following:
As a component of this coursework, it is expected that all students will be required to complete a grant proposal of sufficient quality to be submitted to a national granting agency (National Foundation, Federal Agency, etc.). The students will not be required to actually submit the grant proposal; however the proposal should be of sufficient quality for potential submission. It is expected the proposal will be developed as part of a course and therefore the instructor would be working with the student to develop the proposal. In addition, as a result of this coursework, all students will be expected to provide a detailed review of a journal manuscript at the level expected when serving on an editorial review board. Ethics Core It is expected that all students completing the PhD Program will have
successfully completed 3 semester hours in ethics.
Health Promotion Core It is expected that all students completing the PhD Program will have successfully completed 21 semester hours in the health promotion core including the following:
Cognate or Related Courses It is expected that all students completing the PhD Program will have successfully completed 15-21 hours of cognate or related courses. Cognate courses are used to strengthen the program of study for the doctoral student. It is expected that the doctoral student in concert with his/her committee will select a minimum of 15 hours and a maximum of 21 hours from the cognate course areas to solidify the doctoral student’s program of study. The cognate or related courses may come from any of the groupings that follow, with flexibility to choose all courses from one grouping or spread the courses across all groupings at the discretion of the doctoral student with approval of his/her committee. The groupings include:
Dissertation Hours After successfully completing the comprehensive exam, the student must register for
at least one credit hour of dissertation for each semester and summer session until the completion
of the degree. It is expected that all students completing the PhD Program will have successfully
completed at least 24 hours of dissertation research.
Dissertation Within one year of successfully completing the comprehensive exam, the doctoral
student should propose his/her dissertation research to the Supervisory Committee in writing and
orally defend the proposal. As required of all PhD programs at UNMC, the dissertation must be
of publishable quality and the student must demonstrate that a manuscript based on the
dissertation has been submitted for publication.
Teaching Requirement All students completing the PhD Program will be required to gain a semester-long
teaching experience through one of the following supervised activities: 1. Securing a Graduate
Teaching Assistantship through the university, 2. Arranging directly with a professor to assist
in teaching a course, 3. Participating in an advisor directed, community-based service learning
activity with a teaching component, 4. Securing a position as a part-time instructor at a college
or university. The COPH is requesting funds to support students. Faculty may also secure external
grant support that would pay for students to teach courses in their area. In all cases it is
expected that the experience will be supervised, with support, feedback and evaluation provided
to the student. Many PhD’s work in an academic setting and are expected to teach undergraduate
and/or graduate courses. Those PhD involved in community interventions often use educationally
based methods. In both cases having actual experience in teaching better prepares the candidate
to understand the process.
Advisor and Supervisory Committee At admission, students will be assigned a temporary advisor. No later than the
end of the second semester of coursework, students should choose a permanent advisor. After
admission to the Graduate College and prior to completing half of the total hours for the
degree, a doctoral student must work with an advisor and form a Supervisory Committee. The
Supervisory Committee must consist of at least four members who are University of Nebraska
Graduate Faculty Members. The Dean of Graduate Studies upon recommendation of the department
Graduate Committee will appoint the committee. This committee will approve a proposed program
of study for the degree. Additional members may be added to the committee for the purpose of
the dissertation. The committee also approves the dissertation and final oral examination.
Program of Study Within four weeks of its appointment, the Supervisory Committee shall meet to
designate and subsequently to file in the Graduate Studies Office a proposed program of studies,
including designation of all required courses and the general area of research for the
dissertation. Any subsequent changes in the program or in the dissertation topic shall be
approved by the Supervisory Committee and the action reported to the Graduate Studies Office.
Comprehensive Exam After substantial completion of all required coursework, all students must
successfully complete a comprehensive exam. The comprehensive exam can not be taken before
the final semester of coursework. The comprehensive exam consists of both written and oral
components that demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the coursework. The student’s
Supervisory Committee will determine the type of exam from the following choices: 1. A take-home
written exam consisting of one broad question which must be defended orally. 2. A proctored
written exam consisting of one or more broad questions which must be defended orally. 3. A
proctored written exam on the research core, health promotion core and cognate or related area
core which must be defended orally. 4. A research project requiring synthesis of all coursework
which must be defended orally. The comprehensive exam committee will evaluate the students
written and oral components and determine when the student has successfully completed the
comprehensive exam.
Candidacy The student is admitted to candidacy for the PhD after the report of successfully
completing the comprehensive exam is filed in the graduate office. This must be done at least
seven months prior to the final oral exam. The term of candidacy is limited to three years.
The PhD degree must be completed within seven years from the date of the initial registration
as a PhD-objective student.
Residency At least one half of the course requirements after the Masters degree (other
than dissertation) must be completed within a consecutive 18 month period. Attendance at
seminars is required.
DOCTORAL DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Daniel Blanke, PhD | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
