Community Health and Prevention PhD
Major: Community Health and Prevention
Degree Awarded: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Calendar Type: Quarter
Minimum Required Credits: 90.0
Co-op Option: None
Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code: 51.2212
Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code: 25-1099
About the Program
The Doctor of Philosophy in Community Health and Prevention will prepare doctoral-level public health graduates who have a broad-based understanding of public health scholarship related to the social and behavioral determinants of health and illness, and the ability to conduct original research to advance this understanding to benefit the public’s health. The program emphasizes the application of interdisciplinary, theoretical, and applied research paradigms to the understanding and prevention of public health problems. Graduates will be prepared to contribute and lead as public health scientists, researchers, educators, and professionals in a broad range of academic, policy, and service settings both in the United States and globally.
The program consists of both required and elective coursework, building the student’s individual expertise from a wide range of scientific disciplines, methodologic frameworks, and public health challenges. The comprehensive exam requires students to synthesize coursework and demonstrate mastery of core public health competencies. Students complete a mentored research experience with faculty before developing their own dissertation proposal and completing their dissertation. Students may choose either the traditional thesis format or the three-manuscript option.
Major Competencies
- Analyze the social and behavioral determinants of health and illness at the individual, community, and societal levels, and the mechanisms required to design and evaluate interventions at all levels to improve health and address health inequity
- Develop and apply theoretical frameworks to formulate research questions relevant to the above areas of scholarship
- Use a broad range of methodological approaches to design and conduct research addressing these research questions with the highest ethical standards
- Disseminate findings to a wide range of stakeholders and engage in both scientifically rigorous and socially responsible processes to translate findings to improve the health of the public
- Develop a strong professional identity and prepare to contribute meaningfully in a career as a scientist, administrator, and/or educator, to ensure the continued impact of the social and behavioral sciences in public health
Additional Information
For more information about this program, please contact:
Additional information can be found on the Dornsife School of Public Health website, including admissions criteria and how to apply.
Degree Requirements
Required Courses | ||
BST 560 | Intermediate Biostatistics I | 3.0 |
EPI 560 | Intermediate Epidemiology | 3.0 |
RCRG 600 | An Introduction to the Responsible Conduct of Research | 0.0 |
PBHL 501 | Introduction to Public Health * | 0.0 |
Additional Introductory Coursework, if needed ** | ||
Introduction to Statistical Computing | ||
Introduction to Biostatistics | ||
Introduction to Epidemiology | ||
Community Health and Prevention Courses | ||
CHP 801 | Theory & Practice of Community Health & Prevention I | 3.0 |
CHP 802 | Theory & Practice of Community Health and Prevention II | 3.0 |
CHP 803 | Research Methods for Community Health and Prevention | 3.0 |
CHP 804 | Qualitative Research in Community Health | 3.0 |
CHP 805 | Outcomes and Impact Evaluation | 3.0 |
CHP 806 | Community Based Participatory Research | 3.0 |
CHP 807 | Public Health Ethics | 3.0 |
CHP 808 | Measuring Health | 3.0 |
Doctoral Seminar | ||
CHP 904 | Doctoral Seminar in Community Health and Prevention *** | 6.0 |
Dissertation | 30.0 | |
Dissertation Seminar I | ||
Advanced Proposal Development | ||
Dissertation Guidance | ||
Electives † | ||
Social Factors/Behavioral Sciences/Communications | 12.0 | |
Communication Theory II: Discourse and Semiotics | ||
Communication Network Analysis | ||
Policy Analysis for Population Health | ||
Health Disparities: Systemic, Structural, Environmental & Economic | ||
Biostatistics/Methodological | 6.0 | |
Survival Data Analysis | ||
Applied Multivariate Analysis | ||
Applied Survey Research in Epidemiology | ||
Introduction to GIS for Public Health | ||
Public Health or Topical Area | 6.0 | |
Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology & Prevention | ||
World Nutrition | ||
Total Credits | 90.0 |
- *
Foundational Public Health Learning Objectives: PBHL 501 is only required for students who do not have a degree from a CEPH accredited school.
- **
Students entering with prior training in Biostatistics and Epidemiology may waive these courses with consent of advisor and program director. Students without this prior background will take EPI 570 and BST 571. BST 555 may be recommended for students who choose to have formal instruction in SAS.
- ***
Repeated for credit six times
- †
In consultation with their faculty mentor, students will choose the required number of electives in each of the three areas identified above. Courses must be graduate coursework in the Department of Community Health and Prevention, other departments at Dornsife School of Public Health, or in other Schools and Colleges at Drexel. Additional courses may count with Program Director and faculty mentor approval.
Sample Plan of Study
Sample Plan - Option I
First Year | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fall | Credits | Winter | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
CHP 801 | 3.0 | CHP 802 | 3.0 | BST 560 | 3.0 | VACATION | |
CHP 808 | 3.0 | CHP 803 | 3.0 | CHP 805 | 3.0 | ||
CHP 904 | 1.0 | CHP 804 | 3.0 | CHP 806 | 3.0 | ||
EPI 560 | 3.0 | CHP 904 | 1.0 | CHP 904 | 1.0 | ||
PBHL 501* | 0.0 | RCRG 600 | 0.0 | ||||
10 | 10 | 10 | 0 | ||||
Second Year | |||||||
Fall | Credits | Winter | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
CHP 901 | 3.0 | CHP 807 | 3.0 | CHP 904 | 1.0 | VACATION | |
CHP 904 | 1.0 | CHP 903 | 3.0 | Electives | 9.0 | ||
Electives | 6.0 | CHP 904 | 1.0 | ||||
Electives | 3.0 | ||||||
10 | 10 | 10 | 0 | ||||
Third Year | |||||||
Fall | Credits | Winter | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
CHP 999 | 6.0 | CHP 999 | 6.0 | CHP 999 | 9.0 | VACATION | |
Electives | 3.0 | Electives | 3.0 | ||||
9 | 9 | 9 | 0 | ||||
Fourth Year | |||||||
Fall | Credits | Winter | Credits | Spring | Credits | ||
CHP 999 | 1.0-9.0 | CHP 999 | 1.0-9.0 | CHP 999 | 1.0-9.0 | ||
1-9 | 1-9 | 1-9 | |||||
Total Credits 90-114 |
- *
PBHL 501 is only required for students who do not have a degree from a CEPH accredited school.
Sample Plan - Option II
First Year | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fall | Credits | Winter | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
CHP 801 | 3.0 | BST 571 | 3.0 | BST 560 | 3.0 | VACATION | |
CHP 808 | 3.0 | CHP 802 | 3.0 | CHP 805 | 3.0 | ||
CHP 904 | 1.0 | CHP 803 | 3.0 | CHP 806 | 3.0 | ||
EPI 570 | 3.0 | CHP 804 | 3.0 | CHP 904 | 1.0 | ||
PBHL 501* | 0.0 | CHP 904 | 1.0 | EPI 560 | 3.0 | ||
10 | 13 | 13 | 0 | ||||
Second Year | |||||||
Fall | Credits | Winter | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
CHP 901 | 3.0 | CHP 807 | 3.0 | CHP 904 | 1.0 | VACATION | |
CHP 904 | 1.0 | CHP 903 | 3.0 | Electives | 9.0 | ||
Electives | 6.0 | CHP 904 | 1.0 | ||||
RCRG 600 | 0.0 | ||||||
Electives | 3.0 | ||||||
10 | 10 | 10 | 0 | ||||
Third Year | |||||||
Fall | Credits | Winter | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
CHP 999 | 6.0 | CHP 999 | 6.0 | CHP 999 | 9.0 | VACATION | |
Electives | 3.0 | Electives | 3.0 | ||||
9 | 9 | 9 | 0 | ||||
Fourth Year | |||||||
Fall | Credits | Winter | Credits | Spring | Credits | ||
CHP 999 | 1.0-9.0 | CHP 999 | 1.0-9.0 | CHP 999 | 1.0-9.0 | ||
1-9 | 1-9 | 1-9 | |||||
Total Credits 96-120 |
- *
PBHL 501 is only required for students who do not have a degree from a CEPH accredited school.