The Ph.D. is expected to take four to five years to complete. Students who enter with a Masters of Public Health or a related field can petition to have courses waived. This might shorted the length of time to completion of degree.
Students will be actively engaged in research from the start of their graduate training through the end of their doctoral work. This research emphasizes close work with a faculty mentor, with increasing independence over the years of training. The major milestones students achieve through their course of study include:
|
Milestone |
Description |
Timeline |
|
Second Year Research Thesis |
Research skills in Public Health are best acquired through classroom instruction and participation in research. The Second Year Research Thesis will be conducted with your major advisor. |
End of second year of study |
|
Masters Degree |
The Master’s of Science degree will be awarded to students who demonstrate a thorough understanding of Public Health and give evidence of research accomplishment. |
End of second year of study |
|
Qualifying exam |
The Qualifying Exam in Public Health consists of proposing, completing, and orally defending a substantial research paper. |
End of third year of study |
|
Dissertation proposal |
The Dissertation Proposal reviews the relevant literature and defines the area of inquiry of the proposed Dissertation, provides a clear statement of actionable research aims, questions, and/or hypotheses that will be addressed in the Dissertation, and outlines the methodological and analytic approach that will enable the proposed research to address these aims, questions, and/or hypotheses. |
During fourth year of study |
|
Dissertation |
The Doctoral Dissertation is the culmination of the Ph.D. program, in which the Doctoral Candidate demonstrates the capability to conduct research independently that makes an original contribution to knowledge of a quality that can be published in a reputable scientific journal. |
Fourth or fifth year of study |
