UAB Department of Health Behavior

The Doctor of Philosophy in Health Education and Health Promotion (Ph.D.)

Description/Career Opportunities

Our Ph.D. program ranks seventh nationally among doctoral programs in health education, according to a study published in the March/April 2000 issue of the Journal of Health Education.

The Ph.D. Program in Health Education and Health Promotion provides students with instruction and research experience to become practitioners and scientists in health education and health promotion. The program combines the resources of academic units from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa (UA) and utilizes the research expertise common to schools of public health along with the didactic, professional emphasis found in colleges of education. The Ph.D. program requires satisfactory performance on comprehensive exams, a research internship and completion of a doctoral dissertation

The learning objectives of the Ph.D. program are to enable the student to:

Graduates go on to research and service careers in academic settings or public agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control.

Admissions

Applicants should have a strong academic record and meet the requirements for admission to the School of Public Health.

Curriculum

Students in the Ph.D. program take a minimum of 73 credit hours. Depending on the number of credit hours taken each semester, students can generally complete the program in three to five years.

Prerequisites - If requirements are not met in four prerequisite coursework areas (administration of health education/health promotion/health behavior programs; health education/health promotion planning and evaluation; behavioral research design/methods; and statistics), then prerequisite coursework must be taken in addition to the 73 credit hours. Judgements about qualifying prerequisite courses the student may have taken or will take are the responsibility of the student's academic advisor.

Research Internship - A research internship is required. The internship gives students an opportunity to engage in a meaningful research experience by working with ongoing research projects, and it requires the completion of a minimum of 12 hours of research credit. The internship may be carried out at UAB or UA, or with the CDC, NIH or other governmental or private agencies.

Comprehensive Exam - Doctoral students are required to take a two part written comprehensive examination before beginning a dissertation. Part I examines students on the broad content areas introduced in the four core courses. Part II covers specialized course content taken by each student. Prior to taking the comprehensive exam, students must have completed the Health Education/Promotion Core Courses, and most of the other coursework

Doctoral Dissertation - The doctoral dissertation is designed to provide students with a comprehensive and original research experience, and it requires the completion of a minimum of 12 hours of dissertation credit. Students complete credits for the dissertation after the completion of coursework and comprehensive exams.

Emphasis in Epidemiology - Doctoral students wishing to pursue further training in epidemiological methods are advised to take 15 credit hours in epidemiology in addition to the required four credit hours. Specific courses are chosen by the student and his/her advisor. Nine of the 15 additional credit hours in epidemiology can be counted as the Advanced Research and Statistical Methods Electives required in the doctoral program. Thus, completion of all epidemiology courses requires taking six additional credit hours beyond the minimum required for the degree.

Required Courses

Health Education/Promotion Core Courses - 12 hours
HB 730 Health Communications Research (3 hours)
HB 750 Advanced Theoretical and Scientific Basis of Health Education and Health Promotion (3 hours)
HB 760 Planning and Administration of Health Education and Health Promotion (3 hours)
HB 770 Doctoral Studies Seminar (3 hours)

Advanced Research and Statistical Methods - 16 hours
EPI 610 Advanced Epidemiological Research Methods (4 hours)
HB 740 Advanced Health Program Evaluation (3 hours)
BST 619orSOC 701 Data Collection, Management and Analysis or Data Management and Analysis (3 hours)
BST 603 or EPR 609 Regression Analysis from the Applied Perspective or Statistical methods and Research in Education (3 hours)
BST 655 Applied Logistic Regression (3 hours)

Evaluation/Research Methods/Statistics Electives - 9 hours*
_______ Evaluation/Research Methods/Statistics Elective (3 hours)
_______ Evaluation/Research Methods/Statistics Elective (3 hours)
_______ Evaluation/Research Methods/Statistics Elective (3 hours)

Social and Behavioral Sciences Electives - 12 hours *
_______ Social and Behavioral Sciences Elective (3 hours)
_______ Social and Behavioral Sciences Elective (3 hours)
_______ Social and Behavioral Sciences Elective (3 hours)
_______ Social and Behavioral Sciences Elective (3 hours)

Research Internship - 12 hours
HB 798 Doctoral-Level Directed Research (12 hours)

Dissertation Research in Health Education/Promotion - 12 hours
HB 799 Doctoral Dissertation Research 12 hours




*Department of Health Behavior* UAB School of Public Health The Doctor of Philosophy in Health Education and Health Promotion (Ph.D.) *Description/Career Opportunities* Our Ph.D. program ranks seventh nationally among doctoral programs in health education, according to a study published in the March/April 2000 issue of the Journal of Health Education. The Ph.D. Program in Health Education and Health Promotion provides students with instruction and research experience to become practitioners and scientists in health education and health promotion. The program combines the resources of academic units from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa (UA) and utilizes the research expertise common to schools of public health along with the didactic, professional emphasis found in colleges of education. The Ph.D. program requires satisfactory performance on comprehensive exams, a research internship and completion of a doctoral dissertation The learning objectives of the Ph.D. program are to enable the student to: develop the skills to effectively plan, implement, and evaluate health education/promotion intervention programs; develop theoretical knowledge from related social and behavioral sciences; develop the knowledge and skills to become independent researchers, demonstrated by the completion of a dissertation; and complete a substantive research experience integrating the first three objectives. Graduates go on to research and service careers in academic settings or public agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control. *Admissions* Applicants should have a strong academic record and meet the requirements for admission to the School of Public Health. *Curriculum* Students in the Ph.D. program take a minimum of 73 credit hours. Depending on the number of credit hours taken each semester, students can generally complete the program in three to five years. Prerequisites - If requirements are not met in four prerequisite coursework areas (administration of health education/health promotion/health behavior programs; health education/health promotion planning and evaluation; behavioral research design/methods; and statistics), then prerequisite coursework must be taken in addition to the 73 credit hours. Judgements about qualifying prerequisite courses the student may have taken or will take are the responsibility of the student's academic advisor. Research Internship - A research internship is required. The internship gives students an opportunity to engage in a meaningful research experience by working with ongoing research projects, and it requires the completion of a minimum of 12 hours of research credit. The internship may be carried out at UAB or UA, or with the CDC, NIH or other governmental or private agencies. Comprehensive Exam - Doctoral students are required to take a two part written comprehensive examination before beginning a dissertation. Part I examines students on the broad content areas introduced in the four core courses. Part II covers specialized course content taken by each student. Prior to taking the comprehensive exam, students must have completed the Health Education/Promotion Core Courses, and most of the other coursework Doctoral Dissertation - The doctoral dissertation is designed to provide students with a comprehensive and original research experience, and it requires the completion of a minimum of 12 hours of dissertation credit. Students complete credits for the dissertation after the completion of coursework and comprehensive exams. Emphasis in Epidemiology - Doctoral students wishing to pursue further training in epidemiological methods are advised to take 15 credit hours in epidemiology in addition to the required four credit hours. Specific courses are chosen by the student and his/her advisor. Nine of the 15 additional credit hours in epidemiology can be counted as the Advanced Research and Statistical Methods Electives required in the doctoral program. Thus, completion of all epidemiology courses requires taking six additional credit hours beyond the minimum required for the degree. *Required Courses* Health Education/Promotion Core Courses - 12 hours HB 730 Health Communications Research (3 hours) HB 750 Advanced Theoretical and Scientific Basis of Health Education and Health Promotion (3 hours) HB 760 Planning and Administration of Health Education and Health Promotion (3 hours) HB 770 Doctoral Studies Seminar (3 hours) Advanced Research and Statistical Methods - 16 hours EPI 610 Advanced Epidemiological Research Methods (4 hours) HB 740 Advanced Health Program Evaluation (3 hours) BST 619orSOC 701 Data Collection, Management and Analysis or Data Management and Analysis (3 hours) BST 603 or EPR 609 Regression Analysis from the Applied Perspective or Statistical methods and Research in Education (3 hours) BST 655 Applied Logistic Regression (3 hours) Evaluation/Research Methods/Statistics Electives - 9 hours* _______ Evaluation/Research Methods/Statistics Elective (3 hours) _______ Evaluation/Research Methods/Statistics Elective (3 hours) _______ Evaluation/Research Methods/Statistics Elective (3 hours) Social and Behavioral Sciences Electives - 12 hours * _______ Social and Behavioral Sciences Elective (3 hours) _______ Social and Behavioral Sciences Elective (3 hours) _______ Social and Behavioral Sciences Elective (3 hours) _______ Social and Behavioral Sciences Elective (3 hours) Research Internship - 12 hours HB 798 Doctoral-Level Directed Research (12 hours) Dissertation Research in Health Education/Promotion - 12 hours HB 799 Doctoral Dissertation Research 12 hours Total 73 hours * Students are free to choose from a number of courses that qualify for this specialization area. These courses must be selected in coordination with the faculty advisor. All must be 500-level or higher.		Health Behavior homepage Degree Programs Course Descriptions Active Research Projects Faculty Directory Staff Directory Contact Information UAB School of Public Health homepage Links to other public health education agencies Search the Health Behavior website