The MSPH-to-PhD program is designed for students with a bachelor’s degree who want to pursue a doctoral degree and a career in research. This program is limited to fall admission only and is only available to full-time students.
Academic Pathway
Students enrolled in the Health Behavior MSPH-to-PhD program complete 84 credit hours of required course work. 50 of those course credits (plus 4 practicum credits for the research/paper practicum) must be completed before the MSPH is conferred. Courses in year 1 consist of MPH core courses that focus on foundational knowledge in public health and health behavior. In years 2 and 3, MSPH-to-PhD students enroll in doctoral required courses in the competency areas of a) theoretical foundations of health behavior, b) research methods, c) interventions, and d) professional development, as well as elective courses.
Requirements for the MSPH
- Fifty public-health course credits
- A research practicum culminating in a publishable manuscript
- Pass the master’s level comprehensive examination
Requirements for the PhD
- Additional doctoral-level course credits
- Two doctoral-level practica
- Pass written and oral doctoral comprehensive examinations
- Dissertation – original research on a contemporary public health problem relevant to health behavior (Recent Dissertations List (PDF))
