Community Health Sciences, PhD

Melinda Sothern, PhD
Professor and Program Director

The Doctor of Philosophy in Community Health Sciences is an advanced program of study designed primarily for those who intend to pursue careers involving research, teaching, and professional practice to promote health, prevent disease and improve the quality of life. The program advocates an ecological approach to understanding determinants of health. The diverse education and cultural backgrounds of the faculty are linked by their collective reliance on this approach.

This program will train students to: 1) conduct original research to identify and examine individual and social determinants of health, illness, and disease; 2) design, implement and evaluate multi-level interventions to promote health, prevent disease and reduce health disparities; and 3) translate knowledge derived from research into public health practice. The curriculum includes coursework, research and practical instruction in community health promotion, health education, systems thinking, research and intervention design including traditional (experimental) and applied (community-based participatory) approaches, as well as statistical methods and data analysis and interpretation. Doctoral students also gain expertise through participation in a formal teaching practicum. Each student will be required to complete a dissertation based on independent empirical research that generates knowledge and promotes innovation in the field of public health.