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Degree: Doctor of Philosophy in Public Health
USF Department code: DEA
Program (Major/College): PPH PH
Concentrations: Global Communicable Diseases (TCD)
COPH Department: Global Health

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PhD in Public Health with a Concentration in Global Communicable Diseases

The Department of Global Health's Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.PhD) program is offered through the Global Communicable Disease track. Graduates of the doctoral program will be qualified to conduct fundamental and applied research in identification, evaluation and prevention of tropical and communicable diseases. The Department offers a distinguished teaching and research program which provides a sound basis for doctoral study. Please review individual faculty web pages for an overview of faculty research interests.

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  1. Define and formulate a research hypothesis that will provide information aimed at improving the health of individuals and communities with a focus on, but not confined to tropical infectious disease research;
  2. Develop and apply laboratory and field methodologies to test a research hypothesis, including quality assurance/quality control techniques and statistical methods that test the validity and significance of research data;
  3. Demonstrate the oral and writing skills, and experimental design, worthy of defending a dissertation and publication in academic and professional journals;
  4. Work as a productive member of a research team and collaborative in writing research proposals to obtain extramural funding to support research projects; and
  5. Demonstrate ethical considerations in the practice, management and publication of research results 

Degree Details

Expand
titleAdmission Process and Acceptance

Students applying for the Ph.D. PhD in Public Health must follow the admission process detailed on the COPH Application Procedures web page. Applicants to the Global Health doctoral program must meet the following minimum criteria in order to be considered for admission.   However, the meeting of these criteria, per se, shall not be the only basis for admission.

  1. GRE test preferred scores and grade point average for the Doctor of Philosophy degree. Exceptional students with a bachelor's degree may be considered.
  2. In order to be considered for admission to the Ph.D. PhD programs in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, applicants must be prepared to register as a full-time student for at least one academic year. Students are expected to participate in the intellectual life of the department though interaction via seminars, interdisciplinary conferences and other activities. This expectation is of all doctoral students regardless of their status as full or part-time students.
  3. See Degree Admission Criteria for the Ph.D.PhD for the full set of criteria for consideration.

The completed application package will include:

  1. Completed SOPHAS application
  2. A complete set of official transcripts (sent to SOPHAS)
  3. GRE test scores (sent to SOPHAS)
  4. Two outside letters of recommendation submitted by individuals qualified to judge the applicant (sent to SOPHAS)
  5. One letter of recommendation from a departmental faculty member (sent to SOPHAS)

Review by the Department Admissions Committee:

  1. Determination of student eligibility
  2. Determination of availability of resources (faculty advisors, research support)
  3. Applicants who are passed through these first two steps will be interviewed. This provides the students an opportunity to learn about prospective advisor(s) and to meet with the Department Admission Committee.
  4. Letter of Support and agreement to serve as advisor written by an eligible departmental faculty member and placed in the applicant’s file (serves as third letter of recommendation and obligates faculty member to provide or ensure financial support of student’s doctoral research).
  5. Student is notified of acceptance or rejection and availability of advisors for the student. If more than one faculty member has volunteered to be the advisor, the student may schedule an additional meeting if needed to arrive at a final decision.

The final decision is based on:

  1. Qualification experience and References
  2. Direction and areas of interest
  3. Available faculty
  4. Available resources

Upon acceptance to the Doctoral Program

Each student shall sign a letter of understanding regarding the five stages in the doctoral degree process:

  1. Successful completion of a written plan of study which was approved by their doctoral committee (generally by the end of student's second full semester of study);
  2. Successful performance on the comprehensive written and oral examination leading to doctoral candidacy;
  3. Preparation and formal defense of a dissertation proposal;
  4. Conduct of dissertation research activities and preparation of dissertation documents;
  5. Successful defense of dissertation; and
  6. Successful completion of teaching proficiency as outlined by the doctoral committee.

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Expand
titleDoctoral Plan of Study

Note: You may choose a plan of study that corresponds to the academic year of your admission or any year thereafter.  Please see the guidelines below.

Plan of Study by Year:2015/16 and previous years
 

 

Expand
titleUSF Guidelines on Choosing a Plan of Study
 

A minimum of 90 semester hours beyond the bachelor's degree are required. During the first year of study, the student and the Doctoral committee will agree upon a planned program of courses suitable to the student's research interest and which will provide the student the required competencies in the area of specialization. This Plan of Study and any subsequent revisions must be approved by the doctoral advisory committee and must be filed with the College's Academic and Student Affairs Office promptly. Applicants must register as full time students (a minimum of 9 credits per semester of substantive course work) for at least two consecutive semesters during their program). Courses offered by other colleges may be used when appropriate.

The student's plan of study will include the following components:

Prerequisites: The doctoral committee or the department may require prerequisites. A student who has a master's degree may be required to take those public health courses which have not been included in previous master's study. These courses are not included in the minimum number of hours a student needs to complete the Ph.D. PhD and are expected to be completed early in the course of study. Doctoral student will be required to take a more advanced biostatistics course than PHC 6050.

Tools of Research: Before a student becomes eligible to take the doctoral comprehensive qualifying examination, two of the "Tools of Research" selected and approved by the student's Doctoral Committee must be completed. Courses taken to fulfill "Tools of Research" requirements may not be credited toward the 90 SH requirement for the Ph.D. PhD degree. The "Tools of Research" requirement is interpreted broadly to allow the inclusion of a wide range of skills competencies relevant to the candidate's area of study. Suggested topics include foreign language, advanced courses in Computer Science, (Bio) Statistics, special practical training complimentary to the student's area of research and other appropriate courses. The Doctoral Committee will state clearly what is required, how it will be met, in what way it is appropriate for the student's course of study, as well as how proficiency/competency will be evaluated.

Seminars: Doctoral students will be expected to participate in the department's Interdisciplinary Conferences and shall present at least twice during their course of study. All doctoral students take a minimum of three semester (one credit per semester) of a college wide Advanced Interdisciplinary Seminar in Public Health (PHC 7931).

Required Course Work: The courses and number of credit hours required are defined by the doctoral committee and may include course work from another department or college. There must be a minimum of 13 credits beyond at the 7000 level.   Generally, the doctoral degree requires a minimum of 90 credits beyond the bachelor's degree. "Tools of Research" and Public Health Core Courses are not included in this 90 credit requirement. The doctoral committee shall delineate in the plan of study the number of credits accepted from previous master(s) degree which will not exceed a maximum of 30.

 

Courses

Credits

Core Courses

9

Advanced Interdisciplinary Seminar

3

Advanced Biostatistics Course

3

Required courses for concentration area or equivalent

12

Required doctoral level courses (7000 level)

13

Elective Courses

 

Directed Research

 

Dissertation (minimum)

18

Evidence of teaching proficiency

 

Tools of research (2 areas)

 

Minimum Credits: Additional coursework beyond 90 credits may be required of the student as specified in the plan of study

90

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Expand
titleTeaching and Assistantships
  

Teaching

All Ph.D. PhD candidates are required to teach as part of their training. The teaching experiences should include, but not be limited to:

  1. Presentation of seminars;
  2. Assisting with class preparation;
  3. Giving classroom lectures or presentations;
  4. Teaching online courses;
  5. Presentation of research findings at local and /or national meetings

Students entering the doctoral program with significant teaching experience at the University level may have all or part of this requirement waived or substituted by their committee.

Assistantships

The Department has a limited number of assistantships for Ph.D. PhD students. Students should apply to the Global Health Department's Academic Coordinator.

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