Welcome to the PhD Program at the College of Public Health!
The PhD Program
The PhD prepares advanced practice professionals for leadership roles in practice‐based settings such as health departments, non‐profit organizations, health services, international agencies, and community‐based organizations. Accordingly, the emphasis of the DrPH is placed on fostering advanced expertise and leadership in developing, implementing, and evaluating evidence‐based public health practice
is granted in recognition of high attainment in a specific field of knowledge. It is a research degree and is not conferred solely upon the earning of credit, the completion of courses, or the acquiring of a number of terms of residency, but also the successful completion of scholarly work. The length of residency and the requirements below are minimums; programs/colleges may elect to establish more rigorous requirements.
Expand | ||
---|---|---|
| ||
The mission of the PhD degree is to prepare public health professionals to make substantive contributions to public health inquiry and practice. This mission relates directly to the University of South Florida mission, which includes creating a community of learners together with significant and sustainable university‐community partnerships and collaborations, as well as designing, strengthening and building sustainable healthy communities and improving quality of life. |
Expand | ||
---|---|---|
| ||
Prerequisites The doctoral committee or the department may require prerequisites. These courses are not included in the minimum number of hours a student needs to complete the PhD and are expected to be completed early in the course of study. Required Course Work
The courses and number of credit hours required are defined by the department and the doctoral committee and include course work from another department or college. Generally, the doctoral degree requires a minimum of 90 credits beyond the bachelor's degree. Departments determine the number of credits accepted from previous master(s) degree. Tools of Research Tools of research may be required by the department. Departmental Guidelines will address whether they are required for doctoral students within that department (consistency within the department required). If required, the student must complete a minimum of two of the "Tools of Research" options designated by the department, and approved by the doctoral committee before the student is eligible to take the doctoral qualifying examination. The Tools of Research may include a wide range of skills or competencies relevant to research in the discipline not ordinarily part of the program of study, such as programming languages and application packages or other skills relevant to the area of study. The department will determine if credit hours taken to fulfill the Tools of Research will be credited toward the program of study. Teaching All doctoral students will demonstrate or document proficiency in teaching academic courses at the university level. The doctoral committee will determine the required teaching activities or if previous university teaching is sufficient to exempt the student from further teaching experience. Qualifying Exam When all required coursework is satisfactorily completed (including tools of research and prerequisites), the student must pass a written comprehensive qualifying examination covering the subject matter in the major and related fields. The department sets the specific criteria. The qualifying exam will comprise a written portion and may include an oral component. The exam will cover at least three major areas including: a) Broad area of public health; b)Focus area of study; c) Research methods. The student may have no longer than 10 weeks to complete the exam upon receipt of the exam from the Doctoral Supervisory Committee. The format and duration of the qualifying exam is the responsibility of the Doctoral Supervisory Committee following consultation with the student and consistent with departmental college and university guidelines. The Doctoral Supervisory Committee will have up to 3 weeks to review the exam and determine the outcome of either Pass or Fail. No more than 2 attempts will be allowed for the student to take the qualifying exam and earn a Pass. If the student receives a Fail on the qualifying exam on the first attempt and the Doctoral Supervisory Committee recommends that the student complete remedial work. the second attempt at the qualifying exam must be initiated within 3-months of completion of remedial work. If the student earns a Fail on the first attempt, and the committee determines that no remedial work is needed the student will have a second attempt to pass which must be initiated within 3-months. If the student does not earn a Pass on the qualifying exam on his/her second attempt. the student will not be admitted into doctoral candidacy. After successful completion of the qualifying exam and appropriate paperwork is submitted to Graduate School, the student is admitted to candidacy and may register for dissertation hours. Dissertation All students must follow the University’s “Guidelines for Dissertation and Theses” found at http://www.grad.usf.edu/thesis.php. The Dissertation must conform to one of the following two available options per USF degree requirements:
For details, please refer to the latest version of the USF Tampa Graduate Catalog. Guidelines for students in progress Each PhD student will undergo an annual review consistent with departmental guidelines. A summary of the annual review will be provided to the student and placed in the student's advising file. Note: In order to be considered for admission to the PhD Program in Public Health, applicants must be fully prepared to register as full-time students for at least one full academic year (consecutive fall and spring semesters). |
Expand | ||
---|---|---|
| ||
Expand | ||
---|---|---|
| ||
Expand | ||
---|---|---|
| ||
The University of South Florida is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of College and Schools (SACS). The College of Public Health degree programs are fully accredited by the Council on Education in Public Health (CEPH). |
The PhD Guidebook
This PhD Guidebook has four sections, linked below and on the upper left of this page. Follow these four steps to work through your program.
- Get started in the PhD program
- Plan your PhD program of study
- Register for PhD courses
- Complete the PhD requirements
Get Assistance
Navigating your PhD experience can be challenging at times, and we are here to help. This guidebook walks you through the basic steps from your first semester to graduation. Please reach out to us with any questions you have.
Expand | ||
---|---|---|
| ||
|
Expand | ||
---|---|---|
| ||
All COPH and USF forms that you will need are located on this page: http://health.usf.edu/publichealth/forms.html |
Expand | ||
---|---|---|
| ||
Please go to this link for information on a variety of student resources available to you as a student of USF: Student Resources |
...