Community Health Ph.D.
The OHSU-PSU School of Public Health PhD program in Community Health is intended to provide students with advanced training in conducting research and developing instruction skills in public health, with a specific focus on the social and behavioral determinants of health. The program curriculum is complemented by an interdisciplinary faculty that has educational backgrounds in public health and in other disciplines such as communication, social work, and sociology. The curriculum includes intensive training in research methodology, epidemiologic research design, qualitative approaches, statistical analyses, theory, two years of enrollment in a doctoral seminar course, and elective courses to form a focused area of emphasis.
Students in the Community Health PhD program will master the following competencies by graduation.
Program Competencies
- Identify gaps in the field of Community Health by critically analyzing relevant peer-reviewed literature.
- Apply appropriate theoretical frameworks to topics relevant to the field of Community Health, including pedagogical theory in the context of teaching.
- Utilize pertinent research design, analytic methods, and interpretation of results to address timely research questions in the field of Community Health.
- Evaluate the impact of social, cultural and contextual factors on health outcomes.
- Effectively disseminate Community Health knowledge and research findings to public, professional, and student audiences using multiple modes of communication.
- Demonstrate ethical conduct and cultural competence in research design, analysis, dissemination, and critique.
Students take a series of core health and research methods courses as well as elective courses, approved by the student’s advisor, to form an area of emphasis related to the student's interests. Upon successful completion of coursework, students must pass a comprehensive exam comprised of both written and oral components. Before advancing to PhD candidacy, students must complete and defend a dissertation proposal. Students then design, implement, and analyze a research project. The final product is a written dissertation with an oral defense of the dissertation work. In summary, the award of the PhD degree in Community Health from the OHSU-PSU School of public health is the culmination of the following benchmarks:
- Coursework requirements, included mentored research credit hours and dissertation credit hours
- Comprehensive examination
- Dissertation proposal and defense
- Advancement to candidacy
- Doctoral dissertation and defense
Students admitted with a Master’s Degree in Public Health take will take the required coursework as shown. Students admitted with an undergraduate degree or a graduate degree other than a Master in Public Health will be required to take EPI 512 Epidemiology I, PHE 511 Foundations of Public Health, and BSTA 525 Introduction to Biostatistics as electives.
Students must follow the requirements in place upon matriculation. Should program requirements change during a student’s tenure, the student may discuss the possibility of adopting newer requirements with the Program Director; however, the allowance of any alterations from the program in place upon matriculation is at the Program Director’s discretion.
Degree Requirements
Required Health Courses
| PHE 612 | Advanced Principles of Health Behavior | 3 |
| PHE 524 | Social Epidemiology Methods & Theory | 3 |
| PHE 546 | Urban and Community Health | 3 |
| ESHH 511 | Concepts of Environmental Health | 3 |
| PHE 622 | Health and Social Inequalities | 3 |
| PHE 623 | Doctoral Seminar in Health Research | 1 |
| PHE 626/SW 626 | Teaching and Learning in Health Promotion & Social Work | 3 |
| HSMP 671 | Health Policy | 3 |
| HSMP 674 | Health Systems Organization | 3 |
Students are required to be enrolled in the 1-credit per quarter PHE 623 Doctoral Seminar in Health Research for a total of 6 credits during the first two years (6 quarters) of the program. The Doctoral Seminar in Health Research will meet weekly with a faculty instructor on topics such as the critical evaluation of health research, hypothesis generation, publication and review process, grant application process, and program requirements.
Elective Health Courses
Students must also take at least 10 credits of electives on health topics related to whichever of the three defined areas of emphasis the student has chosen (i.e., social and behavioral health, aging and health, or urban health) or otherwise related to the student's interests and approved by the student’s advisor.
Required Methods Courses
| PHE 520 | Qualitative Research Design | 3 |
| PHE 624 | Doctoral Research Methods in Community Health I | 3 |
| PHE 625 | Doctoral Research Methods in Community Health II | 3 |
| USP 634 | Data Analysis I | 4 |
| USP 654 | Data Analysis II | 4 |
The required methods courses will cover traditional epidemiological as well as other social science research methods. Competencies will include study design, sampling, measurement, evaluation, qualitative research and analysis.
Methods Course Electives
In addition to the required methods courses, students must enroll in at least 6 credits of methods electives. Elective course selections must be approved by the student’s advisor.
Research
Students are expected to be actively engaged in research during their program of study. This will ensure students are exposed to all levels of the research process, including hypothesis formulation, literature review, data collection, analysis, and grant and publication writing. The goal of the research experience is to educate students about applied health research through hands-on, one-on-one mentored training. The expectation is that this experience will culminate in co-authorship of peer-reviewed publication(s). Students will be enrolled in a total of 18 credits in PHE 601 Research (3 credits per term), a by-arrangement course, in which the student will work with his or her advisor (or an alternative supervisor approved by the advisor) on a research project during the second and third years of the program.
Comprehensive Exam
The written and oral comprehensive examination is taken after the student has finished all required and elective coursework. For full-time students, this exam is expected to take place during the fall term of the student’s third year. Scheduling of this exam for part-time students will be negotiated by the student and his/her advisor.
Dissertation
Upon successful completion of the comprehensive exam, the student will form a committee of 4 faculty members and a Graduate Office representative who will help guide the preparation of the dissertation proposal. After committee approval of the student’s written and oral presentation of a dissertation proposal, then approval of the project by the University Human Subjects Research Review Committee application, the student will advance to doctoral candidacy. Students must complete at least 27 credits of PHE 603 Dissertation credits, in addition to having an approved written dissertation and successful oral defense of the dissertation, to be eligible for graduation. The PHE 603 Dissertation credits are by-arrangement credits supervised by the PHE advisor or the dissertation chair (faculty within PHE). Continuous registration with a minimum of 1 PHE 603 Dissertation credit is required while engaged in dissertation research.
Other Professional Development
The core curriculum has a strong emphasis on community engagement, research mentorship, critical evaluation of research, and professional development. Doctoral students, however, are expected to do more than simply fulfill degree requirements while in the Community Health doctoral program. Some of these extracurricular activities, such as attending lecture series, workshops, and brown bag seminars, are expected of any member of the community of scholars. Other activities, such as serving as research or teaching assistants, provide opportunities for professional development, publication, presentation at conferences, and remuneration.