Health Behavior and Health Education 
Ph.D. Curriculum
Students enter the Doctoral Program in Health Behavior and Health Education after having completed a relevant Master's degree, often the Master's of Public Health (M.P.H.). Course requirements usually entail between 1.5 and 2.5 years of full-time coursework and study, depending on the student's background, desired electives, and success on the preliminary examination.
Core Curriculum
The basic core curriculum of the program consists of four doctoral seminars, a minimum of three additional substantive courses offered by the department, two courses in research methods, two advanced level courses in statistics, and two terms of supervised research experience. Students must also achieve a basic level of proficiency in biostatistics and epidemiology.
Biostatistics
Students must complete one of the following courses to fulfill the Biostatistics requirement:
An exemption may be granted for students who took a similar course at another university prior to enrolling in the Ph.D. program.
Epidemiology
Students must complete one of the following courses to meet the Epidemiology requirement:
- EPID 503 Strategies and Uses of Epidemiology
- EPID 601 Principles and Methods of Epidemiology
Doctoral Seminar Requirements
- HBEHED 685 Health Education Models of Practice and Interventions at the Community Level
- HBEHED 686 Theory-driven Interventions Targeting Individual Behavior Change
- HBEHED 800 Seminar in Health Behavior and Health Education
- HBEHED 823 Structural Influences on Health and Social Behavior
Additional HBHE Courses
Doctoral students must also take three substantive courses offered within the Department, in addition to any HBHE courses taken to satisfy the Research Methods requirement. The selection of specific courses to satisfy this requirement should be made in consultation with the student's advisor.
Advanced Statistics
The program requires a minimum of 6 hours of advanced statistics above and beyond the basic biostatistics course requirements. This requirement may be satisfied by courses offered outside the department. Students have satisfied these requirements by taking courses offered in the Biostatistics, Psychology, Sociology, and other departments across the University which are offered for graduate level credit.
Research Methods
The program requires a minimum of 6 hours of research methods. This requirement may be satisfied by courses offered inside and outside the department. Students have satisfied these requirements by taking courses offered in HBHE, Psychology and/or Sociology, and other departments across the University which are offered for graduate level credit.
Research Experience
The intent of the research experience requirement is to enable the student to obtain "hands on" training in one or more ongoing research projects. Students are expected to participate in supervised research for at least two terms (the equivalent of 6 credit hours). This research can be conducted under the direction of a faculty member from either inside or outside the department, and should be arranged in consultation with the student's faculty advisor.
Cognate
The Rackham Graduate School requires that all students select a cognate area to provide the student with more in-depth training in a specific field of study outside of that offered in the home department. The faculty advisor should guide the student in selecting the cognate area. Students are encouraged to make plans for their cognate areas by the end of their first year.
The HBHE cognate requirement is fulfilled by 9 hours of coursework in the chosen area (usually 3 courses – none of which are in or cross-listed with HBHE). Cognate areas chosen by previous students have included Social Psychology, Women's Studies, Communications, Aging, Population Studies, Public Policy, Native American Studies, and Business Administration to name a few.
Electives
In addition to fulfilling the core and cognate requirements, students will take additional coursework selected on the basis of their own backgrounds and interests. Any course in the department can be taken as an elective, but some courses have been designated with differing requirements for doctoral and MPH students.
NOTE: Elective courses do not include courses used to satisfy any of the other aforementioned requirements.
For more information please refer to the HBHE Doctoral Handbook.
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