Sep 30, 2023

2021-2022 Graduate Catalog

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2021-2022 Graduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Public Health, Ph.D.

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College of Public Health

Major Contacts, Deadlines, and Delivery Information

Concentrations:

Biostatistics
Community and Family Health
Environmental and Occupational Health
Epidemiology
Genomics
Global Communicable Disease
Health Services Research

Also offered as a Concurrent Degrees

The base of knowledge for public health comes from a variety of disciplines, ranging from social sciences to biological sciences and business, brought together by a commitment to improve the public’s health. Thus, the field of public health is broad and is open to students from diverse academic disciplines including Health Sciences, Education, Engineering, Business, Communications, Mathematics, Social and Natural Sciences. Graduates are prepared for interdisciplinary focused public health professional careers as administrators, managers, educators, researchers, and direct service providers.

The College accommodates the working professional as well as the full-time student by offering late afternoon and evening classes, online course delivery, partnerships with international schools to expand options, a variety of graduate certificates, and a professional M.P.H. for experienced Health Care professionals.

Accreditation:

The College is accredited by the Council on Education in Public Health.

Major Research Areas:

Faculty major research areas are listed at: http://health.usf.edu/publichealth/index.htm

Admission Information

Must meet University Admission and English Proficiency requirements, as well as requirements for admission to the major, listed below.

Complete both a SOPHAS application and a USF Graduate Studies Application and pay the applicable fee for each (applicants will receive a request for the $30 fee once the SOPHAS application enters the USF system).
Transcripts
Resume or curriculum vitae
At least two formal Letters of Recommendation.
Evidence of written/analytical skills to the College of Public Health which will take two-forms:
- A graduate level term paper, thesis, or research paper of which the student is the sole author, publication on which the student is the first author; and
- A detailed personal statement of less than five pages that describes why the applicant wishes to obtain a Ph.D. degree in Public Health.

Curriculum Requirements

Total minimum hours – 55 Credit Hours Post-Master’s

Core: 13 credit hours
Concentration: 12 credit hours minimum
Electives: 12 credit hours minimum
Dissertation: 18 credit hours minimum

Prerequisites
The doctoral committee or the Concentration may require prerequisites. These courses are not included in the minimum number of hours a student needs to complete the Ph.D. and are expected to be completed early in the course of study.

Total minimum hours – 72 Credit Hours Post-Baccalaureate

MPH Core: 9 credit hours
Doctoral Core: 13 credit hours
Concentration: 12 credit hours minimum
Electives: 20 credit hours minimum
Dissertation: 18 credit hours minimum

The doctoral committee or concentration may require additional coursework, which will be specified in a plan of study developed by the student and the doctoral committee. These courses are not included in the minimum number of hours that a student needs to complete the Ph.D.

MPH Core (9 Credit Hours)

PHC 6588 History and Systems of Public Health Credit Hours:1
PHC 6756 Population Assessment: Part 1 Credit Hours: 5
PHC 6757 Population Assessment: Part 2 Credit Hours: 3

Core Courses (13 Credit Hours)

PHC 7982 Introduction to Doctoral Training in Public Health Credit Hours: 1
PHC 7154 Evidence-Informed Public Health I Credit Hours: 3
PHC 7103 Transforming Public Health Practice Credit Hours: 3
PHC 7149 Practical Applications II: Public Health Leadership Credit Hours: 1
PHC 7934 Writing for Scholarly Publication in Health Science Credit Hours: 3
HSC 7268 Professional Foundations III: Joining the Academy Credit Hours: 2

Concentration Option Requirements (12 Credit Hours Minimum)

Students select one of the following concentrations:

Biostatistics (12 Concentration Credit Hours)

PHC 6061 Biostatistical Case Studies and Collaboration II Credit Hours: 3
PHC 7098 Generalized Linear Models Credit Hours: 3
PHC 7059 Advanced Survival Data Analysis Credit Hours: 3
PHC 7056 Longitudinal Data Analysis Credit Hours: 3

Community and Family Health (12 Concentration Credit Hours)

PHC 7405 Theoretical Application to Public Health Issues Credit Hours: 3
PHC 7702 Advanced Public Health Research and Evaluation Methods Credit Hours: 3
PHC 7704 Applied Research Methods in Community and Family Health Credit Hours: 3
PHC 7152 Policy and Practice in Community and Family Health Credit Hours: 3

Environmental and Occupational Health (12 Concentration Credit Hours)

PHC 6310 Environmental Occupational Toxicology Credit Hours: 3
PHC 7317 Risk Communication in Public Health Credit Hours: 3
And six (6) additional hours of graduate coursework selected with the Graduate Advisor

Epidemiology (12 Concentration Credit Hours)

PHC 7045 Practical Issues in Epidemiology Credit Hours: 3
PHC 6021 Fundamentals of Clinical Trials Credit Hours: 3
PHC 7703 Advanced Research Methods in Epidemiology Credit Hours: 3
Select three credits from the following:
HSC 6055 Survival Analysis Credit Hours: 3
PHC 7056 Longitudinal Data Analysis Credit Hours: 3

Genomics Concentration (12 Credit Hours)

PHC 6597 Quantitative Genomics and Genetics Credit Hours: 3
PHC 7735 Introduction to Biocomputing Credit Hours: 3
PHC 7736 Applied Computational Genomics Credit Hours: 3
And three (3) additional hours of graduate coursework selected with the Graduate Advisor

Global Communicable Disease (12 Concentration Credit Hours Minimum)

Select at least six (6) credits of the following courses and six (6) additional hours of graduate coursework selected with the Graduate Advisor. Course choices should be approved following consultation with the student’s committee. Course substitutions will be permitted with the student committee’s approval.

ANG 6701 Contemporary Applied Anthropology Credit Hours: 3
ANG 6732 Global Health from an Anthropological Perspective Credit Hours: 3
ANG 6469 Selected Topics in Medical Anthropology Credit Hours: 3
BSC 6932 Selected Topics in Biology Credit Hours: 1-4 (3 credits for this program) (Proteomics)
GIS 6306 Environmental Applications of Geographic Information Systems Credit Hours: 3
GIS 6038C Remote Sensing Credit Hours: 3
GMS 6101 Molecular and Cellular Immunology Credit Hours: 3-4 (3 credits for this program)
GMS 6110 Microbial Pathogenesis and Host-Parasite Interactions Credit Hours: 3
GMS 7930 Selected Topics Credit Hours: 1-3 (2 credits for this program) (Medical Parasitology & Mycology)
PCB 6525 Molecular Genetics Credit Hours: 3
PHC 6010 Epidemiology Methods I Credit Hours: 3
PHC 6106 Global Health Program Development and Administration Credit Hours: 3
PHC 6190 Public Health Database Management Credit Hours: 3
PHC 6251 Disease Surveillance and Monitoring Credit Hours: 3
PHC 6373 Protecting Public Health: Bioterrorism/Biodefense Credit Hours: 3
PHC 6442 Global Health Applications in the Field Credit Hours: 3
PHC 6511 Public Health Immunology Credit Hours: 3
PHC 6512 Vectors of Human Disease Credit Hours: 3
PHC 6513 Public Health Parasitology Credit Hours: 3
PHC 6761 Global Health Assessment Strategies Credit Hours: 3
PHC 6764 Global Health Principles and Contemporary Issues Credit Hours: 3
PHC 6194 Public Health Geographic Information Systems Credit Hours: 3
PHC 7908 Specialized Study in Public Health Credit Hours: 1-9 (3 credits for this program)
PHC 7122 Vaccinology Credit Hours: 3
PHC 7935 Special Topics in Public Health Credit Hours: 1-3 (3 credits for this program) (Field Methods I: EcoHealth & Ecology)
PHC 7935 Special Topics in Public Health Credit(s): 1-3 (3 credits for this program) (Infection Control in Developing Countries)

Health Services Research (12 Concentration Credit Hours)

QMB 7565 Introduction to Research Methods Credit Hours: 3
QMB 7566 Applied Multivariate Statistical Methods Credit Hours: 3
PHC 7936 Seminar in Health Care Outcomes Measurement Credit Hours: 3
PHC 7437 Applications in Health Economics Credit Hours: 3

Electives (12 Credit Hours Minimum)

All students complete a minimum of 12 credit hours of electives. Students in the post-bac option must complete a minimum of 20 credit hours. Students in the following concentration must take additional graduate electives as noted above in the concentration section:

Environmental and Occupational Health - 6 additional hours

Genomics - 3 additional hours
Global Communicable Disease - 6 additional hours

Teaching
All doctoral students will demonstrate or document proficiency in teaching academic courses at the university level.

Qualifying Exam

When all required coursework is satisfactorily completed (including tools of research and prerequisites), the student must pass a comprehensive qualifying examination covering the subject matter in the major and related fields. The concentration will set the specific criteria.

The qualifying exam will comprise of 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 concentration, college, and university guidelines.

The Doctoral Supervisory Committee will have up to three weeks to review the exam and determine the outcome of either Pass or Fail. No more than two 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 three- months of completion of remedial work. If the student earns a Fail on the first attempt, and the Commttee determines that no remedial work is needed, the student will have a second attempt to pass which must be initiated within three 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 qualfying exam and appropriate paperwork is submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies, the student is admitted to candidacy and may register for dissertation hours.

Dissertation (18 Credit Hours Minimum)

All students must follow the University’s “Guidelines for Dissertations and Theses” found at https://www.usf.edu/graduate-studies/students/electronic-thesis-dissertation/index.aspx. The Dissertation must conform to one of the following two available options per USF degree requirements. For details, consult the USF Graduate Catalog Degree Requirements Section.

Option 1: Traditional format inclusive of Part 1 Perliminary Pages, Part II Text, Part III References/Appendices, Part IV About the Author.
Option 2: Collection of articles/papers instead of chapters inclusive of Part I Preliminary Pages, Part II Collection of Articles/Papers, Part III References/Appendices.

After the Doctoral Dissertation Committee has determined that the final draft of the Dissertation is suitable for presentation, the Committee will request the scheduling and announcement of the Dissertation Defense. Consistent with USF Graduate Degree Requirements, a copy of the announcement should be sent to the USF Office of Graduate Studies and posted in a public forum preferably two weeks in advance of the defense date.

In addition, the Concentration in Biostatistics and the Concentration in Epidemiology have additional format requirements. Consult with the dissertation committee and concentration lead or information on the format options and requirements for these two concentrations.

Guidelines for student progress:
Each Ph.D. student will undergo an annual review consistent with concetration guidelines. A summary of the annual review will be provided to the student and placed in the student’s advising file.

PHC 7980 Dissertation Credit Hours: 2-19 (18 credits for this program) (Doctorate)

Concurrent Degree

Also available as a Concurrent Degree

University of South Florida

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