The doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.) degree program requires a minimum of 72 credits for completion. Candidates are
required to complete qualifying written and oral examinations in major and
minor areas (if applicable), as well as complete and defend original
dissertation research. Through doctoral level research, the students will
develop expertise on a single topic, design and implement a research project,
integrate and interpret complex data, and complete a comprehensive
dissertation. Students must plan this carefully. Although the students will
work closely with faculty advisers, students bear responsibility for developing
research of publishable quality. The curriculum and academic progress of all
doctoral students is monitored by a single doctoral program committee.
Ph.D. students are accepted in the departments of
Biostatistics, Environmental and Occupational Health, Epidemiology, Health
Education and Behavioral Science, and Health Systems and Policy, in New
Brunswick. The Ph.D. degree is also available in Newark through the Department
of Epidemiology with collaboration of faculty in the Department of Quantitative
Methods: Epidemiology and Biostatistics. The program is designed to be flexible and responsive to the needs of
individual students. A specific course
of study will be selected by the student in consultation with his or her major
faculty adviser and then must be approved by the doctoral committee. Typical
programs are detailed within the departments offering doctoral degrees,
although individual students may make substitutions with the written approval
of the doctoral committee.
PROGRAM
REQUIREMENTS
Each student, in consultation with his or her adviser, must develop a proposed
course of study, or curriculum, meet a residency requirement, fulfill a
teaching experience, pass a qualifying exam, and defend a dissertation. The
curriculum must total a minimum of 72 credits including a minimum of 24
credits of doctoral research. The curriculum must include specification of both
a major area of study and the option to select a minor area of study. Each area
of concentration may develop its own set of required and elective courses. Once
developed, the student's curriculum is presented to the doctoral committee. The
committee makes a recommendation to the chair who must approve the curriculum
in writing prior to appointment of a qualifying examination committee. A
student's entire course of study, including thesis research and defense, must
be completed within nine years of admission to the doctoral program.
PRELIMINARY EXAM (FOR DEPARTMENT OF BIOSTATISTICS ONLY)
The preliminary examination is an in-class written exam. The
purpose of the preliminary examination for Dr.P.H. and Ph.D. students within
the Department of Biostatistics is to determine a student's readiness
to pursue the advanced level of biostatistics theory and methods. This
examination (given once a year, usually in May) will be
administered to all students in the doctoral program regardless of
their prior statistical training. Students who have not yet attained a
master's degree in statistics or equivalent upon enrollment in the
program will take the exam after they have completed the required
preliminary courses during the first semester year. The preliminary exam
is a precondition for a student to formally enter the doctoral
curriculum.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
All
doctoral students must serve as a teaching assistant for at least one semester.
If a student can document sufficient teaching experience at the graduate school
level, the chair of the doctoral committee may waive this requirement.
RESIDENCY
Please consult each department's residency requirement.
QUALIFYING EXAMINATION
The adviser, together with the chair of the doctoral committee, is responsible
for proposing a qualifying examination committee and providing guidance for the
student's preparation for that exam. The campus office staff will schedule the
qualifying examination. As a student nears completion of his or her approved
curriculum, the adviser shall propose to the chair of the doctoral program a
committee to administer the qualifying examination to the student. This
committee will be made up of at least four members of the Rutgers School of
Public Health and will include: the adviser, who has primary responsibility for
the student's major; a faculty member responsible for the student's minor (if
applicable); a faculty member responsible for questions on general public
health; and the chair of the doctoral program or his or her designee. The School of Public Health's associate dean in New Brunswick may serve as an ad hoc member of
the examining committee. Each of the three parts of the exam (i.e., major,
minor, general public health) will be graded on a pass/fail basis and may be
passed with up to one dissenting vote.
PUBLICATION OF DISSERTATION AND ACADEMIC DATA
After the granting of the doctorate, the Rutgers University Graduate School-New
Brunswick will have the dissertation microfilmed. The dissertation must,
therefore, be prepared with the same care as if it were to appear in printed
form. The abstract that must accompany the dissertation will be published in Dissertation Abstracts and, therefore, must be ready for publication when it is
submitted to the dean. University Microfilms of Ann Arbor, Michigan, will
microfilm the dissertation and publish the abstract. Information concerning the
preparation of the dissertation and abstract and the agreement with University
Microfilms that the candidate is to sign are available in the Office of the
Graduate School, Rutgers University–New Brunswick.
PH.D. CURRICULUM SUMMARY
Students seeking the Ph.D. degree must complete a minimum of 72 credits
and must defend a dissertation.
-
9-15 credits in core areas of public health: students in all
departments must take public health core courses
-
Approximately 33 credits of courses dependent on approved
curriculum: these courses are listed in this bulletin under the department
description
-
24 credits of doctoral research
DEPARTMENTS
OFFERING THE PH.D. DEGREE
-
Biostatistics
- Environmental and Occupational Health
- Epidemiology
- Health
Education and Behavioral Science
- Health Systems and Policy
