Overview

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Social and Behavioral Health Sciences

Patrick R. Clifford, Ph.D., Doctoral Coordinator

For more information about the concentration of social and behavioral health sciences, please visit: https://sph.rutgers.edu/concentrations/social-behavioral-health-sciences/degrees-phd.html.

At the School of Public Health in New Brunswick

The Ph.D. degree requires a minimum of 72 credits for completion. Candidates for the Ph.D. are expected to enroll full time and are required to participate in the Doctoral Colloquium each fall and spring semester, fulfill a teaching experience, be immersed in research, complete qualifying written and oral qualifying examinations, as well as complete and defend original dissertation research. A specific course of study is followed by all Ph.D. students during the first year of full-time study with specialization courses (minimum 15 credits) completed during the second year of full-time study. Ph.D. students then begin their dissertation research in the third year of full-time study.

Through doctoral-level research, Ph.D. 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 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 the Doctoral Committee.