Department of Public Health Education
Curriculum
General Degree Requirements (courses and hours)Sample programs of study for full-time and part-time students
Grades required
Transfer credits
Other degree requirements
Language and research requirements
Time limits for completion
General Degree Requirements
- Required Public Health Core Courses: maximum 12 hours (HEA 601, 602, 604, 608, and 645 or the equivalent)
- Required Health Education Core Courses: maximum 18 hours
- Required Research Courses: maximum 30 hours
- HEA or Related Electives: maximum 15 hours
- Dissertation: 15 hours
Total hours required
Minimum 63 semester credit hours, including dissertation, when entering with a MPH degree, those without the MPH will be required to take any public health core courses not already completed, the student´s program is planned jointly by the student and her or his program committee.
The Department of Public Health Education will offer a graduate program leading to a Doctor of Public Health in community health education after 63 hours (minimum) of post-masters degree coursework. Entering doctoral students who have not completed one or more of the core public health courses must complete these courses as part of their program in addition to the minimum 63 credit hours. Students with a master´s degree other than in public health may be required to take health or health-related elective courses in addition to the 63 minimum credit hours. All students must take courses in the Health Education Core and the Research Core segments of the curriculum. Assessment of other courses or experiences applicable to the degree occurs at the time of admission into the program. These requirements must be fulfilled in addition to the minimum of 48 hours of course work and 15 hours dissertation research work listed below (total of 63 hours minimum).
The student´s doctoral program committee will work with each candidate to develop a course of study within the framework of the program, and informed by the student´s personal interests, past coursework, and professional experiences.
Total Hours Required is minimum 63 Semester Credit Hours. A maximum of 21 hours of transfer credit (not to exceed 1/3 of non-dissertation credit hours) may be accepted with approval of the Dr. P.H. program director and program committee among those courses not previously used for another degree, and/or post-masters, and/or from other doctoral training programs.
Degree Requirements with and without Prior Master's of Public Health Degree (all requirements post-masters)
Course Credit Hours (no MPH) |
Course Credit Hours (with MPH) |
Cumulative
Credit Hours |
||
Public Health Core (15) |
||||
HEA 601 |
Principles of Community Health Education |
3 |
15/0 |
|
HEA 602 |
Epidemiology |
3 |
||
HEA 604 |
Public Health Statistics |
3 |
||
HEA 608 |
Environmental Health |
3 |
||
HEA 645 |
Health Policy |
3 |
||
Research Core (33) |
||||
HEA 751 |
Foundations of Research in Public Health Education |
3 |
3 |
48/33 |
HEA 752 |
Quantitative Methods in Public Health |
3 |
3 |
|
HEA 753 |
Qualitative Methods in Public Health |
3 |
3 |
|
ERM 680 or equivalent |
Intermediate Statistical Methods in Education |
3 |
3 |
|
ERM 681 or equivalent |
Design and Analysis of Educational Experiments |
3 |
3 |
|
ERM 667 or equivalent |
Foundations of Educational Measurement Theory |
3 |
3 |
|
HEA 755 |
Community Research Practicum |
12 |
12 |
|
HEA 765 |
Advanced Program Evaluation in Public Health Education |
3 |
3 |
|
Health-related
Electives (15), Minimum 6 semester hours of HEA courses (examples, see
|
||||
HEA 609 |
Community Health Interventions |
3 |
3 |
63/48 |
HEA 612 |
Management of Community Health Organizations |
3 |
3 |
|
HEA 617 |
Conflict Resolution and
|
3 |
3 |
|
HEA 622 |
Social Epidemiology |
3 |
3 |
|
HEA 640 |
Global Health Issues |
3 |
3 |
|
HEA 666 |
Health Communication |
3 |
3 |
|
HEA 671 |
Immigrant and Refugee Health |
3 |
3 |
|
HEA 676 |
Problems Seminar: Health and Aging |
3 |
3 |
|
HEA 758 |
Advanced Theoretical Basis for Community Health Education |
3 |
3 |
|
HEA 759 |
Community Based Health Education Research |
3 |
3 |
|
HEA 760 |
Teaching in Community Health Education (required for GTAs) |
3 |
3 |
|
ESS 745 |
Social Psychology and Physical Activity |
3 |
3 |
|
HDF 710 |
The Ecology of Human Development |
3 |
3 |
|
PSC 620 |
Urban Development Policy |
3 |
3 |
|
NTR 643 |
Nutrition and Aging |
3 |
3 |
|
Dissertation (15) |
||||
HEA 799 |
Dissertation |
15 |
15 |
78/63 |
Additional Requirements
Foreign Language |
No requirement |
Transfer credit |
A maximum of 21 hours of transfer credit (not to exceed 1/3 of total credit hours, if without MPH) may be accepted with approval of the Dr. P.H. program director and program committee |
Advisory/Dissertation Committee structure |
Four committee members with no more than one member (not committee chair) from outside the Department of Public Health Education |
Written Preliminary Examination |
Written examination in the major after completion of a minimum of two years of full-time or four years of part-time study |
Oral Preliminary Examination |
Following completion of written preliminary examination. |
Proposal Defense |
Following successful completion of written and oral preliminary examination |
Dissertation |
15 semester hours of HEA 799 |
Dissertation Defense |
Following completion of the dissertation |
A Sample Program of Study – Full-Time Student, with MPH
YEAR |
FALL SEMESTER |
SPRING SEMESTER |
1st Year |
HEA 760 (3): Teaching in Community Health Education |
|
1st Year |
HEA 751 (3): Foundations of Research |
HEA 6xx (3): Health Elective |
HEA 755 (3): Community Research Practicum |
HEA 752 (3): Quantitative Methods |
|
HEA 759 (3): Community-based Prevention Research |
HEA 755 (3): Community Research Practicum |
|
ERM 680 (3): Intermediate Statistical Methods in Education |
||
2nd Year |
ERM 681 (3): Design and Analysis of Educational Experiments |
HEA 755 (3): Community Research Practicum |
HEA 758 (3): Advanced Theoretical Basis for Community Health Education |
HEA 6xx (3): Health Elective |
|
HEA 753 (3): Qualitative Methods |
ERM 667 (3): Foundations of Educational Measurement Theory |
|
HEA 755 (3): Community Research Practicum |
||
3rd Year |
HEA 765 (3): Advanced Program Evaluation |
HEA 6xx (3): Health Elective |
HEA 6xx (3): Health Elective |
HEA 799 (3): Dissertation |
|
4th Year |
HEA 799 (6): Dissertation |
HEA 799 (6): Dissertation |
Dissertation Defense |
Grades Required
Students must maintain a 3.0 average in course work to proceed in the doctoral program and to be eligible to proceed to the writing of a dissertation. Grades in all courses applied toward the doctorate must be B or better with additional hours taken for any hours earned with a letter grade of B- or below. Students will become academically ineligible when any of the following occur in course work of an approved program of study: (1) grades of F or WF in any two courses; (2) grades of B- or below in nine semester hours, (3) a grade of F or WF in combination with six hours of B- or below grades; or (4) the minimum 3.0 average is not achieved within the minimum number of semester hours required for the degree.
Amount of transfer credit accepted
Students may request that up to but no more than 21 graduate credits (not to exceed 1/3 of non-dissertation credit hours) be applied toward the 63 course credit required for the Dr. P.H. Transfer credit must also satisfy the same requirements as courses taught for doctoral training within the department (e.g., minimum grade of B), be consonant with the student´s approved program of study, and have been received from an accredited graduate institution. Thesis and dissertation credits will not be applied.
The student must provide documentation in support of equivalence, such as a course syllabus, transcript, term paper, and/or instructor testimony. Equivalence is determined by the director of the doctoral program and the student´s program committee in consultation with the instructor of the equivalent course at UNC-CH if necessary. Final signed approval is documented by the director of the doctoral program and placed in the student's departmental file. Credit reductions do not influence the residency and enrollment requirements or comprehensive examination procedures.
Other requirements
(e.g., residence, Comprehensive exams, thesis, dissertation, clinical or field experience, and "second major").Residence
The Dr. P.H. program requires a minimum of two consecutive academic years, excluding summer terms, of graduate work on this campus after admission to the doctoral program.
Preliminary Written/Oral Examination (Graduate School requirement)
Each student will form a program committee during the first year of graduate
course work. The committee will be composed of four members, with no more than
one member (not the committee chair) from outside the Department of PHE.
The Written Preliminary Examination is prepared by the Committee Chair in consultation with other members of the student's Program Committee. The examination will be administered after the student has completed the Health Education and Research Core courses and may cover any phase of graduate course work taken by the student or knowledge basic to the understanding of the major. It will also reflect the specialized major field course work completed by the student.
Within one month of the completion of the Written Preliminary Examination, the student will be given an Oral Preliminary Examination by his/her Committee. After completion of the oral examination and all course requirements, students may make formal application to the Graduate School for admission to candidacy for the doctoral degree.
Dissertation Proposal
The student will prepare a dissertation proposal and submit it to his/her Dissertation Committee. The proposed research should involve what the Graduate School Bulletin calls "a thorough investigation of a basic and significant problem or question within the major area of study." The completed proposed research should also be substantially original and make a contribution to an existing field of knowledge.
The student will defend the dissertation proposal in front of the Dissertation Committee after passing the Oral Preliminary Examination. The defense may be attended by others outside the Dissertation Committee.
Dissertation Defense
Upon completion, the dissertation will be defended in front of the Dissertation Committee. The defense may be attended by others outside the Committee.
Language and/or research requirements
There is no foreign language requirement. Students must complete the required course work in the Research Core and 15 hours of dissertation doctoral research (HEA 799).
Any time limits for completion
According to the regulations of the Graduate School, all requirements for the Dr. P.H. must be completed within seven academic years from the date of the first enrollment for study following admission to the doctoral program. For transfer students, the seven-year time limit commences with the semester during which transfer credit was earned.