Ph.D. in Prevention Science and Community Health

Overview

The PhD in Prevention Science and Community Health will prepare students with the necessary expertise and interdisciplinary background to contribute to 21st century prevention and community health research. Students receive training in both traditional and innovative areas of prevention science including etiology, intervention design and evaluation, innovative data collection and analyses, community-based participatory research and implementation science.

The Prevention Science program offers students the unique opportunity to interact with faculty who specialize in all stages of the intervention development and evaluation process, as well as in various methodologies such as community-based participatory research and mixed-methods research.  Program faculty are experts in cultural diversity and health disparities. They are focused on acculturation; cultural predictors of health disparities; and efficacious methods, strategies, and programs for reducing health disparities locally, nationally, and internationally.  Key research areas include:  substance use, HIV, cancer, diabetes, obesity, delinquency and depression. 

Please visit our website for additional information.

Admission Requirements

·       Application - Applicants must submit their application online through SOPHAS, the centralized application service of the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH). All application materials, including transcripts, test scores, statement of purpose/personal statement, resume/CV, and letters of recommendations, must be submitted directly through SOPHAS. Applicants to the MD/PhD program must apply through AMCAS. 

·       Transcripts – Applicants must submit official transcripts from all previously attended colleges and universities. All foreign transcripts must be official and submitted in the original language. If the original language is not English, an official translation must be submitted along with the transcript. We do not accept evaluations from foreign credentialing service organizations. All non-U.S. transcripts must be evaluated by the World Education Service (WES) using ICAP course-by-course evaluation service.

·       Standardized Test Scores - The Graduate Record Exam (GRE) is not required for the PhD in Prevention Science and Community Health program.

·       English Proficiency Exam - International students are required to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International Language Testing System (IELTS).  If English is not a student's native language, the TOEFL/IELTS requirement may be waived if the applicant holds an undergraduate or graduate degree from an academic institution within the United States or from select English-speaking countries. 

·       Resume/Curriculum Vitae – Applicants must include a detailed resume including employment, public health experiences, community service, research, and academic or professional honors.   Prior public health experience is not required in order to be considered for admission.

·       Statement of Purpose/Personal Statement – Applicants are required to submit a statement of purpose that details their academic interest in the program. The statement should discuss any experiences in public health including field experience, research, training, education or other related qualifications. Applicants should discuss how earning the degree will contribute to their future professional and career goals, as well as to the future of public health. Applicants should also address any academic deficiencies, if applicable.

·       Letters of Recommendation– Applicants must provide three letters of recommendation from individuals who are best able to assess their ability to be successful in a graduate degree program. Ideally, recommenders are recent professors, researchers or employers in a related field. Letters must be signed and on letterhead. Applicants will be asked to include the contact information of their recommenders on the SOPHAS application and recommenders will be sent an online form to complete via email.

For more information about our application process, please click here. To obtain detailed curricula on all our program offerings, please visit our website.

For further information, please contact:

Andria L. Williams, MBA
Director of Admissions
Department of Public Health Sciences
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
1120 N.W. 14 Street, Room 905 (R-669)
Miami, Florida 33136
Tel: 305-243-0291
Email: publichealthadmissions@miami.edu

Curriculum Requirements

¹ Students complete the Professional Development Seminar in Years 1 and 2.

² Students complete the Innovation Seminar in Years 3 and 4.

Plan of Study

All PhD in Prevention Science students are required to complete 75 credit hours.  These include course courses in intervention design, implementation science and statistics, elective coursework and the dissertation.  Students are expected to complete their structured (core and elective) courses during their first two years of study.  Students sit for comprehensive examinations their second summer semester in the program, and then with successful completion of the exams, advance to dissertation research for the remainder of the program (years 3-5), with seminar courses included in years 3-4.  

Mission

The vision of the PhD program in Prevention Science and Community Health is to become an epicenter for scholarship on etiology, intervention development and evaluation, and intervention implementation. The mission of the program is to produce prevention science and community health scholars who promote health and prevent illness at the individual, family, community, national, and global levels.

Goals

Upon completion of the Doctorate in Prevention Science and Community Health (PhD), all graduates will be able to:

• Develop and implement data collection/management methods and tools needed for prevention science and community health research
• Apply epidemiological methods to the measurement and study of population health and the prevention of infectious and chronic disease
• Articulate research questions that advance scientific knowledge and develop a proposal for extramural research funding
• Design and adapt a preventive intervention based on available etiological research
• Master principles of designing, conducting, and analyzing data from a randomized clinical trial of a preventive intervention
• Master techniques for designing and carrying out procedures for translating evidence-based interventions to community practice
• Apply state of the science statistical methods and manage/manipulate datasets in statistical software such as SPSS, SAS, MPlus and R
• Conduct prevention science research, and be prepared to work collaboratively with scientists and practitioners in other fields

Student Learning Outcomes

• Students will demonstrate a breadth of understanding of the general values, theories, concepts, research methodologies,
• Students will demonstrate a deep understanding and mastery of one specific area of focus within the fields of prevention science and community health and practices associated with prevention science and community health.
• Students will demonstrate their capacity to use the prevention science and community health principles to generate new knowledge.