PhD in Behavioral, Social, and Health Education Sciences
PhD in Behavioral, Social, and Health Education Sciences
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Programs Overview
The PhD in Behavioral, Social, and Health Education Sciences (BSHES) is offered through Emory's Laney Graduate School. This program trains students to identify, analyze, and intervene on today's most pressing public health issues.
As a PhD student, you will learn how to:
- Conduct original research on identifying individual and societal determinants of health behaviors, illness, and disease
- Design, implement, and evaluate behavioral and structural interventions to prevent disease, reduce health risks, and improve quality of life
- Translate knowledge derived from research to promote public health
Curriculum
Required Courses
The program is designed for full-time students and typically takes four years to complete. During your first two years, you'll take all required course work, gain teaching experience, and work as a research assistant before developing your own research project. During your third and fourth years, you'll develop, complete, and defend your dissertation.
There are 48 credit hours of required core courses in the BSHES PhD program.
Other Degree Requirements
All PhD students must participate in the Teaching Assistant Training and Teaching Opportunities (TATTO) program. This includes a three-day summer teacher training workshop (normally taken in the summer before the second year in the PhD program), serving as a teaching assistant during the second and third years in the program and practical experience in statistical consulting.
Starting with your first semester, all BSHES PhD students participate in two unpaid research rotations which require approximately 10-12 hours of work per week.
All PhD students are required to complete and defend a dissertation. Students are encouraged to begin exploring potential research topics as soon as they enter the program by meeting with faculty.
The doctoral dissertation must meet the requirements of both the department and Laney Graduate School. In particular, the dissertation must make a new contribution to the student’s field of study or present a unique new interpretation on existing knowledge. Students are required to pass an oral defense of the dissertation proposal.
After completing all required 48 credit hours of coursework with a B average or greater, you will take a comprehensive exam. The exam evaluates your abilities in the application of theory, research methods, and analysis to important public health topics. After passing the exam, you are encouraged to select a doctoral dissertation committee.
You will also need to complete the Jones Program in Ethics. This program provides students with a foundational, cross-disciplinary introduction to the question of ethics for their research, training, and careers.
Admissions
Admissions Requirements
All applicants must have a master’s degree in public health or a related field and a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited college or university.
The application includes:
- Application to the Laney Graduate School
- Three letters of recommendation
- You will be asked to select up to three faculty advisors in the application.
- Statement of purpose
- Transcripts from each post-secondary institution you have attended (should be uploaded through the online application, not mailed). Unofficial transcripts issued by the Registrar to you (the student) are acceptable.
- A writing sample. The sample can be a journal article, paper, essay, or any other type of work that has been written by the applicant.
- Resume/CV
Additional Application Information
The statement of purpose should include:
- A brief intellectual autobiography describing the formation of your academic interests and present concerns.
- The special area of interest or particular problems, theories, movements, periods, etc., upon which your study would focus.
- A description of tentative plans for research, either specific problems or general areas in which you hope to work.
- A description of your research experience, including your role and the extent to which you were independently involved in the research.
- An explanation of how your past experience, academic training or research experience has prepared you to pursue graduate work in your area of interest.
A small number of applicants will be invited to interview and visit the campus in late winter at no cost to the applicant.
Paying for Your PhD
All full-time Emory PhD students receive merit-based support packages consisting of full tuition scholarships each year and annual living stipends for two years. The awards are renewed each year, contingent upon satisfactory academic performance. Beginning September 1, 2019, doctoral students will receive annual stipends of approximately $31,000 for the initial two years and will be supported by research projects, fellowships and/or grants for the following years. You may also choose to work as a research assistant or in other activities related to your professional development during the summer months for additional income.
Contact
Get in Touch:
Natalie Crawford, PhD, director of graduate studies