Community Health Sciences

Students must complete at least one year of residence in graduate status at the University of California and 15 courses (60 units), at least five of which must be graduate courses in the 200 or 500 series. Only one 596 course (four units) taken for a letter grade or one 598 course (four units) may be applied toward the total course requirement; only four units of either course may be applied toward the minimum graduate course requirement. Community Health Sciences 597 may not be applied toward the degree requirements. Courses numbered in the 400 series may not be used to satisfy the minimum graduate course requirements for the M.S. Courses taken for S/U grading may not be applied toward the degree requirements.

Mandatory core courses include Biostatistics 100A, 100B, and Epidemiology 100. Each core course may be waived for students who have taken a similar course elsewhere and can pass the waiver examination. Community Health Sciences 210, 211A-211B, 212, Biostatistics 406, PH 150 or the equivalent, and 24 units of electives are required, including at least one methods course, which is to be determined in consultation with the faculty advisor. Elective courses are selected in consultation with an adviser.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Field Experience

Not required.

Capstone Plan

If the capstone option is approved, a guidance committee of three faculty members is appointed. The preparation of a major written research report is required, and it must be approved by the guidance committee, which also must certify successful completion of all degree requirements.

In addition to the major written research report, the student must pass the Department comprehensive examination. Students who fail the Department comprehensive examination may be reexamined once.

Thesis Plan

Every master's degree thesis plan requires the completion of an approved thesis that demonstrates the student's ability to perform original, independent research.

If the thesis option is approved, a thesis committee is established. The committee approves the thesis prospectus before the student may file for advancement to candidacy. The thesis must be acceptable to the thesis committee.

Time-to-Degree

From graduate admission to award of the degree, normal progress is six academic quarters of enrollment, including quarters enrolled in previous graduate study at a UC campus prior to admission to the School of Public Health. Maximum time allowable from enrollment to graduation is fifteen academic quarters.

MAXIMUM TTD

Advising

An academic adviser is assigned to each new student by the head of the department. Student and adviser together agree upon a study list for each academic quarter. The adviser supervises the student's completion of course work and preparation for the written qualifying examinations, and can, but need not, serve as the Chair of the Guidance Committee appointed at the end of the first year of study.

After being enrolled for three quarters, students file Doctoral Form 1, which designates the membership of the guidance committee. The guidance committee consists of the student's adviser in the major field, a second faculty member in Community Health Sciences, and the student's minor field adviser, who administers the student’s minor exam. The minor field adviser is an outside member who is approved by the department chair and is in communication with the other members of the student’s guidance committee about the student’s progress. Courses to be taken for the minor field are listed on Doctoral Form 1. The members of the Guidance Committee must be full-time faculty with appointments in the professorial series (tenure-eligible, in-residence, or acting or emeritus in these series). The Guidance Committee membership must be approved by the department chair. This committee is distinct from the student’s Doctoral Committee and functions as a group to assist in tailoring the program to the student's needs and objectives prior to the oral qualifying examination (defense of the proposal for the dissertation). The student is responsible for informing the committee about the student's progress, and should also turn to the committee first in the event that special assistance or intervention is required. Hence, the committee should be selected in recognition of its role in promoting the student's academic progress.

Major Fields or Subdisciplines

Faculty in the department represent a diversity of disciplines related to community health, such as the social and behavior sciences, nutrition, medicine, and a range of fields of research including health education/promotion, international health, child and family health, public health nutrition, health policy, disaster planning and relief, aging and life course, women's health, population and reproductive health, and health disparities.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

Students must complete 48 units in residence in the doctoral program, to include Community Health Sciences 270A-270B and Community Health Sciences 219 and a broad public health course to be approved by the adviser. No more than four units may be individual studies course work (Community Health Sciences 596). All doctoral students must enroll in Community Health Sciences 286 (doctoral roundtable) every quarter until they are advanced to candidacy. With the exception of the first quarter of registration as a doctoral student, students may petition to waive out of the doctoral roundtable for up to two quarters. The doctoral roundtable does not fulfill any of the 48 units required for the doctorate. Courses taken for S/U grading may not be applied toward the degree requirements.

Students must also complete four graduate-level courses (16 units) in a Ph.D. granting department outside of the School of Public Health, in a discipline relevant to community health sciences. These courses should provide a theoretical foundation and therefore may not be in methodology or statistics. Students must consult with their advisers before selecting these courses. Final approval rests with the Department Chair/Vice Chair. These 16 units may be used to fulfill the 48 units required for the doctoral degree.

In addition to the courses listed above, students who have not taken the following courses (or their equivalent) are required to do so: Biostatistics 100A, 100B, and 406, CHS 212, and Epi 100. If the student does not have a master’s degree in public health, the following courses are also required: CHS 210, 211A, and 211B. These courses do not count toward the 48 units required for the doctoral degree.

Teaching Experience

Teaching experience is recommended but not required for the doctoral degree.

Written and Oral Qualifying Examinations

Academic Senate regulations require all doctoral students to complete and pass university written and oral qualifying examinations prior to doctoral advancement to candidacy. Also, under Senate regulations, the University Oral Qualifying Examination is open only to the student and appointed members of the doctoral committee. In addition to university requirements, some graduate programs have other pre-candidacy examination requirements. What follows in this section is how students are required to fulfill all of these requirements for this doctoral program.

All committee nominations and reconstitutions adhere to the Minimum Standards for Doctoral Committee Constitution.

Before advancement to candidacy, all course work must have been completed and the student must pass the second year comprehensive examination administered by the department and the University Oral Qualifying Examination, which is a defense of the proposal for the dissertation. The second year comprehensive examination may be repeated only once. Additionally, the student must complete a minor field written examination related to the coursework they have completed in a Ph.D. granting department outside FSPH, with the outside member of the guidance committee.

After the student has passed the second year comprehensive examination and completed the minor field written examination, and at least one month prior to taking the University Oral Qualifying Examination, a doctoral committee is nominated. The composition of the committee must be approved by the department chair and the Graduate Division. The doctoral committee guides the student's progress toward completion of the dissertation.

The student is advanced to candidacy and commences work on a dissertation by passing the University Oral Qualifying Examination, which is administered by the doctoral committee. Students usually take this examination by the middle of the fourth year of study. Only the student and the committee members attend this examination; all committee members must be present. If the student fails, the examination may be repeated once if a majority of the committee so recommends. If the student fails the oral qualifying examination a second time, they will be recommended for academic disqualification.

Advancement to Candidacy

Students are advanced to candidacy upon successful completion of the written and oral qualifying examinations.

Doctoral Dissertation

Every doctoral degree program requires the completion of an approved dissertation that demonstrates the student's ability to perform original, independent research and constitutes a distinct contribution to knowledge in the principal field of study.

Final Oral Examination (Defense of Dissertation)

Required for all students in the program.

Time-to-Degree

From graduate admission to award of the degree, normal progress is eighteen academic quarters. Maximum allowable time for the attainment of the degree is 24 academic quarters of enrollment, including quarters enrolled in previous graduate study at a UC campus prior to admission to the doctoral degree program and leaves of absence. It is expected that students will normally complete course work by the end of the third year in residence (nine quarters); complete written and oral examinations and advance to candidacy by the middle of the fourth year in residence (12 quarters); and complete the dissertation and defense by the end of the sixth year (18 quarters).

MAXIMUM TTD

Termination of Graduate Study and Appeal of Termination

University Policy

A student who fails to meet the above requirements may be recommended for termination of graduate study. A graduate student may be disqualified from continuing in the graduate program for a variety of reasons. The most common is failure to maintain the minimum cumulative grade point average (3.00) required by the Academic Senate to remain in good standing (some programs require a higher grade point average). Other examples include failure of examinations, lack of timely progress toward the degree and poor performance in core courses. Probationary students (those with cumulative grade point averages below 3.00) are subject to immediate dismissal upon the recommendation of their department. University guidelines governing termination of graduate students, including the appeal procedure, are outlined in Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA.

Special Departmental or Program Policy

Master's
In addition to the standard reasons outlined above, a student may be recommended for academic disqualification for failure to complete the required course work within seven quarters of matriculation.

Doctoral
In addition to the standard reasons outlined above, a student may be recommended for academic disqualification for failure to maintain a 3.00 grade point average for two consecutive quarters following matriculation into the doctoral program; a second failure of either the second year comprehensive examination or the minor field written examination; a second failure of either the oral qualifying examination or the final oral examination; or exceeding enrollment time limits.

A student may appeal a recommendation for academic disqualification first to the departmental chair, then to the Associate Dean for Academic Programs, and finally to the dean of the school.

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