The PhD with concentration in Public Health Practice (PhD PHP) emphasizes environmental health practice, policy or management with a focus on applied science and more practical problem solving. The PhD PHP provides a broad education for individuals who may desire positions in academia, industry, consulting, non-governmental or government organizations, education & advocacy, regulatory & legislative design, and regulatory compliance & enforcement. Some major emphases are on the environmental origin of human disease and disease susceptibility, pollution prevention, and integration of environmental health considerations into economic and social decision-making. This professional degree emphasizes a practice-oriented, interdisciplinary approach to research that encompasses in its coursework the competencies of the five core areas of public health: environmental health, biostatistics, epidemiology, health policy and management, and behavioral and community health.
Students in the PhD PHP program are required to complete the core didactic curriculum and then conduct original research leading to the dissertation and defense. The performance site may be within the Department of Environmental & Occupational Health, or in some cases, another external facility. Students can specialize in Environmental Health Risk Assessment, Occupational Health, or Translational Bioscience.
