Effective Autumn 2007
The Ph.D. degree requires a significant program of study and research that qualifies the recipient to work independently and contribute to the advancement of the field of knowledge. The emphasis is on mastery of the field and particularly on the acquisition of research skills as a basis for original work.
This document serves as a resource to be used by the student and adviser in developing the student’s course of study. For additional information about Ph.D. requirements, students are directed to the College of Public Health (CPH) Student Handbook (available online at http://cph.osu.edu/studentaffairs/) and to the Graduate School Handbook (available online at http://www.gradsch.osu.edu/).
Program of Study
The doctoral program requires a minimum total of 135 graduate credit hours or 90 credits beyond a master’s degree. Of the 90 hours, a maximum of 45 hours may be given for dissertation research while a minimum of 45 hours must be in course work at Ohio State exclusive of dissertation credit. Some of the specified courses may have been included in a prior master’s degree. A maximum of 45 credit hours of master’s degree work may be applied to PhD requirements if approved by the faculty adviser.
Major Field (minimum 36 hours)
Required:
PUBH-EHS 731 Principles of Environmental Health, 4 hrs
PUBH-EHS 732 Basic Concepts in Toxicology, 4 hrs
PUBH-EHS 733 Toxicology of Chemical Agents, 4 hrs
PUBH-EHS 830 Principles of Occupational Health, 4 hrs
PUBH-EHS 831 Principles of Risk Assess, 4 hrs
Select two:
PUBH-EHS 835 Molec Techniq for Env Hlth Sci, 5 hrs
PUBH-EHS 794 Intro to Water & Human Hlth Risk, 4 hrs
PUBH-EHS 794 Exposure Assessment, 4 hrs
In consultation with their faculty advisors, students choose 7-8 hours of electives in their major field.
Research Methods (minimum 36 hours)
PUBH-BIO 701 Design & Analysis of Std in Hlth Sci I, 4 hrs
PUBH-BIO 702 Design & Analysis of Std in Hlth Sci II, 4 hrs
PUBH-EPI 711 Epidemiology I, 4 hrs
PUBH-EPI 713 Epidemiology in Env Health, 4 hrs
Select one:
PUBH-BIO 703 Problm-Orientd Apprch to Biostat, 4 hrs
PUBH-BIO 794Q Practical Biostats for Biomed Lab, 4 hrs
In consultation with their faculty advisers, students choose an additional 16 credit hours of research course work chosen to complement the student’s major, minor, and research interests.
Minor Field (minimum 18 hrs)
Additional credits are required in a minor cognate field that is relevant to the student’s research interests. Depending on the
students interests, the minor area may occur within the College of Public Health (e.g., biostatistics or epidemiology) or within other disciplines (e.g., chemistry, microbiology, engineering).
Dissertation (45 hrs maximum)
PUB-HLTH 999 Research in Public Health
Residence Requirement
In addition to the overall credit requirement, doctoral students must fulfill the following residence requirements after the master’s degree has been earned or after the first 45 hours of graduate credit have been completed:
• A minimum of 45 graduate credit hours must be completed at this university;
• A minimum of three out of four consecutive quarters with enrollment of at least ten graduate credit hours per quarter must be completed while in residence at this university;
• A minimum of 20 graduate credit hours over a period of at least two quarters must be completed after admission to candidacy.
Advisory Committee
The Advisory Committee is composed of a minimum of four persons meeting the following criteria:
• All committee members must be category P graduate faculty members. Category M graduate faculty members may serve on the committee with approval of the chair of the Health Behavior and Health Promotion division and the Graduate Studies Committee (GSC) chairperson.
• The major field is represented by two members, including the student’s adviser, who must have faculty appointments in the division. The adviser’s principal appointment must be in the College of Public Health.
• The research methods area is represented by one College of Public Health faculty member appropriate for the curriculum of the student.
• The minor field is represented by one member appropriate for the curriculum of the student, who must come from outside the Environmental Health Sciences division and may come from outside the College of Public Health.
Students will work with their advisers to create a tentative curriculum plan during the first quarter of enrollment. The complete Advisory Committee must be formed and the student’s complete curriculum plan must be approved within eight quarters of enrollment as a PhD student, or within four quarters for students who have received a master’s degree in the CPH. In either case, the GSC chairperson must approve the membership of the Advisory Committee and the proposed curriculum (see Doctoral Curriculum Approval Form in Appendix I of the CPH Student Handbook). In addition, the complete curriculum plan must be approved at least two quarters before the student attempts the Candidacy Examination.
Candidacy Examination
The candidacy examination is a single examination consisting of two parts, a written examination and an oral examination. The Advisory Committee determines when the student is ready to take the Candidacy Examination and makes a recommendation to the chairperson of the Graduate Studies Committee. The student must be registered for at least three graduate credit hours during the quarter of the Candidacy Examination, and must submit a “Doctoral Notification of Candidacy Examination” form to the Graduate School for approval at least two weeks prior to the oral. For more information, see Section 8.4 of the CPH Student Handbook.
Dissertation Committee and Prospectus Approval
Following successful completion of the Candidacy Examination, the student forms a Dissertation Committee as soon as the student and adviser agree that it is appropriate. The Dissertation Committee is composed of no fewer than three Graduate Faculty members of the College. The student’s adviser, who must be a Category P member of the Graduate Faculty, serves as chairperson. Additional Graduate Faculty members outside the College may also serve on the Dissertation Committee. The Committee must approve the Dissertation Prospectus and complete the Prospectus Approval Form (see Appendix I of the CPH Student Handbook). The student ordinarily is expected to prepare an acceptable draft of the Dissertation Prospectus within one year of admission to candidacy.
Research with Human Subjects
Students should work closely with their faculty advisers to complete the necessary materials to secure approval for research with human subjects. Forms and directions are available through the Office of Responsible Research Practices: http://orrp.osu.edu/humansubjects/. Approval requires completion of the Collaborative IRB Training Initiative (CITI) web-based course on Human Subjects. The CITI training log-in page is https://www.citiprogram.org/. The Office of Responsible Research Practices also offers regular tutorials for student researchers. Additional information is available on the Web at http://orrp.osu.edu/news/detail.cfm?News=195.
Research with Animals
Forms and directions to secure approval for research with animals also are available through the Office of Responsible Research Practices. Approval requires completion of the Animal Usage Orientation Course (either classroom or online) and the Occupational Health and Safety Training Course (online only). Information regarding these courses is available on Web at http://orrp.osu.edu/animalsubjects/training.cfm.
Dissertation Credits
The Graduate School requires that students take a minimum of 20 graduate credit hours after the successful completion of the candidacy examination. These often are referred to as dissertation credits and are included in the total 135 required graduate credit hours. Students typically register for PUB-HLTH 999 credit each quarter during which dissertation work is conducted.
Dissertation
Students must pass a Final Oral Examination on the dissertation and submit a final, approved copy of the dissertation to the Graduate School within five years of being admitted to candidacy. In addition, students must submit a copy of the dissertation to the CPH Office of Academic Programs. For more information about the dissertation and the Final Oral Examination, see Section 8.5 of the CPH Student Handbook and Section II.6 of the Graduate School Handbook. Detailed instructions for the dissertation are available on the Graduate School’s Web site at http://www.gradsch.ohio-state.edu/.
Academic Standards
To remain in good academic standing, graduate students must maintain a minimum 3.0 overall GPA. In addition, a B- or higher must be earned in the specialization courses. No course in which a grade of C- or below is earned may count towards the degree. For more details, see Section 11.2 of the CPH Student Handbook.
Graduation
Students must be enrolled for a minimum of three graduate credit hours during the quarter in which they wish to graduate. An "Application to Graduate" form (available on the Graduate School’s Web site) must be completed by the student, signed by the adviser, and returned to the Office of Academic Programs (OAP) for processing. The deadline for submitting the signed form to OAP each quarter is the first Friday of the quarter of graduation. Students also are asked to complete an Exit Questionnaire, as explained in Section 13.14 of the CPH Graduate Student Handbook.
OFFICE OF ACADEMIC PROGRAMS
Counselors are available in the Office of Academic Programs, M006 Starling-Loving Hall (614-293-3907) to provide assistance regarding College or University processes and procedures. Questions regarding the student’s course work or research should be directed to the faculty adviser.
