The Doctor of Philosophy in Health and Human Performance, with a concentration in Health Behavior, provides terminal professional preparation in Health Education, with ancillary coursework in cognate disciplines such as education, the social sciences, and the behavioral sciences.
Application Requirements for Ph.D. Program
Consideration of applications for the Ph.D. program begins
March 1st for the following Fall term.
Required Core
HSC 6037 - Philosophy and Principles of Health Education (3)
HSC 6507 – Epidemiology (3)
HSC 6604 - Theories of Health Behavior and Practice (3)
HSC 6605 - Scientific Foundations of Holistic Health (3)
HSC 6629 - Health Promotion for Priority Populations (3)
HSC 6637 - Social Marketing and Health (3)
Research Sequence (18 credits minimum)
Required (12 credits)
HSC 6735 - Research Methods in Health Education (3)
EDF 6403 – Quantitative Foundations of Educational Research (6)
EDF 7405 – Advanced Quantitative Foundations of Educational Research (3)
Selected Courses (Select at least 6 credits):
Quantitative Courses:
EDF 6436 – Theory of Measurement (4)
EDF 6471 – Survey Design and Analysis in Educational Research (3)
EDF 6481 – Quantitative Research Methods in Educational Research (3)
EDF 7412 – Structural Equation Models (3)
EDF 7435 – Rating Scale Design & Analysis in Educational Research (3)
EDF 7491 – Evaluation of Educational Products and Systems (3)
EDF 7932 – Multivariate Analysis in Educational Research (3)
STA 5507 – Applied Nonparametric Methods (3)
Qualitative Courses:
EDF 6475 – Qualitative Foundations of Educational Research (4)*
NGR 6815 – Foundations of Qualitative Research in Nursing (3)*
NGR 7814 – Qualitative Field Research for Nursing Sciences (3)*
NGR 7817 – Qualitative Epistemologies and Methods (3)
SYA 6315 – Qualitative Research Methods (3)
*Obtain permission of instructor prior to registering
Minors and Interest Areas (12 - 24 credits)
With the approval of the supervisory committee, the student may choose one or more minor fields, or the student may choose to
complete additional coursework in an interest area.
Minor work may be completed in any department, other than the major department. Course work in the
minor at the doctoral level need not be restricted to the courses of one department, provided the
minor has a clear objective and the combination of courses representing the minor is approved by the
Graduate School. If one minor is chosen, the representative of the minor department on the supervisory
committee shall suggest from 12 to 24 credits in courses numbered 5000 and above as preparation for
a qualifying examination. A 3.0 GPA must be maintained in the minor area. A part of this background
may have been acquired in the master's program. Competence in the minor area may be demonstrated
through the written and oral portion of the qualifying exam.
Supervisory committees are nominated by the department Chairperson, approved by the dean of the college concerned, and appointed by the Dean of the Graduate School. The committee should be appointed as soon as possible after the student has begun doctoral work and in general no later than the end of the second semester of equivalent full-time study. The Dean of the Graduate School is an ex-officio member of all supervisory committees and should be notified in writing well in advance of all examinations conducted by such committees.
The supervisory committee for a candidate for the doctoral degree shall consist of not fewer than four members selected from the graduate faculty. At least two members will be from the department recommending the degree. At least one member will be drawn from a different educational discipline, and at least one person will represent the minor area and may be considered the outside member. In the event that the student elects more than one minor, each minor may, at the discretion of the departments concerned, be represented on the supervisory committee. The chairperson and at least one additional member of the committee will be members of the Doctoral Research Faculty of the University of Florida.
Transfer of Credit
With prior approval of the Supervisory Committee, a maximum of 30 credit hours of previous graduate lecture coursework
may be applied toward the minimum of 90 credits required for the Ph.D. degree.
Candidates for the doctoral degree must satisfy the minimum requirements for a period of concentrated study, beyond the master's degree, by registering on the University of Florida campus for (1) 30 semester hours in one calendar year, or (2) 32 semester hours in four semesters within two consecutive calendar years on the campus. Courses at the 1000 or 2000 level will not be counted toward the requirement for concentrated study. In addition, the candidate must enroll in a minimum of three credit hours of course work each semester (exclusive of summer semesters).
The qualifying examination, which is required of all candidates for the Doctor of Philosophy degree, may be taken after the third semester of graduate study beyond the bachelor's degree and before the end of formal course work (prior to dissertation writing).
The student must be registered in the term in which the qualifying examination is given. The examination, conducted by the supervisory committee or the major and minor departments, is both written and oral and covers the major and minor subjects. At least five faculty members must be present with the student at the oral portion. The supervisory committee has the responsibility at this time of deciding whether the student is qualified to continue work toward a Ph.D. degree. If a student fails the qualifying examination, the Graduate School must be notified. A re-examination may be requested, but it must be recommended by the supervisory committee and approved by the Graduate school. At least one semester of additional preparation is considered essential before re-examination.
Time Lapse
Between the qualifying examination and the date of the degree there must be a minimum of two
semesters if the candidate is in full-time residence, or a calendar year if the candidate is on
less than a full-time basis. The semester is which the qualifying examination is passed is counted,
provided that the examination occurs before midpoint of the term.
A graduate student does not become a candidate for the Ph.D. degree until granted formal admission to
candidacy. Such admission requires approval of the student's supervisory committee, the department
chairperson, the college dean, and the Dean of the Graduate School. The approval must be based on:
Application for admission to candidacy should be made as soon as the qualifying examination has been passed and a dissertation topic has been approved by the student's supervisory committee. A student may not register for HLP 7980 (Research for Dissertation) until he or she is admitted to candidacy for a doctoral degree.
Dissertation (15 credits minimum in HLP 7980)
Every candidate for a doctoral degree is required to prepare and present a dissertation that shows independent investigation and is acceptable in form and content to the supervisory committee and to the Graduate School. Dissertations must be written in English and adhere to Graduate School guidelines.
After submission of the dissertation and the completion of all other prescribed work for the degree, but in no case earlier than six months before the conferring of the degree, the candidate will be given a final examination, oral or written or both, by the supervisory committee meeting on campus. An announcement of the scheduled examination must be sent to the Dean of the College and Dean of the Graduate School ten days in advance and must have an abstract attached. At least five faculty members must be present with the candidate at the oral portion of this examination including the chair and the outside member. At the time of the defense all committee members should sign the signature pages and all committee and attending faculty members should sign the Final Examination Report. These may be retained by the supervisory chairman until acceptable completion of the corrections.
Satisfactory performance on this examination and adherence to all Graduate School regulations outlined above complete the requirements for the degree.
All work for a doctoral degree must be completed within five calendar years after the student passes the qualifying examination or this examination must be repeated.
© Department of Health Education & Behavior, P.O. Box 118210 Gainesville, FL 32611-8210; (352) 392-0583.
Updated: September 26, 2007
