The Degree of PhD in Public Health in the research area of Health Services and Policy Research [Graduate]

1. Required courses (★12):

• SPH 600 - Health Policy Development

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• SPH 602 - Engaged Scholarship for Health OR
• SPH 607 - Introduction to Engaged Scholarship

• AND

• SPH 610 - Applied Engaged Scholarship: Principles to Specific Research Projects

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• SPH 603 - Scientific Communication in Public Health
• SPH 604 - Advanced Theory and Research Methods in Public Health

2. Elective courses:

• additional courses as approved by the student’s Supervisor.

3. Comprehensive Examination:

The Comprehensive Examination is a written examination that will occur following the completion of coursework, and is normally completed after the first year, and within the first two years of the PhD program. The Comprehensive Examination is primarily intended to examine the student to determine whether they have achieved competency in contextualization of the thesis within public health, specific content area of thesis, and specific methodological issues relating to the proposed thesis.

4. Candidacy Examination:

The Candidacy Examination occurs once all course work and comprehensive exam are completed, and within three years of the start of the PhD program. The Candidacy Examination is an Oral Examination, which is primarily intended to assess the student’s ability to conduct independent research.

5. Thesis:

Successfully complete and defend a thesis on a research topic in the program area defined in consultation with the student’s supervisory committee. The scope and quality of the thesis must represent an advance in knowledge of the candidate’s field of study and should be appropriate to form the basis for at least one refereed journal publication describing the methodology and results of the research.

The minimum period of residence is four four-month terms of full-time registration at the University of Alberta.