Applicable only to students admitted during the 2012-2013 academic year.

Community Health Sciences

School of Public Health

Graduate Degrees

The Department of Community Health Sciences offers the Master of Science (M.S.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in Public Health.

Applicants should see the Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) Admission section under Public Health Schoolwide Programs. Admission requirements for the Master of Science in Public Health are the same as for the M.P.H; admission requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy in Public Health are the same as for the Doctor of Public Health.

Master's Degree

Advising

An adviser is appointed for each new master's student by the department chair. The student and adviser together agree upon a study list for each academic quarter and any subsequent alterations must be approved by both the adviser and the associate dean of Student Affairs. Students are expected to meet with their advisers each quarter. A departmental guidance committee is established when the student has completed approximately half of the program for the master's degree. Members of the departmental guidance committee are nominated by the department chair after consultation with the student and the student's adviser.

An adviser is responsible for the student's academic progress. Progress is evaluated on an ongoing basis. At the end of each quarter, the associate dean of Student Affairs reviews academic listings of students and notifies them and the advisers when the cumulative grade-point average is below 3.0. Advisers review each case with their advisees and make recommendations to the associate dean of Student Affairs for continuance or dismissal. Students who wish to change advisers must file a petition which must be approved by the new adviser, the department chair, and the associate dean for Student Affairs.

Areas of Study

Consult the graduate adviser.

Foreign Language Requirement

None.

Course Requirements

Students must complete at least one year of residence in graduate status at the University of California and a minimum of 10 full courses, at least five of which must be graduate courses in the 200 or 500 series. Only one 596 course (four units) and 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. No more than 18 full courses are required for the degree.

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, 213, Biostatistics 406, and four to six department courses (selected from an approved list) are required. Elective courses are selected in consultation with an adviser. Normal program length is six quarters.

Only courses in which a grade of C- or better is received may be applied toward the requirements for a master's degree. Students must maintain an average of no less than 3.0 (B) in all courses required or elected during graduate residence at the University of California.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Field Experience

Not required.

Comprehensive Examination Plan

If the comprehensive examination/report option is approved, a guidance committee of three faculty members is appointed. A written comprehensive examination on the major area of study must be passed. Students who fail may be reexamined once. 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.

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 from three to seven quarters. Upper time limit for completion of all requirements is seven 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, including leaves of absence, is five years.

Doctoral Degree

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 adviser in the minor field. Courses to be taken for the minor field are listed on this form. 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 functions as a group to assist in tailoring the program to the student's needs and objectives. 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

The following courses are required if the student has not already taken them or their equivalent in the course of the master's degree or other postgraduate work: Biostatistics 100A, 100B, and 406; Community Health Sciences 210, 211A-211B, 212; Epidemiology 100; Health Services 100; Environmental Health Sciences 100. These courses do not count toward the minimum course requirements for the doctoral degree.

In addition to any of the above courses not already taken, the student must take a minimum of 48 units in residence in the doctoral program, to include Community Health Sciences 270A-270B. No more than four units may be individual studies coursework (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 seminar for up to two quarters. The doctoral roundtable does not fulfill any of the 48 units required for the doctorate.

Students minor in a Ph.D. granting department outside of the School of Public Health, in a discipline relevant to community health sciences. Four graduate-level courses (16 units) are required.

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.

Before advancement to candidacy, all coursework must have been completed and the student must pass a written examination administered by the department and an oral qualifying examination in the major field. The written examination may be repeated only once. Additionally, the student must complete the requirements for the minor field and pass an examination administered by the minor department or the minor member of the guidance committee.

After the student has passed the written qualifying examination and completed the minor requirements, and at least one month prior to taking the University Oral Qualifying Examination, a doctoral committee is nominated. The doctoral committee consists of at least four faculty members including the chair, who hold professorial appointments at UCLA. Two of the faculty must be tenured. Three of the four must hold appointments in the department; one must be an outside member who holds no appointment in the School of Public Health; one of the four must be from the minor field. Eligible faculty are those in the tenure-eligible series, the in-residence series, and acting or emeriti in these series. The composition of the committee must be approved by the department chair. 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. Only the student and the committee members attend this examination; all committee members must be present. The examination may be repeated once if a majority of the committee so recommends.

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

Maximum allowable time for the attainment of the degree is 24 quarters of enrollment or eight years. This limitation includes quarters enrolled in previous graduate study at a UC campus prior to admission to the doctoral degree program and leaves of absence. However, the approved normative time-to-degree is 18 quarters (six years). It is expected that students will normally complete coursework 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 (11 quarters); and complete the dissertation and defense by the end of the sixth year (18 quarters).

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 termination 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 termination for failure to maintain a 3.00 grade point average for two consecutive quarters following matriculation into the doctoral program; a second failure of any written qualifying examinations in the major or minor fields; a second failure of either oral examination; or exceeding enrollment time limits.

A student may appeal a recommendation for termination first to the departmental chair, second to the associate dean of Academic Affairs and finally to the dean of the school.