Theory, Seminars & Additional HBHE Courses

Health Behavior Theory

Students who enter the program with a master’s degree outside of HBHE or an M.P.H. in an HBHE‐ equivalent program from another institution will be required to enroll in HBHE 600 – Psychosocial factors in health‐related behavior for credit. If a student has taken a graduate level health behavior theory course at another institution and received a grade of B or better, a request may be submitted to the HBHE Doctoral Curriculum Committee to consider the course as an exemption.

Doctoral Seminar Requirements

1. Doctoral students are required to enroll in the professional socialization seminar (HBEHED 800) for credit. Most students are required to take HBEHED 800 for credit in their first year as an orientation to the doctoral program and to professional development issues.

2. Doctoral students are required to take Health Education Models of Practice and Interventions at the Community Level (HBEHED 885), which focuses on conceptual and theory‐driven interventions and applications to practice directed at the community level (e.g., development, empowerment, policy, organization, advocacy).

3. The third required doctoral seminar is Theory‐Driven Interventions Targeting Individual Behavior Change (HBEHED 886), which focuses on conceptual and theory‐driven interventions and applications to practice targeting the individual.

4. The doctoral seminar in Structural Influences on Health and Social Behavior (HBEHED 823) is required as part of the doctoral program. This seminar will focus on conceptual and theory‐driven interventions and applications to practice focused at the structural level.

5. The doctoral seminar in Intervention Research Design (HBEHED 821) is required. This seminar will focus on research design to test etiologic or intervention research questions at the individual, community or policy levels.

Additional HBHE Courses

The HBHE coursework requirement also consists of three substantive courses offered within the department's current offerings (or their equivalent). These are in addition to any HBHE courses taken to satisfy the research methods requirement. The selection of specific courses to satisfy this requirement should be made in consultation with the student's advisor. Students who enter the program with an M.P.H. in HBHE from the department will have taken at least 18 hours of coursework in meeting the requirement for their Master's degree. Moreover, these courses are likely to have been drawn from the current departmental offerings (or their equivalent). In this case, this prior academic work will qualify students for an exemption from required HBHE coursework and qualify students for further reductions in credit requirements up to a total of 18 credit hours. Please refer to Table 1 for further clarification on HBHE coursework exemption.