Non-traditional Doctoral/Master’s Degree Programs
Clinical and Health Psychology PhD/Master of Public Health (PhD/MPH) Program
Back to Collaborative Degree Programs
Psychologists with MPH degrees are uniquely qualified not only to treat patients with behavioral and mental health conditions, but also to promote health and prevent these conditions before they become problematic. Graduates of this joint degree program have a broad perspective and specialized population-based problem-solving, program development, evaluation and research skills that are applicable in many settings.
The PhD/MPH degree is offered jointly by the Department of Clinical and Health Psychology and the MPH Program in the College of Public Health and Health Professions.
Hallmarks of the program
• The PhD/MPH adds approximately one academic year to the time required for the PhD degree.
• Students have the flexibility to select an in-depth concentration in the MPH program or to choose the Public Health Practice concentration, which allows selection of courses from two or more concentration areas.
• Up to 15 credits of MPH core courses may be taken online.
• Nine credits of PhD courses may be applied to the MPH
Program description
Clinical and Health Psychology PhD/MPH plans of study are developed for
each student individually, taking into account the public health competencies
to be achieved and the manner in which MPH courses will be integrated into
the four years of course and laboratory work normally required for the PhD.
Students in the PhD program may take MPH courses concurrent with their PhD
courses. However, it is recommended that students devote one continuous
year, usally the third, to MPH coursework.
Nine credits of appropriate PhD coursework may be applied to requirements in the 48-credit MPH program. The 9 credits selected from the PhD curriculum must be approved by the MPH program upon the recommendation of the student's supervisory committee.
Students must meet graduation requirements for both programs. These requirements may be found at: http://chp.phhp.ufl.edu/programs/doctoral/index.html and http://www.mph.ufl.edu/programs/masterspublichealth.htm.
Application
Applicants must meet admission requirements for, and be accepted by, both
programs in order to be admitted into the PhD/MPH program. Students may
apply to both programs simultaneously, or they may enter one degree program
and apply to the other after beginning the first program. However, the sequencing
of applications and acceptances is important. Since the PhD program is much
smaller than the MPH, students usually begin their PhD studies and confer
with CHP faculty mentors and MPH faculty before applying to the MPH program.
After acceptance into the MPH, Nontraditional Doctoral/Master’s Degree
Program forms are completed and submitted to the Graduate School for classification
as a collaborative program student. Appropriate forms (1 and 2) for nontraditional
doctoral/master’s degree programs may be found at http://gradschool.rgp.ufl.edu/pdf-files/nontraditional-degree-form.pdf.
The nontraditional degree program is not open to students who have already earned one of the two degrees.
MPH concentrations
Students must choose from one of the six MPH concentrations: Biostatistics,
Environmental Health, Epidemiology, Public Health Management and Policy,
Public Health Practice, or Social and Behavioral Sciences. Please visit
http://www.mph.ufl.edu/concentrations/
for a description of each concentration. Many CHP PhD students choose Social
and Behavioral Sciences because Psychology is one of the foundations of
this concentration.
Supervisory committee
To facilitate student progress in the non-traditional program, the graduate
supervisory committee is comprised of the CHP faculty mentor, other faculty
members as required by the PhD program, and one MPH faculty member. The
MPH faculty member chairs the committee for MPH-related requirements, such
as the internship and culminating experience.
MPH internship requirement
The concepts presented via MPH coursework are integrated and assimilated
through an internship, which provides an opportunity for each student to
apply his or her knowledge in a practice setting. A wide range of settings
and opportunities may be suitable for an internship. Each internship is
individually tailored to assure competence in general MPH and concentration-specific
skills and to meet student goals, concentration criteria, and the needs
of the agencies involved. The internship is usually completed near the end
of the program, and always includes a special project that serves as the
basis for a final oral and written report. The internship and the special
project must be approved by the student's supervisory committee chair.
MPH culminating experience
Students attain depth in public health knowledge and skills by selecting
one core area for their concentrations. They obtain a broad knowledge base
of public health issues and perspectives through the MPH core courses and
electives. The concepts presented in these courses are integrated and assimilated
through the internship, which provides an opportunity for each student to
apply his or her knowledge in the real world of public health. Students
may engage in many activities during an internship. However, each student
must have one special project which serves as the basis for a major paper
and a presentation. These final activities of the MPH program are intended
to encourage students to understand their projects in the larger context
of public health as a cross-disciplinary field and in relation to the competencies
expected of all MPH graduates. Student presentations are scheduled on one
or two Public Health Days near the end of fall, spring and summer semesters.
The written paper and oral presentation constitute a culminating experience
for the MPH.
Sample MPH curriculum for CHP PhD/MPH with concentration in Social and Behavioral Science and approved Clinical and Health Psychology courses*
| I. Public Health Core: 16 credits*** | Credits | **Semester Offered | |
| PHC 6050 | Statistical Methods for Health Sciences I (CLP 6527C Measurement, Research Design, and Statistics I) | 3 |
F |
| PHC 6001 | Principles of Epidemiology | 3 |
F |
| PHC 6313 | Environmental Health Concepts in Public Health | 3 |
S |
| PHC 6102 | Introduction to Public Health Administrative Systems | 3 |
S |
| PHC 6410 | Psychological, Behavioral, and Social Issues in Public Health (formerly PHC 6406) | 3 |
F |
| PHC 6601 | Seminar in Contemporary Public Health Issues (formerly PHC 6931) | 1 |
F,S |
| II. Concentration Core: 15 credits | |||
| PHC 6251 | Assessment and Surveillance in Public Health (formerly PHC 6112) | 3 | S |
| PHC 6146 | Public Health Program Planning and Evaluation | 3 | F |
| PHC 6700 | Social & Behavioral Research Methods (CLP 6528B Measurement, Research Design and Statistics II) | 3 | F |
| PHC 6937 | Special Topics: Foundations of Social Behavioral Science Theory | 3 | F |
| PHC 6937 | Special Topics: Public Health Information for Diverse Populations | 3 | ss |
| III. Concentration Electives: 6 credits | |||
| PHC 6937 | Special Topics: Adolescence, Risk Taking, and Health | 3 | ss |
| PHC 6762 | International Public Health (formerly PHC 6114) | 3 | ss |
| PHC 6441 | Health Disparities in the United States | 3 | S |
| PHC 6937 | Special Topics: Psychosocial Issues in Chronic Disease | 3 | F |
| IV. Public Health Electives: 3-6 credits | |||
| PHC courses | Public Health coursework offered by the other concentrations | ||
| HSC courses | Any graduate level HSC course | ||
| PHC 6917 | Supervised Research | 1-3** | |
| PHC 6945 | Public Health Practicum | 1-3** | |
| FYC 6330 | Theories of Community Development | 3 | |
| MMC 6405 | Seminar in Mass Media and Health | 4 | S |
| CLP 7934 | Health Promotion | 3 | S-odd |
| RCS 6080 | Medical and Psychosocial Aspects of Rehabilitation Counseling | 3 | F |
| IV. Internship: 5-8 credits | |||
| PHC 6946 | Public Health Internship | 5-8 | |
* Approved Clinical and Health Psychology courses are in bold type.
** F=Fall; S=Spring, ss=summer.
*** Public Health core courses are also available online in additional semesters.
Contact us!
Mischka Garel, MPH
Associate Director, MPH Program
College of Public Health & Health Professions
University of Florida
Box 100182
Gainesville, FL 32610
Phone: 352-273-6443 Fax: 352-273-6448
Email: mgarel@phhp.ufl.edu
James H. Johnson, PhD, ABPP
Professor
Director, Clinical Psychology PhD Program
Associate Chair for Academic Affairs
Department of Clinical and Health Psychology
College of Public Health and Health Professions
University of Florida
Phone: 352-273-6144
Email: jjohnson@phhp.ufl.edu
Mary Peoples-Sheps, Dr.PH
Associate Dean for Public Health Development and Practice
College of Public Health & Health Professions
University of Florida
Box 100182
Gainesville, FL 32610
Phone: 352-273-6084 Fax: 352-273-6199
Email: mpeoplessheps@phhp.ufl.edu
