UNMC aims to create doctoral programs in public health

Keith Mueller, Ph.D.

The University of Nebraska Board of Regents will be asked Friday to approve the creation of two doctoral degree programs in the UNMC College of Public Health.

One of the two doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.) graduate programs will focus on health services research, administration and policy; the other will focus on health promotion and disease prevention research.

“The two Ph.D. programs are designed to provide students with the knowledge and research experience necessary to become high quality academic faculty, researchers and public health leaders,” said Keith Mueller, Ph.D., associate dean for academic affairs in the College of Public Health. “It also will prepare individuals for leadership positions in public health agencies throughout Nebraska and the Midwest.”

The Ph.D. in health services research, administration and policy will train students to be excellent scholars and investigators in the field of health services research utilizing the extensive research and service activities of current research centers engaged in projects both in Nebraska and nationally.

A Ph.D. in health promotion and disease prevention research will train students to conduct research related to public health, in particular in the areas of smoking cessation, obesity prevention, nutrition, substance abuse and physical activity intervention in the elementary and secondary school populations.

“Like our other programs associated with this college, this proposal has its origin in a growing national need for professionals trained in the many areas of public health, including health promotion and disease prevention.” Keith Mueller, Ph.D.

The creation of the two doctoral degree programs is part of an effort to seek national accreditation, which requires the COPH to develop doctoral programs in the areas of public health. With the addition of these two programs, the college will have three Ph.D. programs. A doctoral program in environmental health, occupational health and toxicology already exists at the college.

The Board of Regents approved the establishment of the UNMC College of Public Health in 2006 and creation of departments in the college in 2007, the first being the department of health services research and administration.

“Like our other programs associated with this college, this proposal has its origin in a growing national need for professionals trained in the many areas of public health, including health promotion and disease prevention,” Dr. Mueller said.

If approved by the Board of Regents and the Nebraska Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education, the programs would be initiated this fall, he said.

The UNMC College of Public Health is one of only 38 in the nation and the only one between Iowa and Washington and between Oklahoma and Minnesota. The vision of the college is to be recognized as a premier public multi-disciplinary research, educational, and community engagement institution that advances population health and social and economic well-being in Nebraska, nationally and internationally.

A groundbreaking for the construction of a new building to house the college will be held in August.