PhD in Social and Behavioral Sciences
The Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBS) Department aims to understand and improve health equity, both domestically and globally. SBS provides instruction in the theory and methods of the social and behavioral sciences that emphasize individual, interpersonal, community, and structural influences on health, illness, and recovery. The primary emphases are focused on (1) understanding the psychosocial, behavioral, community, and societal influences on health in the general population, with a focus on those who are disadvantaged; and (2) creating multilevel interventions that eliminate barriers to health, from infancy to old age. The SBS curriculum takes an interdisciplinary approach and focuses on integrating methods from epidemiology and the social sciences, training scientists with a broad skill set that allows them to answer a host of complex research questions. The department has numerous research strengths including in HIV/AIDS, aging health, community engaged health research, maternal child health, mental health, health equity and disparities, and stigma prevention and health.
This program does not accept General GRE test scores.
Degree Requirements - PhD in Social and Behavioral Sciences
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2025-26 Matriculation
All courses are 1 unit unless otherwise noted.
The PhD degree requires a total of 15-course units. Course substitutions must be identified, and approved by the student’s adviser and DGS.
PhD Required Courses (5 course units)
- Public Health Primer- 0 units
- CDE 617 Developing a Research Proposal
- PUBH 508 Foundations of Epidemiology and Public Health
- PUBH 600 Research Ethics and Responsibilities - 0 units
- SBS 580 Qualitative Research Methods in Public Health
- SBS 610 Applied Area Readings for Qualifying Examinations
- SBS 699 Advanced Topics in Social and Behavioral Sciences
One of the following (1 course unit):
- SBS 574 Developing a Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Intervention
- SBS 541 Community Health Program Evaluation
- SBS 593 Community-Based Participatory Research in Public Health
PhD Required Methods or Statistics: Two of the following (2 course units)
- BIS 621 Regression Models for Public Health OR BIS 623 Advanced Regression Methods
- BIS 628 Longitudinal and Multilevel Data Analysis
- CDE/EHS 566 Causal Inference Methods in Public Health Research OR BIS 537 Statistical Methods for Causal Inference
- EMD 582/GLBL 716 Political Epidemiology
- S&DS 5630 Multivariate Statistical Methods for the Social Sciences
PhD Methods or Statistics Elective (1 course unit)
PhD Electives (6 course units)
Chosen in consultation with the student’s adviser.
PhD Competencies - Social and Behavioral Sciences
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- Analyze how culture, social inequities, and biology influence health across the life span.
- Understand and conduct qualitative analyses that best answer research problems.
- Understand and conduct quantitative analyses that best answer research problems.
Research
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Recent Dissertation Projects
- Developing, Implementing, and Pilot Testing an Informed Decision Aid for Opioid Agonist Therapies for People Who Use Drugs in Ukraine
- Advancing our Ability to Monitor and Address the Population Health Impacts of the Commercial Determinants of Health
- Stigma and Affective Cognition: A Learning-Based Account of Intergroup Differences in Facial Emotion Processing
- Psychosocial Correlates of HIV Prevention, Care, and Well-Being Among Older Women Aging with HIV
- Reducing Dementia Risk by Identifying and Promoting Social Determinants: A Multi-Site and Multi-Method Study
- Developing e-Covery, an App-based Intervention to Support Individuals With Co-occurring Problem Alcohol and Opioid Use
- Investigating How Religiosity, Spirituality, and Spiritual Consciousness Influence the Relationship Between Stress and Health Among Young Adults in the United States
- Analytic Frameworks for Decision Making in Work-Related Lactation Support Policies
- Intersections of Place, Race and Health: Exploring Gentrification's Racialized Health Implications and the Case for Comprehensive Reparative Strategies