The Doctor of Philosophy in Behavioral Sciences & Health Promotion focuses on behavioral and socioecological aspects of public health and the development, evaluation, and implementation of health promotion interventions. It prepares scholars to develop and integrate state-of-the-art social and behavioral science theory, design, and analytic approaches to examine current problems in public health while working alongside communities. The emphasis is on preparation for independent research and teaching. An important component of this degree program is the ability to contribute to the scientific literature.

See the 2024-2025 Behavioral Sciences and Health Promotion PhD degree planner. 

All doctoral students have access to expertise, faculty, and research across all locations.

This degree program is managed by the Department of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences (HPBS).

The department chair is Dr. Christine Markham, and the academics and admissions advisor is Jennifer Roberts.

For more information about the Department of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences, visit their web page.

In addition to the UTHealth Houston School of Public Health’s general admission requirements, Behavioral Sciences and Health Promotion PhD candidate applications will also be evaluated against the following considerations:  

• An earned master’s degree in a social or behavioral science, OR an earned master's degree in public health with research experiences, thesis experience, and/or coursework related to social and behavioral sciences, OR an earned master’s degree in another field and at least 12 hours of upper division undergraduate or graduate coursework in social or behavioral sciences
• Submission of a writing sample (theses, publications, or other academic work) that demonstrates competence in written communication for academic work; the applicant should be the sole or first author on submitted work

The PhD program requires students to complete 48 credit hours* as detailed in the Behavioral Sciences and Health Promotion PhD degree planner. Most full-time students complete the PhD program in four to five years. All students are eligible to elect to complete one or more graduate certificates in addition to required coursework. 

For more information about academic requirements at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health, reference the academic catalog. 

*For students who do not hold a graduate degree in public health, additional coursework and time to bring you up to competence may be required.