PhD Degree Requirements

PhD Degree Requirements

Unit Requirements

All PhD students are required to complete a minimum 45 units of core required coursework including 12 units of electives and a minimum 2 units of the epidemiology seminar. Of the twelve elective units, 9 must be from one area from the Area of Interest Approved Electives. Full-time students must enroll for 12 units per quarter including academic, research and seminar units. Courses that fulfill any of the program course requirements may not be taken S/U unless the courses is normally graded S/U. After course requirements are completed, students may take additional classes as needed, although 12 units per quarter are often fulfilled by enrollment in EPI 299 directed research units. All required courses are taught at the 200 graduate level, unless the student is fulfilling a statistics or sampling requirement which will is offered through the statistics department through the 100 numbered series. Elective courses may be taken at either the 100 or 200 level.

Research Proposal

All PhD students are required to submit a dissertation research proposal to their assigned Qualifying Examination Committee for approval. Upon approval the student will present an open seminar and a rigorous 4 hour oral qualifying examination. Upon passing the oral examination the student will advance to candidacy.

Dissertation Committee

Doctoral students in the Graduate Group in Epidemiology follow the Dissertation Plan B option at UC Davis. UC Davis specifies a minimum three-member dissertation committee, an optional final oral examination (made on an individual student basis by the dissertation committee), and an optional required exit seminar. The GGE goes beyond the campus requirement in requiring both the final oral examination and public exit seminar.