A Study of Graduate Bulletins to Determine General Information and Graduation Requirements for Doctoral Degree Programs in Health Education

A study of 49 university graduate bulletins was conducted to determine degree title, admission information, and graduation requirements for doctoral degree programs in health education/health promotion. Included were 27 schools of public health that potentially offered a doctoral degree in health education/health promotion. Findings indicated that the degree most frequently offered in schools other than schools of public health was the doctor of philosophy degree. In the schools of public health, the ce:degrees most frequently offered were the doctor of philosophy and doctor of public health ce:degrees. Overall, the study found many inconsistencies in admissions and graduation requirements among programs. However, non-schools of public health and schools of public health had similar components, such as core course work and hours needed for graduation. All programs also required a dissertation, followed by an oral defense, for graduation. Findings suggest many programs need clarifications in graduate bulletins and program materials to provide clear, concise messages. Utilization of the information in this study can occur both in student advising and in the initial process of determining whether program course work meets graduate level competencies.