Current Students
A. Initial Advisement upon Admission to the DrPH Program by the Assistant Director/Chair of Health Science Department or the Coordinator of DrPH Program
Admission to the DrPH program is once a year in the fall semester.
Upon admission to the DrPH program, make an appointment with the Coordinator of the DrPH program to orient you to the program and to develop your initial program of study.
You may be given an electronic copy of the DrPH Student Handbook and he/she may go over the major parts of the handbook.
You will be assigned an advisor in your area of concentration.
The DrPH Coordinator may decide to meet with the entire cohort group together on the Orientation Day the week before school starts in the fall semester.
Purchase the CSULB Catalog for the year you are admitted into the DrPH Program. It is your contract with the university. Policies and requirements for the courses may change from year to year, but you are only held to the requirements specified in the catalog of the year you are admitted in to the DrPH Program.
Any questions you may have about the DrPH program, the first person to contact is the Coordinator of the DrPH Program.
B. Advisement by your Advisor in your Area of Concentration
- This person is the one who will be working with you very closely especially when it comes time for you to work on your dissertation and start taking your concentration area courses.
- This person may be the chair of your dissertation. If he/she cannot be the chair of your dissertation, he/she will make recommendation for another chair.
- This person will be your day-to day guidance and mentorship provider and career counselor while you are in the program.
A. Policies for retention and progress
- Maintain a 3.0 grade-point average or better in all graduate work completed in the program.
- Make continuous satisfactory progress toward the degree objective.
- Abide by the university Probation and Disqualification Policy -- Academic Warning Policy
- Meet the “Residency requirement” of taking 70% of the total doctoral units from CSULB
Purpose:
a. To ensure the DrPH students’ academic competency as they advance in the doctoral program.
b. To provide guidance and focused remediation to ensure academic success in graduate school.
c. To promote academic excellence among DrPH students.
B. Policy on Satisfactory Progress:
- If a graduate student fails a course or the overall GPA drops below 3.0 on the graduate level courses, the following shall happen:
- The professor for the course will schedule a meeting with the student to discuss a plan to improve future assessments.
- The student will be asked to draft a plan for improvement to discuss with the DrPH Coordinator/ Director.
- The DrPH Director will meet with the student to discuss the expectations of graduate study in the DrPH Program and review the student’s plan for improvement.
- The CSULB Graduate Policy on Academic Probation will be discussed with the student.
- Every graduate student who has been advanced to candidacy must maintain a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 in doctoral level courses applicable to the degree.
- Candidacy for an advanced degree may be revoked if a student’s cumulative grade-point average falls below 3.0 at any time.
- Students who become subject to dismissal from an advanced degree program will be notified of the action taken by the College Associate Dean for Graduate Studies or the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and Dean of Graduate Studies or his/her designee.
- Graduate students are subject to disqualification if while on probation they fail to earn grades of sufficient quality to remove themselves from probationary status.
- Disqualification will bar such students from any further enrollment at CSULB.
References: University Policy: Probation and Disqualification
C. Residency Requirement
The residency requirement refers to the number of units taken in matriculated status at CSULB. Our campus policy (see Section 2.6) requires that “ At least 42 semester units shall be completed in residence at the campus or campuses awarding the degree. The appropriate campus authority may authorize the substitution of credit earned by alternate means for part of this residency requirement. The campus may establish a transfer policy allowing application to degree requirements of relevant coursework and credits completed as a matriculated student in another graduate program, on the condition that the other program is appropriately accredited.”(Ref: 40519.2The Doctor of Public Health Degree)
For doctoral degrees, there is a section of Title V that is specific to each type of degree. Below are the direct links to Title V for the Doctor of Public Health degree:
- DrPH Degree Information: “At least 42 semester units shall be completed in residence at the campus or campuses awarding the degree.”
- DrPH Degree Requirements
Advancement to Candidacy is essential to completion of your degree. You cannot graduate in the same semester in which you are advanced. Advancement to Candidacy forms are completed by the DrPH Coordinator and the student.
Once the form has been completed, it must be reviewed and approved by the Associate Dean of the College of Health and Human Services. It is then made part of the student's College and University record. You will receive a copy of the approved Advancement to Candidacy form from the Associate Dean.
The program of study specified in the completed Advancement to Candidacy is used by the University to perform a graduation check to determine student eligibility for graduation. Once the Advancement to Candidacy has been completed, it is possible to revise the program of study. Program changes can be made for good reason with the advice and consent of the DrPH coordinator.
The guidelines below are the policies and the procedure for all graduate programs at CSULB who are pursuing graduate degrees including the Doctoral degree. It is taken verbatim from the University Catalog 2023-2024.
“Advancement to candidacy is the next step after achieving classified status. Advancement to candidacy also signifies approval of a plan of study by the student's major department and college.
A.. The Requirements for Advancement To Candidacy are:
- Attainment of classified status as a student in a graduate program at CSULB;
- Fulfillment of the Graduation Writing Assessment Requirement (GWAR);
- Approval by the student's department and college of a program of study (see above);
- Completion with a minimum GPA of 3.0 of at least six units (9 units for DrPH) of courses required on the student's program of study;
- A cumulative, graduate, grade-point average of at least 3.0 calculated on all upper-division and graduate-level coursework attempted by the student at CSULB after completion of a baccalaureate degree;
- Satisfactory completion of any assessments of competence that the department may require.
- Passing the Qualifying Examination
CSULB will advance to candidacy all graduate students when the above requirements have been successfully completed. In most instances, advancement to candidacy should occur no later than the end of the second semester of matriculation and must occur no later than one semester or session prior to the semester or session in which the student expects to graduate. It must occur prior to a student filing a request to graduate with Enrollment Services. Normally, a student is eligible and should file for advancement to candidacy for the semester immediately after fulfilling the requirements for advancement to candidacy listed above. All students must consult with their graduate advisor regarding advancement to candidacy as well as to determine any departmental requirements to graduate from CSULB.
An approved graduate student program remains in effect so long as a candidate is making satisfactory progress and does not withdraw from CSULB. To ensure minimum satisfactory progress toward the degree objective, the student must enroll every fall and spring semester or be on approved educational leave and complete all degree requirements within seven years after completion of the first course on the student's program.
B. Amend Program of Study
Prior to advancement to candidacy the student may change degree program or options within the same department with faculty approval. Students wishing to change to a degree program in a different department must file a new application for admission. If admitted to the new discipline, the student must then follow all the steps indicated above for obtaining approval of a new student program and advancement to candidacy.
A student entering military service after having been admitted to candidacy for an advanced degree will be considered as not having withdrawn from candidacy, provided that the student is enlisted or called to active duty during a semester in which he/she is enrolled or not more than one semester thereafter and then enrolls in courses toward her/his degree within one calendar year of the date of her/his release from service.
Students who have been advanced to candidacy and absent themselves from the University on educational leave will be considered as not having withdrawn from candidacy for an advanced degree, provided the terms of the educational leave are fulfilled.
A department or college recommends a student for advancement to candidacy by forwarding a graduate student program for approval to the college dean or director of graduate studies. After the student's program has been processed and approved, a copy of the completed student program and a letter advancing the student to candidacy will be mailed to the candidate, with copies filed with the department or college and the Office of Enrollment Services.
CSULB Student Assistance Centers/Resources
Center for Community Engagement
Counseling and Psychological Center (CAPS)
University Counseling Center (phone 562-985-4001) provides free student therapeutic counseling. Check with the center for their walk-in or crisis intervention services.
The university library contains a wide assortment of public health and health-related journals and books. Orientation sessions about the facility and the services are available for students enrolled at the university. The librarian in charge of health-related disciplines is Michelle De Mars.
The Student Health Service provides care for acute illness or injury. It is an outpatient service provided to all students, and services are paid for in part by student fees. It has a pharmacy and prescriptions for acute illnesses can be filled there.
The Associated Students sponsors an individual health and accident insurance policy, which is available to enrolled students by the semester, or by the year. For details, see the University Catalog
