The PhD degree is a research-oriented doctoral degree. In the first two years, students take core courses in the Departments of Mental Health, Biostatistics, and Epidemiology, in research ethics, and attend weekly department seminars. Students must complete a written comprehensive exam (in January of their second year), a preliminary exam, two presentations and a final dissertation including presentation and defense. Throughout their time in the department, we encourage all doctoral students to participate in at least one research group of the major research programs in the department: Substance Use Epidemiology, Global Mental Health, Mental Health and Aging, Mental Health Services and Policy, Methods, Prevention Research, Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetic Epidemiology, Psychiatric Epidemiology, and Autism and Developmental Disabilities. The Methods research area develops and applies innovative qualitative and quantitative methods for public mental health research, with a focus on statistical methods and economic models. These methods, applied across other program areas, are crucial for generating accurate answers to research questions. Faculty in the methods area address complications regarding missing data and non-adherence in randomized trials, as well as teach students how to analyze complex data such as DNA or complex longitudinal data, how to measure and model variables that are not directly observable and how to model the cost and benefit trade-offs of preventive interventions. There are strong links between the methods research area and other groups in the Department, such as the substance use research group, the Center for Prevention and Early Intervention and the Center for the Prevention of Youth Violence.
