PhD

PPGSP/UFC established its own PhD course in 2015. Before that, it participated for six years in the first PhD in Collective Health of the State of Ceará, modality of Broad Association of Higher Education Institutions – a pioneering project, within a partnership between the Federal University of Ceará (UFC), the State University of Ceará (UECE) and the University of Fortaleza (UNIFOR). 

Between 2015 and 2020, there were 26 graduates of the PhD in Collective Health in Broad Association of Higher Education Institutions (UECE/UFC/UNIFOR), advised by UFC faculty, and 23 graduates of the PPGSP/UFC PhD course. 

The PhD in Public Health at the UFC considers the intrinsically interdisciplinary characteristics of Collective Health, welcoming students from different courses in health and related areas. 

The course seeks greater responsiveness to the challenges of expanding the training of doctors in less favored Brazilian scenarios, especially in the North and Northeast regions of the country. It also represents a response to the need to offer programs that are in line with the training needs of professors, researchers and workers concerned with health needs.

The regular time for the PhD is forty-eight (48) months. The completion of PhD studies includes disciplines, modules and/or academic activities, expressed in units of credits, requires at least sixty (60) credits, each credit being equivalent to 16 hours.

The course is structured into two areas of concentration, with two sub areas of research each:

AREA 1 – EPIDEMIOLOGY AND HEALTH SURVEILLANCE

Sub Area – Epidemiology and surveillance of communicable diseases

Sub Area – Epidemiology and surveillance of non-communicable diseases/illnesses

AREA 2 – HEALTH EVALUATION

Sub Area – Health policy and technology assessment

Sub Area – Qualitative evaluation of services and programs

The students have the flexibility to establish their own complementary choices to the research project developed throughout the course. The curriculum of the PhD consists of three mandatory modules of epistemological foundation of the scientific field of Collective Health and Theoretical and methodological foundations for the thesis project, each composed of three credits (48 hours). All other modules are optional, preferably focused on each of the PPGSP/UFC concentration areas, with three credits each. In addition to the modules, the PhD course requires the completion of some activities: Advised Study, Teacher Training I e II, Foreign Language Proficiency and Comprehensive Exam.

PHD IN PUBLIC HEALTH CURRICULUM

COMPULSORY MODULES

CODEMODULECREDITS
SDP8001Seminars of Research Development3
SDP8005The Field of Collective Health: History, Fundamentals and Settings3
SDP8018Fundamentals on Collective Health Epistemology3
SDP8999Thesis12

OPTIONAL MODULES

CODEMODULECREDITS
SDP8002Paper Writing Workshop I (Qualitative Research)3
SDP8003Organization, Administration and Evaluation of Health Systems and Services3
SDP8004Qualitative Methodology of Social Research in Health3
SDP8006Special Topics in Evaluation of Health Interventions3
SDP8007Advanced Topics in Collective Health Epistemology3
SDP8008Epidemiology and Health Surveillance3
SDP8009Statistics Applied to Epidemiology3
SDP8010Paper Writing Workshop II (Quantitative Research)3
SDP8011Teacher Training in Collective Health3
SDP8013Epidemiologic Research3
SDP8014Advanced Topics in Epidemiology and Surveillance of Noncommunicable Diseases3
SDP8015Advanced Topics in Epidemiology and Surveillance of Communicable Diseases3
SDP8016Informatics Applied to Epidemiology and Surveillance3
SDP8017Qualitative Evaluation of Health Programs and Services3
SDP8019Methods and Techniques in Qualitative Evaluation Research3
SDP8020Health Evaluation: Paradigms, Methods and Techniques3
SDP8026Food Environment3

ACTIVITIES

CODEACTIVITYCREDITS
SDP8012Advised Study3
SDP8021Teacher Training I4
SDP8022Teacher Training II4
SDP8023Comprehensive Exam1
SDP8024Foreign Language Proficiency1