Overview of Graduate Programs in Biobehavioral Health

The interdisciplinary graduate program in biobehavioral health helps prepare students to focus on how biological, behavioral, sociocultural and environmental variables interact to infl uence health in individuals and groups. Because health often is a product of a number of interactions, effective interventions may require combinations of biological, behavioral, sociocultural and environmental strategies. Scholars and professionals who can bring this integrated perspective to their work are needed in research, teaching and policy-making roles in a variety of settings, including the healthcare fi eld, research laboratories, government agencies, universities and medical schools.

The College

The graduate program in biobehavioral health is part of Penn State’s College of Health and Human Development— the fi rst college in the country with a combined emphasis on human development and human health. The college focuses on understanding and infl uencing the development of healthy individuals, the prevention of injury or illness, the developmental processes leading to illness or injury and the recovery of health and the management of health and human service programs and delivery systems.

The College offers graduate degrees in eight programs: biobehavioral health; communication sciences and disorders; kinesiology; health policy and administration; hotel, restaurant and institutional management; human development and family studies; leisure studies; and nursing. In addition, the college participates in three intercollege graduate programs: genetics, nutrition and physiology.

The Doctoral Program

Biobehavioral health is an interdisciplinary graduate program that focuses on the interaction of biological, behavioral, sociological and environmental processes in promoting healthy human development and in the causes of, prevention of and rehabilitation from health problems. The program is designed to cultivate competence in basic and applied research, in the development and evaluation of intervention strategies and in university teaching. Behavioral and biological issues have equal emphasis within the program and are seen as fundamental and interacting infl uences on health and disease. The program emphasizes both individual and public health issues. Students with special interests and backgrounds may elaborate on the base provided by the biobehavioral health program with supplemental study in any of the college's other graduate programs or in graduate programs offered elsewhere in the University.

Research

Current research interests include gender and health, endocrinology and development, hormones and behavior, health and developmental genetics, addictions, tobacco use, alcohol use, alcohol impairment, multiple drug use, genetics and psychopathology, nutrition, sexual health, exercise physiology, adolescence and health, health through the lifespan, cognitive impairment, pharmaceutical drug use by the elderly, systems theory and scientifi c methodology, responses to stress, stress and emotionality, immunology and senescence, psychoneuro-immunology, regulation of food and fl uid intake, obesity, eating disorders and cardiovascular and neuroendocrine psychophysiology.

Facilities

The college offers outstanding resources and potential research opportunities for students in biobehavioral health. These include the Nutrition Clinic and the Speech and Hearing Clinic; the Gerontology Center; the Noll Physiological Research Center, the Methodology Center; the centers for Developmental and Health Genetics, Human Development and Family Research in Diverse Contexts, and the Study of Child and Adolescent Development; special laboratories in behavioral endocrinology, biomechanics, immunology, molecular genetics, motor behavior, pharmacology, cardiovascular activity and nutrition; and extensive computer resources.

Admission Requirements

Entering students should be college graduates with an undergraduate or master’s degree; a health professions degree emphasizing biological, health and/or behavioral sciences; or an interdisciplinary program combining aspects of both (pre-med, for example). They also should have a basic background in quantitative methods; have demonstrated competence in English (international students for whom English is a second language should take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and score 600 or above); and have scores from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or from the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT). Applicants should have a minimum grade-point average of 3.00 on a 4.00 scale and three letters of recommendation. Exceptions to these requirements may be made for students with special backgrounds, abilities and interests. In exceptional cases, superior students who do not meet admission requirements may be admitted provisionally with the opportunity to correct their defi ciencies. Prospective candidates must apply to the Graduate School and the biobehavioral health program. Admission is for fall semester only; the application deadline is January 14. For more information, please consult the Graduate School requirements in the “General Information” section of the Graduate Degree Programs bulletin.

Degree requirements

Formal admission to the doctoral program depends on satisfactory completion of the candidacy examination. Doctoral students must demonstrate competency in spoken English and in technical writing. In addition, they must demonstrate competence in one of the following areas: (1) a foreign language, (2) computer science, (3) college teaching or (4) logic or philosophy of science. All students must take fi ve core courses in biobehavioral health and 12 additional credits in research methodology and statistical analysis. The remainder of each student’s program is designed individually in consultation with the student’s adviser and committee.

Student Aid

Financial assistance is available through assistantships, traineeships, fellowships, loan funds, and veterans’ benefits. Employment for students and spouses also is possible at the University and in the community. Information can be obtained from the program or THE GRADUATE SCHOOL INFORMATION CENTER/THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY/114 KERN GRADUATE BUILDING/UNIVERSITY PARK PA 16802-3396.

For More Information

To learn more about the graduate program in the Department of Biobehavioral Health, call or write:

Professor-In-Charge Of The Graduate Program
Department Of Biobehavioral Health
The Pennsylvania State University
315 Health And Human Development East
University Park, PA 16802-6508

(814) 863-7256
bbhgraduateinfo@psu.edu