Applied Health Sciences

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GRADUATE DEGREES OFFERED:

•  Master’s of Science:

  • Health Sciences

    • Public Health

    • Public Health Nutrition

           o Dietetics

•  Doctorate of Health Sciences

Dr. Kathryn Berlin, Chairperson
Department Office: Health and Human Services Building, Arena B-83
Department Phone:812-237-3079 or 812-237-3297
Fax: 812-237-8607
Web site: www.indstate.edu/health/department/ahs
E-mail: ahs@indstate.edu

INTRODUCTION

The Department of Applied Health Sciences offers various programs designed for students seeking graduate degrees to develop master’s or doctoral level proficiency in their chosen profession.
 

MAIN OBJECTIVE

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Doctorate of Health Sciences

To be considered for admission, a student must satisfy all general requirements of the College of Graduate and Professional Studies as stated in the Graduate Catalog. In addition applicants to the Doctorate of Health Sciences must earn a grade point average of 3.0 or above in all graduate coursework completed.
 

Minimum qualifications:
 

• Master’s degree in a health-related field or Master’s degree in any field with the equivalent of three years full-time work in a health-related field.

• Completion of at least one Master’s level statistics course with a B or better

• Completion of at least one Master’s level research methods course with a B or better

It should not be assumed that meeting minimal qualifications guarantees admission to the program. The admissions committee must receive all of the following before an application will be reviewed. Please note that the DHSc program only admits for Fall semester and that the review of applications will begin in late February with admission decisions made by late March.
 

• Completed admission application to the College of Graduate and Professional Studies

• A written statement of purpose

• Your statement should speak to any pertinent background experiences, your interest in the program at Indiana State and identify at least two faculty you feel might be beneficial helping with your research plans.

• A copy of the applicant’s curriculum vitae or resume

• Contact information for at least three people who know the prospective student in a professional capacity

• One official transcript from each school at which any undergraduate or graduate work has been done

• Scores on the Graduate Record Examination - General Tests (Verbal, Quantitative, and Analytical).

International students must also comply with TOEFL score requirements as stated in the Graduate Catalog. Requests to complete Interlink in lieu of TOEFL scores will be considered on the basis of submitted, adequate scores on the Graduate Record Examination Tests.
 

The admissions committee may require the applicant to appear for a personal interview and to present evidence of his or her ability to write acceptable prose under controlled conditions.
 

QUALIFYING EXAMINATION AND ADMISSION TO CANDIDACY FOR THE DOCTORATE OF HEALTH SCIENCES

To be eligible to sit for the qualifying examination, students must have an approved dissertation committee and have no more than 15 hours of coursework left to complete (not counting dissertation hours) in their program of study. The student must notify their committee of intent to sit for the examination the semester prior to taking their qualifying examination. The student must satisfactorily pass all components of the examination. The department, with the approval of the College of Graduate and Professional Studies, will set dates for the administration of the examinations. Qualifying examinations are typically scheduled for the fifth full week of each fall and spring semester. Upon evaluation of the written and teaching portions of the examination, the student’s committee may recommend advancement to oral examination, which will occur within two weeks of the evaluation of the written examination. The evaluation will be certified by the Applied Health Sciences department chairperson, the dean of the College of Health and Human Services, and the dean of the College of Graduate and Professional Studies. When there is disagreement at the program level resulting in lack of consensus regarding overall performance, the case will be referred to the department chairperson and dean of the College of Graduate and Professional Studies.

Qualifying Examination

The Qualifying Examination of the Department of Applied Health Sciences will consist of three parts.

Part one will consist of a four-hour morning writing session with questions covering content from the Doctorate of Health Sciences program of study.

Part two will consist of a 30-35 minute teaching presentation in an area of expertise agreed upon by the doctoral student and his or her committee and will occur within one week of completion of part one. The doctoral student must submit the area of expertise for the presentation to their dissertation committee chair at least two weeks prior to the qualifying examination date.

Part three will consist of an oral defense of parts one and two of the examination and will occur within two weeks after the teaching presentation. Part three will allow the student and committee to discuss and provide feedback on the previous portions of the examination.

Parts one and two of the Qualifying Examination will be evaluated as follows:

1. Pass. This label indicates that the student has successfully completed both portions of the qualifying examination and has advanced to candidacy in the Doctorate of Health Sciences program.
2. Fail. This label automatically indicates that the student has eliminated himself or herself from the program.
3. Fail. Eligible for re-take. Students who fail one portion of the exam will be allowed one chance to re-take that portion of the exam. This re-examination must occur within 3-weeks’ notice of qualifying results. A second failure will result in the student being eliminated from the program.

When the student has met all requirements for candidacy, the chairperson of the committee will recommend to the department chairperson, to the college dean, and to the dean of the College of Graduate and Professional Studies that the student be approved for admission to candidacy. Upon approval, the dean of the College of Graduate and Professional Studies will notify all parties concerned.

Admission to Candidacy

A student cannot and does not become a candidate for a doctoral degree until such time as he or she has been formally admitted to candidacy. In addition to successfully passing the qualifying examination, admission to candidacy will be based on other criteria including the student’s academic record and the collective opinion of the student’s doctoral committee concerning the student’s preparedness and readiness for candidacy. Therefore, admission to candidacy requires the approval of the student’s doctoral committee, chairperson of the student’s academic department, the dean of the College of Health and Human Services, and the dean of the College of Graduate and Professional Studies. Before the student applies for admission to candidacy, all appropriate requirements (e.g., course work, residency, research proficiency, qualifying examination) must have been met. In addition, any provisions or special conditions that may have been placed on the student during and/or after admission to the program (including incomplete grades) must have been resolved.

Master of Science in Health Sciences

Public Health Concentration and Public Health Nutrition Concentration

 For admission applicants must meet the general admission requirements of the College of Graduate and Professional Studies and satisfy standards established by the Department of Applied Health Sciences, including: submission of a letter of interest describing their academic and/or employment experience as well as their reasons for pursuing the master’s degree; a current résumé; and contact information for at least two people who know the applicant in a professional capacity. Applicants may also be asked to participate in an interview, which may be conducted by telephone. Scores for the General Tests of the Graduate Records Examination (if undergraduate grade point average is less than 2.75) must also be submitted.
 

The Master’s degree concentration in Public Health provides a general mastery of public health beyond that of the undergraduate level. It is recommended for those students who wish to advance their career beyond entry-level positions, who wish to assume additional organizational responsibilities, or who wish to pursue a doctorate degree. Courses for this concentration are offered in an on-line format.
 

The concentration in Public Health Nutrition is designed to meet the needs of Registered Dietitians and Public Health professionals who want to work with individuals and communities to promote healthy dietary intake. It also prepares public health officials who want to work in the obesity and chronic disease management area. Within the concentration, there is a track for Registered Dietitians and a track for those with a health promotion/public health undergraduate degree. Some courses for this concentration are offered face-to-face, and others are offered on-line.
 

Additional admissions requirements include:

1. A baccalaureate degree including the following undergraduate courses:
     a. At least two semesters of college-level anatomy and physiology; and
     b. At least one semester of college-level algebra, trigonometry, calculus, or statistics
2. One of the following professional requirements:
     a. Bachelor’s degree in a health related field; or
     b. Two years of professional work experience within the field of health care, public health, or health education/health promotion, as approved by the Department of Applied Health Sciences.

Applicants failing to meet the above requirements may be granted conditional admission on a case-by-case basis.

Master of Science: Dietetics

Students selecting the dietetics option and wishing to be eligible to sit for the Registered Dietitian (RD) exam may apply for admission to the Coordinated Program in Dietetics. This Dietetics program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Included within the required courses are 1,200 clock hours of pre-professional clinical practice experience. Upon completion of the Dietetics graduate option, graduates are eligible to take the national examination to earn the RD credential.
 

Potential students may apply for admission to the Coordinated Program in Dietetics during the spring semester each year. The program is highly competitive as admission is limited to 16 students per cohort, including undergraduate students. A minimum, overall undergraduate grade point average of 2.7 or minimum grade point average of 3.0 on the last 32 credits of course work is required for entry into the program. Graduate applicants will be evaluated along with undergraduates. Complete entrance requirements and applications may be obtained from the director of the program and are available on the web site of the Department of Applied Health Sciences. Students are required to submit a written application, transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate coursework completed, two letters of recommendation from individuals who have known the applicant in a professional capacity.
 

A student entering the program having fulfilled the required undergraduate coursework may be able to complete the Master of Science and pre-professional practice in two calendar years. Students who have not completed the necessary prerequisites will be required to complete the following undergraduate courses (or their equivalents) in order to meet the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics registration eligibility requirements:
 

• Human anatomy with lab
• Human physiology with lab
• Microbiology with lab
• Elementary chemistry with lab
• Elementary organic chemistry with lab
• Upper level biochemistry with lab
• Introduction to human nutrition (B- or better required)
• Fundamentals of foods (B- or better required)

Driver Education Licensure

All-grade or secondary content teachers can add this credential to their teacher’s license with the Indiana Professional Standard Board through the Indiana Department of Education. This program consists of three courses (9 total credit hours) that are typically taken in one 8-week summer session. All three courses meet in a synchronous, interactive online format. Upon completion of the licensure courses, students are certified to teach driver education in the private sector. The program is recognized by the American Driver and Traffic Safety Education Association.

Additional Options for Graduate Credit

Applicants who have not received official notification of admission prior to registration may enroll in up to nine credits of graduate-level coursework in the Department of Applied Health Sciences at Indiana State University under a conditional graduate admission. Students should complete the admission process in accordance with the policies of the College of Graduate and Professional Studies in order to apply the first nine credits of Indiana State University graduate work toward a specific degree program. Recommendations for admission are made by the Department of Applied Health Sciences to the College of Graduate and Professional Studies. Official notification of admission is sent to the student by the dean of the College of Graduate and Professional Studies.

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