Nickola W. Nelson PhD., Director
2584 CHHS Building
Telephone: (269) 387-7990
Fax: (269) 387-8912

The Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Health Sciences (IHS) is designed to prepare Health and Human Service professionals for careers in research, teaching, and leadership. Several national commissions, including the Pew Health Professions Commission and the National Commission on Allied Health, have challenged higher educational institutions to respond to fundamental changes in health and related systems by designing more flexible curricula, removing disciplinary boundaries, and increasing research.  The College of Health and Human Services has met this challenge by developing a three-strand curriculum - research, policy and service delivery, and pedagogy - all with a focus on interdisciplinary approaches to problem solving. In order to meet the needs of working professionals, the courses are delivered through a hybrid of e-learning modalities and intensive on-campus weekend and summer sessions. Students enter the program as a cohort once every two years (in even years) and can complete the didactic sequence in two years. Comprehensive examinations and dissertation research can be completed in an additional two to three years. 

Admission requirements

Students are admitted to the program as a cohort every two years, in even-numbered years, based on a competitive written application and face-to face interview process. Applicants to the program are expected to meet, as a minimum, the entrance requirements of the Graduate College and to document:

1. Two years of professional experience in a field relevant to health and human services.
2. Master’s degree with a minimum graduate grade point average of 3.25/4.00.
3. Completion of the Graduate Record Examination.
4. Completion of at least one graduate level course in statistical methods, with a minimum of a grade B within the past 10 years (can be completed after acceptance and prior to first enrollment).
5. Computer competency in databases, word-processing, spreadsheets, and Internet use.

Application must be made through the WMU online graduate application system. This allows all students (domestic and international) to submit required information into one system. The PhD program in Interdisciplinary Health Sciences uses a competitive admissions process, based on information provided about the student’s academic and clinical background, and content and writing skills observed in their narrative statements. Letters of recommendation from three academic or professional sources also are required. Finalists participate in on-campus interviews. Approximately 12 applicants are invited to enroll with each cohort, including no more than three from any one discipline.