Ph.D. in One Health Sciences Program

Grad student discussing research project

Grad student working on research equipment

The PhD in One Health Sciences is a pioneering program at both state and national levels. The innovative, competency-based program will position TTU as a global leader in One Health scholarship and discovery. It provides unique opportunities to recruit talented scholars and graduate students to Texas. The program is built on the strength, diversity, and expertise of the TTU SVM faculty members and the school’s strategic location both within the heart of Texas’ animal agriculture and adjacent to TTU Health Sciences Center in Amarillo.

Goals of PhD in One Health Sciences

Train a new generation of scientists and leaders capable of addressing societal problems within the interprofessional framework of One Health.
Enhance animal, human, and ecosystem health by applying expertise, critical thinking, and systems thinking developed in a core curriculum and reinforced throughout discipline-focused electives.
Foster interdisciplinary and interprofessional research leading to discoveries benefiting animal and human populations at regional, national, and global levels.
Advance understanding of the determinants of disease in populations and provide solutions to enhance population-based medicine.
Provide entrepreneurial opportunities for students.

Key features of PhD in One Health Sciences

Choose a research path and design a degree program within five interdisciplinary research emphases: One Health; Disease Ecology, Prevention and Management; Andragogical Scholarship; Sustainability of Animal Agriculture, and Molecular Mechanisms of Disease.
Through the core curriculum, journal club, and seminars, students will gain experience in critical thinking at the intersection of disciplines.
Our research‐intensive veterinary school allows for close linkages to the College of Agricultural and Natural Sciences, Department of Biological Sciences, Department of Nutritional Sciences, Schools of Medicine and Pharmacy at TTU Health Sciences Center, as well as collaboration with governmental and non-governmental agencies and partner practices.
Training in research methods, experimental design, qualitative and/or quantitative analyses allows students to be excellent communicators of One Health Sciences and their individual expertise.
Conduct cutting-edge research in our state-of-the art laboratories.

Timeline and Credit Hour Requirements

All requirements for the doctoral degree must be completed within a period of eight consecutive calendar years or four years from admission to candidacy, whichever comes first. For more information, visit the Graduate School Academic Catalog. If work is incomplete at the maximum time limit, the graduate student will be required to withdraw from the SVM Graduate Program. Only under highly unusual circumstances will the Associate Dean for Research recommend an extension beyond the maximum program time limits to the Dean of the Graduate School. Though every effort will be made by the major advisor and graduate office to remind the student of the various TTU Graduate School and SVM graduate program deadlines, it is the student’s responsibility to adhere to the regulations and deadlines.

Students will be required to complete a minimum of 72 semester credit hours (SCH) of course work. This includes 14 SCH of core courses, 2 SCH of seminars, 2 SCH of journal clubs, 42 SCH of electives, and 12 SCH of dissertation.

Course Requirements

Students should consult with their major advisor to determine the course enrollment for each semester. As some courses are not offered every semester or every year, it is important for students to discuss their plan with a major advisor. The proposed plan of course work should be approved by the student’s Advisory Committee. The list of courses is provided in Appendix VII and summarized below:

Core courses (14 credits): The core courses emphasize skills required for scientific inquiry, investigation of One Health concepts, and professional development.
Required courses (4 credits): Students are required to enroll in two semesters each of Research Seminar (1 credit) and Journal Club (1 credit), in years 1-4. These courses will reinforce the skills of inquiry and investigation, inclusion, and the importance of communicating science. Students will also be required to take Responsible Conduct of Research training.
Elective courses (42 credits): Students will complete at least an additional 42 credits of committee-approved electives, which may include special topics courses and research hours. These courses are intended to allow students to acquire necessary disciplinary expertise in support of the individual program of research.

Dissertation (12 credits): Students are all required to enroll in a total of 12 dissertation credits in support of successful progress on their dissertation research.

Graduate Course Offerings

Required/Core Courses

SVM 6301* One Health Concepts and Practice: 3 credit hours
SVM 6311* Qualitative and Quantitative Statistics 1: 3 credit hours
SVM 6211* Inquiry, Investigation, and Innovation: 2 credit hours
SVM 6101* Leadership, Communication, and Crisis Management I: 1 credit hours
SVM 6201* Population Health and Management: 2 credit hours
SVM 6302* Applied One Health and Public Policy: 3 credit hours
SVM 6104 Journal Club: 1credit hours
SVM 6103 Research Seminar: 1credit hours
SVM 8000 Doctoral Dissertation: Variable

*Core courses (14 credits)

Elective Courses

SVM 6001* Advanced Special Problems: Variable
SVM 6100 Seminar: Grant Writing: 1 credit hour
SVM 7000 Research: Variable

For a more detailed description of the program and its requirements, read the PhD in One Health Sciences Texas Tech University School of Veterinary Medicine Graduate Student Handbook.