PhD in Health & Rehabilitation Science

Annie Simpson, Ph.D., Co-Director
Jesse Dean, Ph.D., Co-Director

The Doctoral Program in Health and Rehabilitation Science will uniquely position graduates for independent and team investigation of complex health issues and rehabilitation disorders that translate from the laboratory to the clinic and the community. Graduates will be researchers, clinician scholars, educators and administrators who lead interdisciplinary teams to optimize the health and rehabilitation outcomes of patients through investigations using innovative methods and cutting-edge technology.

The three tracks of our program, Pathology and Impairment, Functional Limitations, and Health Service, allow our graduates to address health and rehabilitation questions across all levels of the translational continuum and domains of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). The core courses permit students to develop their specialized research interests and mentored science from a strong foundation in health and rehabilitation theory, pedagogy, research design, statistics, grant writing, ethics and diversity. The concentration courses, laboratory rotations, independent studies, electives, and dissertation provide a comprehensive education experience through a combination of classroom and individualized learning and laboratory research experiences.

Qualified students may enter the program with a background in a variety of health-related areas such as, physical therapy, speech-language pathology, audiology, medicine, occupational therapy, exercise science, health administration, public health, biology or engineering.