Graduate Education

PhD Programs

Graduate education is a major focus of the educational mission of the Schools within the Health Science Center. For the student, it represents not only learning a new body of knowledge, but also learning the skills to conduct research to acquire new knowledge to benefit future generations.

  • Biomedical Sciences

    The Biomedical Sciences reside in the Schools of Medicine and Pharmacy at the West Virginia University Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center. As a student, you will enter as an undifferentiated student and take core coursework and conduct at least three research rotations during your first semester. You will have the opportunity to select a graduate program from one of eight PhD degree-granting programs and a faculty dissertation mentor during the first year of study.

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  • Clinical & Translational Science

    The PhD program in Clinical & Translational Science has been developed in response to the fundamental changes taking place in biomedical science research and education in North America and worldwide, and will consist of a set of core, required courses and research experiences in basic, population, and clinical sciences.

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  • Health Services & Outcomes Research

    The Health Services & Outcomes Research graduate program of the School of Pharmacy at WVU is committed to the School's mission to seek improvement for human health, with particular attention to the needs of West Virginia citizens, by educating highly qualified individuals to conduct research that advances knowledge in the pharmaceutical sciences.

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  • MD/PhD

    The MD/PhD Program will prepare you for an academic career that combines the practice and teaching of clinical medicine with investigation of mechanisms of disease. The long range goal is to train you to be an independent investigator and function as a physician/scientist. The average time to completion for the MD/PhD degree is 7.9 years.

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  • Nursing Research

    The PhD in Nursing at WVU is a part-time blended program with in-person and distance learning components. Three years of coursework, delivered online during Fall/Spring/Summer, followed by a qualifying examination. Students then complete the research and dissertation phase, culminating in a written and oral dissertation defense.

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  • Public Health Sciences

    The Public Health Sciences emphasizes both evidence-based primary prevention of disease and injury, and health promotion research and practice. The program is designed to provide state of the art doctoral education to a select group of highly qualified students who desire to positively impact the public's health. We aim to train these students in a research intensive curriculum that is guided by a distinguished faculty at the leading edge of effective public health science.

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  • Biomedical Engineering

    The PhD program in Biomedical Engineering resides in the Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources. Students can train with faculty at the Health Sciences Center while earning their degree in this program. A flexible curriculum and access to collaborative research program between the Health Sciences Center and the College of Engineering provide unique training opportunities.

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