Rehabilitation Science — Ph.D.
Program director
Terry D. Douglas
The School of Allied Health Professions offers the Doctor of Philosophy degree in rehabilitation science. By design, the degree program is inclusive of the many rehabilitation professions and offers opportunities for qualified clinical professionals in allied health to prepare for careers in independent research, teaching, and administration.
Program learning outcomes
By the end of the program, the graduate should be able to:
- Provide vision and direction for the integration of the rehabilitation professions.
- Commit themselves to whole-person care.
- Advance the theory and practice of rehabilitation science through research.
- Acquire and integrate knowledge related to the social and basic medical sciences.
- Assess, develop, and implement interdisciplinary community-based services.
In addition to Loma Linda University and School of Allied Health Professions admissions requirements, applicants must meet the following minimum requirements:
- Master's degree in any allied health professions area or discipline related to rehabilitation science.
- Minimum G.P.A. of 3.0 in academic and professional coursework.
Prospective students are required to submit the following:
- A formal letter of support from a primary research faculty member at Loma Linda University whose research interests and availability most closely match those of the applicant. The program director will coordinate meetings between applicants and prospective research faculty members.
- Curriculum vita, including work history, formal education, continuing education, licensure or certification, professional organizations, honors, awards, publications, presentations, and grants.
- At least one example of written work (e.g., term paper, course assignment, publication, master's degree research project or thesis).
- Proof of involvement in a complete research project (group or individual) that involved data collection and production of a research paper or research poster.
A minimum of 80 units beyond the master's degree is required for students holding a master's or doctoral degree in a professional area. The student's program coursework for the degree must be approved by the Doctor of Philosophy in Rehabilitation Science Committee.
| Domain 1 | ||
| Rehabilitation Science and LLU Values (16 units) | ||
| RESC 517 | Profession Advocacy in Allied Health Professions | 4 |
| RESC 519 | Rehabilitation Theories and Applications in Health Care | 3 |
| Choose from the following (9 units minimum): | 9 | |
| Lifestyle Health and Wholeness | ||
| Managing Stress | ||
| Legal and Ethical Issues in the Health Professions | ||
| Spirituality and Health: The Wholeness Connection | ||
| Vegetarian Nutrition: Person, Population, Planet | ||
| Couples, Families, and Disabilities | ||
| Domain 2 | ||
| Leadership | ||
| Choose from the following (6 units minimum): | 6 | |
| Human Resource Management in the Health-Care Environment | ||
| Administration in Higher Education | ||
| Leadership for Health Professionals | ||
| Professional Leadership | ||
| Building Healthy Individuals | ||
| Building Healthy Communities 1 | ||
| Building Healthy Systems | ||
| Professional Systems in Management I | ||
| Clinical Issues in Speech-Language Pathology | ||
| Domain 3 | ||
| Education | ||
| Choose from the following (6 units minimum): | 6 | |
| Educational Evaluation and Clinical Assessment | ||
| Transformational Teaching and Learning | ||
| Curriculum Development in Higher Education | ||
| Collaborative Learning in Higher Education | ||
| Instructional Design I | ||
| Education for Health Professionals | ||
| Pedagogy: The Art and Science of Teaching | ||
| Transformative Communication | ||
| Religion and wholeness | ||
| Include 9 units of religion, chosen from the following ethical, theological, and relational courses; and the Graduate Wholeness Portfolio | ||
| AHCJ 519 | Graduate Wholeness Portfolio | 1 |
| Choose from the following (3 units minimum): | 3 | |
| Bioethics and Society | ||
| Ethics for Scientists | ||
| Ethical Issues in Health-Care Management | ||
| Christian Social Ethics | ||
| World Religions and Bioethics | ||
| Philosophical Ethics | ||
| Choose from the following (3 units minimum): | 3 | |
| Wholeness and Health | ||
| Culture, Psychology, and Religion | ||
| Religion and the Social Sciences | ||
| Choose from the following (3 units minimum): | 3 | |
| Biblical Perspectives in Religion and Health | ||
| World Religions and Human Health | ||
| Theology of Human Suffering | ||
| Research and dissertation | ||
| Didactic coursework (15 units minimum) | ||
| AHRM 581 | Research and Statistics I | 3 |
| AHRM 582 | Research and Statistics II | 3 |
| EPDM 509 | Principles of Epidemiology | 3 |
| Select from the following (6 units minimum): | 6 | |
| Writing for Health-Care Professionals | ||
| Nonparametric Statistics for the Health Professions | ||
| Critical Analysis of Scientific Literature | ||
| Data Collection Methods | ||
| Qualitative Research Methods | ||
| Components of Clinical Inquiry | ||
| Grant- and Contract-Proposal Writing | ||
| Selectives | ||
| Advanced coursework in speciality area | 6 | |
| RESC 697 | Research (1-12) | 21 |
| Total Units | 80 | |
- 1
Fulfills service learning requirement
Service learning requirement
This requirement may be met by taking PHCJ 610 Building Healthy Communities or a religion course designated as a service learning course. For more information about this requirement and a list of religion courses that fulfill it, see section on academic service learning in this CATALOG.
Comprehensive examinations
The written comprehensive examination is designed to establish that the student has a broad understanding of rehabilitation science. A student is eligible to take the written examination after completing coursework from the three domains and six units in research and statistics.
The oral examination is designed to establish that the student has adequate foundational information in appropriate content areas, as well as a plan to answer a research question appropriate for a doctoral dissertation. Following successful completion of the written comprehensive examination, the oral examination will be scheduled by the student's research mentor in consultation with the program director. The examination will cover the student's research proposal and content areas on which the proposal rests.
Advancement to candidacy
The student may apply for admission to doctoral candidacy after (a) passing the written and preliminary oral comprehensive examinations, and (b) securing the approval of their research advisory committee.
Dissertation
The candidate's capacity for independent investigation and scholarly achievement must be demonstrated by the presentation and oral defense of an acceptable dissertation, resulting in at least two publications in peer-reviewed journals. One paper must be accepted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal before the candidate's graduation.
General requirements
For information about requirements and practices to which all graduate students are subject, the student should consult the Policies and General Regulations sections of this catalog for the University and the School of Allied Health Professions.
Normal time to complete the program
Four (4) to five (5) years based on three-quarter-time enrollment
Courses
RESC 517. Profession Advocacy in Allied Health Professions. 4 Units.
Examines legislative and regulatory bodies that define and regulate health-care practice in California. Identifies techniques to advance the profession's advocacy. Field training experience includes district and state capitol meetings with legislators and policymakers.
RESC 519. Rehabilitation Theories and Applications in Health Care. 3 Units.
History of and current trends in health care theory and applications, emphasizing successful approaches to integration of the rehabilitation professions.
RESC 697. Research. 1-12 Units.
Must be repeated to complete the total required units.
