Health Behavior

Programs Degrees Major Codes Admissions
Term Deadline
Doctoral PhD HBEH Fall* November 28, 2023**
Fall Graduate School Fellowships  December 12, 2023 (Recommended)
Director of Graduate Admissions Clare Barrington, Director of Doctoral Admissions (cbarring@email.unc.edu)
Graduate Coordinator Yolonda Childs, Academic Coordinator (childsyo@unc.edu)
Address Health Behavior
CB# 7440, 358C Rosenau Hall
University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill, NC 27599
Website Department of Health Behavior
Phone 919-966-2499
Test Requirements
GRE not required or considered
Letters of Recommendation 3
International Applicants Only TOEFL or IELTS score (no more than two years old)
Other Requirements In addition to the University’s required application materials, applicants should review the information below for additional expectations or application requirements.

Descriptions of the degree programs are available here: https://sph.unc.edu/programs/?ppk=hb-phd-r

Submitting Applications

DOCTORAL PROGRAM

. The application includes:

  • Coursework details (entered by applicant)
  • Three (3) letters of recommendation (enter names and email addresses of recommenders
  • CV or resume
  • Official transcripts from all coursework, including study abroad and non-degree courses
  • Statement of purpose (see details below)

Statement of Purpose

Please upload a double-spaced statement of purpose of up to 1500 words. The essay should address the following:

  1. Explain how your academic, professional and life experiences have informed your interest in, and approach to, health behavior research and practice.
  2. Describe your role in conducting research in health behavior or related fields, and any research products such as papers and conference presentations, resulting from that work.
  3. Tell us about research interests you would like to pursue during your doctoral studies.
  4. Outline your long-term career goals and how receiving training in our doctoral program could advance them.
  5. Indicate up to 3 faculty you would be interested in working with and why.  Our faculty and their research interests are listed here: https://sph.unc.edu/hb/hb-faculty-and-staff/. You are welcome to contact faculty in advance of applying to explore mutual interests and ascertain if they are likely to mentor incoming doctoral students in the subsequent year.
  6. Optional: Include information about any extenuating circumstances that might be reflected in your application materials that you would like to share with the admissions committee.

Statements of purpose should be original.

*For all programs, the department only admits students in the Fall semester.