CLAREMONT GRADUATE UNIVERISTY
SCHOOL OF COMMUNITY AND GLOBAL HEALTH
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
CORE COURSES
PhD Program in Health Promotion Sciences
CGH 300 – Theoretical Foundations in Health Promotion & Education (Fall, 4 units)
This course provides an opportunity for students to explore the theoretical issues and current methodologies related to
understanding and influencing health behavior change in diverse populations. The course will focus on the social and behavioral
determinants of health on the individual, interpersonal, community, institutional and policy levels. The course features guest
appearances by representatives from community-based organizations who relate course material to current challenges in
public health practice.
CGH 301 – Biostatistics (Fall, 4 units)
Students are trained in the most commonly used statistical methods in clinical and experimental research. Students learn to
select the most appropriate data analytic methods; how to apply these methods to actual data; and how to read and interpret
computer output from commonly used statistical packages. In addition, the students learn to read, critique and interpret
statistical concepts in the health science literature.
CGH 302 – Epidemiology (Fall, 4 units)
This course provides an overview of the causes, distribution, and control of disease in populations. Students are provided with
the skills and knowledge to investigate the epidemiology of a specific disease or other health-related phenomenon and to
critically evaluate population-based research studies designed to test health-related hypotheses.
CGH 312 – Data Analysis (SAS) (Spring, 4 units)
Students learn how to manage and analyze data using the SAS system. Topics include inputting data into SAS, preparing data
from analysis, data screening to understanding distributions, detect outliers etc., hypothesis testing (e.g. t-tests, nonparametric
procedures, chi-square tests, etc.), simple and multiple linear regression, techniques for building and evaluating a regression
model, analysis of variance model and logistic regression.
CGH 313 – Research Methods in Public Health (Spring, 4 units)
Students will gain an understanding of the principles and skills of conducting behavioral research, using qualitative and
quantitative approaches commonly used in public health settings.
CGH 400 – Advanced Theoretical Foundations in Health Promotion & Education (Spring, 4 units)
This course provides detailed coverage of theories in Health Promotion Sciences and expands on the exploration and evaluation
of the theories of social and behaviors influences introduced in CGH 300. The course also introduced and evaluates theories on
the influence of the built environment, social and implicit cognition, self-determination theory and theories of social influence.
An emphasis will be placed on the critical examination of theories, the degree to which they explain variance in human
behavior, and ways in which novel theories can be developed and tested in an effort to enhance the prediction of health
behavior. Prerequisite: CGH 300
CGH 401 – Advanced Statistical Methods (Spring, 4 units)
This course is designed for graduate students in public health to learn multivariable statistical techniques frequently utilized in
behavioral science research. Specific techniques cover advanced topics in regression (diagnostics, mediators and effect
modifiers, logistic regression) exploratory factor analysis, growth curves and nested models. Prerequisite: CGH 301
CGH 402– Advanced Research Methods (Fall, 4 units)
This course will provide students with a theoretical and practical overview of survey and research methodology. Topics to be
covered include questionnaire and interview design; tailoring instruments for specific settings, populations and methods of
administration; maximizing reliability of measurement; construction of scales and indices; sampling theory and methods,
assessing sampling bias, and maximizing response rates. Prerequisite: CGH 313
CGH 403 – Manuscript Development (Fall/Spring/Summer, 4 units)
This course guides students through the process of writing a manuscript for publication in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.
Students learn to evaluate the existing health literature to formulate new hypotheses, conduct statistical analysis on healthrelated data to test the hypotheses, interpret the results, and present the theoretical and applied implications of their findings.
Students gain experience in scientific writing and graphical presentation of results. The course also familiarizes students with
the process of submitting manuscripts to scientific journals.
CGH 404 – Capstone in Health Promotion Science (Spring, 4 units)
This course uses a case studies approach to integrate the diverse areas of knowledge explored during training in health
promotion sciences. Students will be equipped to better evaluate theories and intervention programs in health promotion
sciences and develop novel theories and programs. In addition, emphasis is placed on factors that facilitate the dissemination of
successful health promotions programs once developed. The course will draw on training in theory, statistical analysis and
research methods, thereby integrating each of these areas as applied to health promotion sciences. Prerequisite: Consent of
Program Director
CGH 490 Directed Research (Fall/Spring/Summer, 1-4 units)
This course provides the opportunity for students to enhance their understanding of a specific issue in public health or
preventive medicine. With the guidance from a faculty member, postdoctoral fellow, or research associate, students set
research priorities and outcomes based upon their academic interests and professional experience.