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The Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBS) in the School of Nursing at the University of California, San Francisco, is one of four departments of instruction and research. Also affiliated with the School of Nursing and with the SBS department is the Institute of Health & Aging.
The SBS Ph.D. program in Sociology emphasises the sociology of health, medicine, and health care systems.
The department's strong multidisciplinary faculty teach and conduct research across a wide range of interests, focusing on the social/political/policy level. Areas of expertise include aging and long term care policy; managed care; the tobacco industry and tobacco control policy; substance use policy; feminist theory; women's health; science and technology studies; ethics; health economics; violence and youth, and others. Tailoring programs to meet the individual learning goals of students is an aim of all programs.
The Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences offers a doctoral program which leads to the PhD in Sociology. The substantive focus of the program lies in the sociology of health and illness and biomedicine, with options for specialization in an area relevant to health. Qualitative research and analysis and quantitative methods are emphasized.
The Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences also offers instruction in research methodology and sociology to enrich the nursing programs and to contribute social science perspectives to the health science mission of the campus.
Areas of specialty concentration are available: aging, chronic illness, and disability; health policy and economics; health professions, occupations, and organizations; and women, health, and healing. The sociology of race/ethnicity, the sociology of science and technology, and the sociology of AIDS/HIV are additional areas of study.
Coursework is designed to develop knowledge and skill in field research, program evaluation, and health services and policy research. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods and advanced statistics are required in the curriculum. All the above-mentioned orientations and substantive areas of study reflect both the past work and current research interests of the departmental faculty, and from a research standpoint are particularly well suited to the highly urbanized health- and science-oriented setting of the San Francisco campus.
The sociology doctoral program accepts applications from postbaccalaureate students with good backgrounds in the social sciences, in certain humanities such as history or philosophy, or in the health professions such as public health, nursing, psychology, or social work. To qualify for candidacy for the doctoral degree, students must satisfactorily complete a preliminary theory examination and a qualifying examination in sociology of health and illness at the end of the first and second years. Additionally, the student must prepare a scholarly paper on a relevant problem leading to the dissertation, which usually addresses selected specialty areas.
The Department is affiliated with the Institute for Health & Aging and the Institute for Health Policy Studies, and collaborates with several other departments. SBS is also part of the newly formed Center for Health and Community, a group of health policy and social sciences departments and research units with a common mission that includes advancing innovative partnerships and interdisciplinary programs.
A limited number of fellowships and research assistantships are available, either through the resources of the University, the program itself, the Institute for Health & Aging, or ongoing research programs in the department or on campus.
Recruitment and screening of applications for this program is handled directly by the department. Both SBS and IHA offices are located in the Laurel Heights campus, 3333 California Street, near the historic San Francisco Presidio on the north edge of the city.
Further information may be obtained by mail from:

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| Revised: Sept. 2003 | Contact: info@nursing.ucsf.edu · © Copyright 2003 University of California Regents, All Rights Reserved. | |||||||||||||