For Prospective Doctoral Students

Applicants interested in taking a deeper dive into our Behavioral and Social Health Sciences Ph.D. program can learn more by browsing these websites and documents:

We also encourage applicants to browse the School of Public Health's Course inventory, Ph.D. funding, Stipend/Benefits Information, Financial Considerations, and Alumni Careers information.

Faculty Accepting BSHS Doctoral Students

Applicants will be asked to select an advisor for their course of study. The following faculty are available to mentor doctoral students this upcoming year:

Current graduate students enrolled in the School of Public Health's BSS-affiliated programs may find the following administrative materials and professional development links helpful. Please contact the BSS Academic Manager with suggestions for additional resources.

BSHS Doctoral Program: Guidelines and Handbooks

Forms

Please save a copy of the following helpful forms.

• BSHS Doctoral Program of Study 
• Curriculum Appeal Form (Handbook Appendix D)
• Dissertation Committee Confirmation (Handbook Appendix G)
• Dissertation Defense Information Form
• Dissertation Proposal Date Request (Handbook Appendix H)
• Dissertation Proposal Results (Handbook Appendix I)
• IDP - Individual Development Plan (Handbook Appendix J)
• Ph.D. Curriculum Completion Checklist (Handbook Appendix C)
• BSHS RAship Agreement Form

*Use this form for course waivers, curriculum appeals, and to request a Non-BSS thesis advisor

School of Public Health/Brown University Guides & Resources

• University Registrar's Calendar
• Public Health Course Offerings
• Graduate School Handbook
• Poster and PowerPoint Templates
• SPH Printing Resource
• Graduate Student Stipend Information
• Tax Information for Graduate Students
• Graduate Student Insurance Information

Tips for Navigating Graduate School

• Your First Year in a Ph.D. Program
• Navigating the Hidden Curriculum Part I 
• Navigating the Hidden Curriculum Part II
• Back to the Basics: The Urgent/Important Matrix
• Your Third Year in a Ph.D. Program
• Overview of Effective Speaking
• How to Ask 'Smart’ Questions
• Graduate Student Resources 
• Grad School Should Be Challenging, Not Traumatic
• How to Shake Off the ‘Impostor’ Fears That Plague Your Ph.D. Studies
• Mentorship Matters: Graduate Student Mentorship of Undergraduate Mentees
• Common Academic Experiences No One Talks About: Repeated Rejection, Imposter Syndrome, and Burnout
• Demystifing the BSHS  Dissertation

Research Support, Grants and External Funding

• ​​The Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies maintains a Funding Opportunities page.
• The Division of Research maintains a page about finding funding
• Systematic Review Design Guidelines
• Navigate the Research Cycle
• Brown-based RCR Training for Grants Proposals (e.g., F31, R36)
• Graduate School Incentives for External Funding 
• Sample Funding Maps for BSHS Ph.D. Students
• F31 Template: Institutional Environment and Commitment to Training
• BSS Resources for Antiracist Research

TA/TE Resources

• Sample BSHS TA Tracking Sheet
• TE Instructor Checklist
• Sample TE Syllabi
• Sample IS Syllabi

Preparing for Life After Graduate School

• The Three-Minute Pitch
• How to Ask for a Recommendation
• How to Improve Your Teaching Statement
• How to Give an Excellent STEM Job Talk
• Resources for Academic Applications 
• For Ph.D.s, a Tandem Job Search Is Increasingly the Norm
• BSHS Career Panels + Networking Opportunities
  • Large Nonprofit Research Organization
  • Research Careers in Industry
  • Varieties of Academic Positions
  • Research Positions in State and City Government
  • Non-academic Research Careers (Part 1)
  • Non-academic Research Careers (Part 2)

The following links and documents have been compiled for the benefit of BSS faculty. Please email the BSS Administrative Coordinator with suggestions or requests to amend this list.

NIH-related Resources

• Funding Programs by Career Stage 
• Diversity Supplements
• NIH Grant Career Timeline
• Diversity Supplement Program Handout 
• NIH Diversity Supplement Program 

Forms

Faculty forms have been migrated to the SPH Knowledge Hub, an internal resource for School of Public Health faculty and administrators. The SPH Knowledge Hub is available through Faculty Affairs. For access to the SPH Knowledge Hub, contact sph-operations@brown.edu.

Faculty Affairs

Professional Development

Along with exploring the School of Public Health's Office of Faculty Affairs, we recommend faculty check out these helpful links:

• BSS Standards and Criteria for Promotion and Tenure
• Community Engagement Fund
• Faculty Mentoring Program
• Faculty Networking Fund
• Professional Development Bootcamp Opportunity

Advising & Mentoring

The Graduate School has compiled a website of advising and mentoring resources for faculty. Along with these general resources, we have also gathered 

• BSS Doctoral Advising Manual
• BSHS Doctoral Student Handbook 
• Graduate Student Advising Statement (Example)
• Doctoral IDP 
• Ph.D. RA Costs​
• Helping a Student in Distress
• Non-native English speaking scientists work much harder just to keep up
• Ten Simple Rules Towards Healthier Research Labs
• Examples of Ph.D. proposals (For Faculty)
• BSHS RAship Agreement Form

Other helpful resources

• Doctoral Inquiry Reply 
• School of Public Health Templates 
• Edit Your Faculty Research Page.
• Anti-Racism Teaching Checklist
• TE Instructor Checklist
• BSS Resources for Antiracist Research
• Sample BSHS Independent Study Syllabi