The newly developed doctoral program will enable students to engage, train and collaborate in One Health Sciences scholarship.
The Texas Tech University School of Veterinary Medicine in Amarillo received final approval to offer an innovative doctoral degree in One Health Sciences to help graduate students provide solutions for society's future challenges.
The program was approved by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) in May 2022. The program then received final approval by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) in December 2022.
This innovative program addresses the growing demand for interdisciplinary and interprofessional collaboration across animal, human and ecosystem health known as One Health.
for research. “Exploration of interconnectedness of human, animal and ecosystem health is at the core of the doctoral program in One Health Sciences.”
“When we collaborate across disciplines and professions, profound discoveries are made,” said Guy Loneragan, dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine. “The innovative aspect of this PhD program is that it offers broad foundational understanding of how animal, human and ecosystem health are interconnected, and also deep knowledge within a discipline. This sets our graduate students up with the tools to provide important discoveries – say in a new vaccine technology – that might be able to benefit both animals and people.”
The School of Veterinary Medicine's location is instrumental in the success of this program. It is strategically located both within the heart of Texas' animal agriculture region and adjacent to the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at Amarillo.
The program is built on the strength, diversity and expertise of the school's faculty members and will recruit talented scholars from around the world. Students will work alongside these experts to develop subject-matter expertise in one of the five areas of research excellence: One Health Epidemiology; Disease Ecology, Prevention and Management; Andragogical Scholarship; Sustainability of Animal Agriculture; and Molecular Mechanisms of Disease.
“I am impressed with the passion with which our first cohort of students have pursued the application of the One Health approach in working with stakeholders, developing research projects, collaborating with faculty and other students, and communicating their science with the public,” said Ryan Williams, assistant dean and associate professor of economics and public policy. “It is clear that a program with this design was desired in the United States, and that the Texas Tech University School of Veterinary Medicine is a great place for it to have been established.”
Those interested in the program can preview the Graduate Program Overview and are encouraged to apply before the priority deadline of January 15.
