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A graduate level Certificate in Prevention Science (CPS) is proposed to provide students from a variety of majors an interdisciplinary perspective on the science and practice related to the prevention of mental, emotional, and physical health problems and the promotion of well-being in these same domains. The CPS program will aim to prepare graduate students capable of advancing science-based prevention programs and policies through an understanding of empirical research and knowledge of best practices by prevention professionals. Knowledge, concepts, and methods from psychology, medicine, statistics, physiology, sociology, education, and others disciplines inform the professional engaged with the reduction of the prevalence, incidence, and severity of social and public health problems. Prevention-oriented disciplines contribute to the knowledge base related to the promotion of social, emotional, and physical health of individuals and of communities. The CPS program will enable students to take several common classes and approved electives while continuing to earn credit toward a degree in their own areas of study.

The CPS program grew out of discussions among faculty in the Departments of Educational Psychology and Health and Kinesiology (College of Education and Human Development); Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Science (College of Agriculture and Life Sciences); Communication (College of Liberal Arts); and faculty in the School of Rural Public Health (Health Science Center).

What is Prevention Science?

Prevention science is a relatively new but rapidly growing interdisciplinary field. The Society for Prevention Science was formed in 1991 in response for the need for a multidisciplinary community of researchers concerned with the use of science to address problems, issues, and challenges pertaining to the prevention of social and public health problems. Prevention science interventions are based on research-based theoretical models of risk and protective processes involved in the etiology of a preventable problem. These models guide the methods, contexts, timing, and targets for intervention. Prevention researchers attempt to determine not only the efficacy of a preventive intervention based on a theoretical model, but also the processes responsible for the intervention's impact on a problem. Prevention science includes the study of universal, selective, and indicated prevention. The prevention research cycle progresses from pilot theoretical studies and replications, to effectiveness trials, to large-scale dissemination trials. Prevention researchers represent a broad cross-section of expertise relevant to the prevention of social and health problems, including epidemiological research, developmental psychopathology, youth development, intervention research in areas such as prevention of tobacco product use by youth, promotion of social and emotional competencies in preschool children, and use of media to increase the acceptance of protective health practices.

Advisory Council and Faculty for the Certificate in Prevention Science (CPS)

The CPS program will be guided by a CPS Advisory Council comprised of a faculty representative from each of the sponsoring departments or units:

Educational Psychology

Health and Kinesiology

Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences

Communication

School of Rural Public Health

The CPS Advisory Council will provide input and oversight on all matters related to the CPS program. Each faculty member appointed to the Council will have graduate faculty status. Representatives will be appointed by the Head of each cooperating department/unit. Other departments will be welcome to join the founding group after petition to and approval of the CPS Advisory Council.

The Chair of the CPS Advisory Council will oversee the day-to-day operation of the program, notify each student's committee chair on all matters related to a student's performance in the program, compile a list of students meeting the certificate requirements, and work with the Registrar to insure that transcripts appropriately designate students who have completed the program. The Chair will be elected by a plurality of the members of the CPS Advisory Council. The Chair's department will be the administrative department for the CPS during the term of the service as chair. [Currently the Chair of the CPS Advisory Council is Jan Hughes, and the administrative department is the Department of Educational Psychology.]

Organizational Structure of CPS Advisory Council

A steering committee comprised of one faculty member from each participating department, will be appointed by department heads. Responsibilities of CPS Advisory Council will include:

§ Determining and reviewing courses for inclusion as options for students

§ Reviewing individual student course choices for CPS program

§ Recruiting students and faculty to participate in the CPS program

§ Disseminating information about the CPS

§ Approving participation of other departments in the CPS program

The Chair of the CPS Advisory Council will be elected by the CPS Advisory Council. The Chair will serve a 2 year term. It is expected that the Chair will rotate among participating departments. Responsibilities of the Chair of the CPS Advisory Council will include:

§ Communicating with each students' chair regarding progress toward certification

§ Compiling lists of students meeting certificate requirements

§ Working with the Registrar to insure that a student's transcripts designate completion of the certificate

Award of the Certificate in Prevention Science

The Chair of the CPS Advisory Council and the department head of his/her administrative department will sign the Certificate of Prevention Science for each student completing the certificate requirements. Grades for courses and a designation that the certificate has been completed will appear on each student's official University transcript.

PART II: Admission Criteria

A student applicant to the program will be required to meet the following criteria for admission into the CPS program:

Be enrolled in a masters or doctoral degree program at Texas A&M University

Apply for admission to the CPS program and be accepted by the CPS Advisory Council into the program. Acceptance by the CPS Advisory Council will be based on good academic standing in the student's degree program and evidence of career interests compatible with prevention science.

PART III: Course Requirements

A. Approved Mandatory Courses for the CPS

CPS students will be required to complete 3 hours of Interdisciplinary Seminar in Prevention Science (see below) and to complete 12 additional hours of courses from the list approved by the CPS Advisory Council (see below), at least 6 of which will be taken from outside the student's department. Courses required by a student's program may also count toward the certificate, if such courses are on the list of approved courses.

B. Mandatory Core Courses

The Interdisciplinary Seminar in Prevention Science will be a one-credit hour seminar that students may take for repeat credit a maximum of 3 times. It will be cross-listed in each participating department. Key characteristics of the seminar will include the following:

The seminar will meet weekly for 1 hour during each Fall and Spring semester.
Students will be encouraged to enroll soon after they are admitted to the certificate program and take the 3 credits consecutively.
Coordination and teaching credit will rotate each semester among faculty from participating departments.
Participating faculty will attend the seminar each semester and share in teaching each semester.

C. Other Approved Courses

Elective courses taken to fulfill the requirements of the CPS program will be taken from the following list. Additional courses may be added to the list by recommendation of TAMU faculty and examination of the course syllabus by the CPS Advisory Council and approval by the CPS Advisory Council. In all cases, courses will be relate to prevention science. Courses proposed for the initial "approved" list include:

SPSY 638 Systems Consultation and Prevention

SPSY 689 Child Psychopathology

EPSY 645 Social and Emotional Development and Intervention

EPSY 646 Issues in Child Development

EPSY 685 Special Topics in Prevention Science

RPTS 670 Youth Development and Services

RPTS 689 Social Policy and Youth Development

RPTS 684 Special Topics in Prevention Science

COMM 670 Health Communication Seminar (when topic relevant to Prevention Science)

COMM 685 Special Topics in Prevention Science

COMM 669 Research in Health Communication

PHSB 604 Health Behavior and Social Ecology

PHSB 624 Social Epidemiology

PHSB 603 Social and Behavioral Determinants of Health

HLTH 639 Behavioral Foundations in Health Education

HLTH 685 Special Topics in Prevention Science

HLTH 609 Applied Epidemiology

HLTH 632 Health Program Evaluation

HLTH 630 Health Program Planning

SOCI 627 Seminar in Law and Deviance

PSYC 616 Treatment of Problem Behavior in Children and Families

D. Use of CPS Courses for Texas A&M Graduate Degrees

Courses taken to satisfy the CPS Certificate requirements may also be used to satisfy masters or doctoral degree requirements at the discretion of a student's Graduate Advisory Committee.

PART IV: Summary of Steps Required to Attain the CPS

For students interested in applying for the CPS program, the following steps should be taken:

Step One: Submit an Admission Application to the CPS Program.

A student who wishes to apply to the CPS program will be expected to be accepted into or currently enrolled in a graduate program at Texas A&M University or the Texas A&M Health Sciences Center's School of Rural Public Health. In the case of degree-seeking students, a copy of the student's graduate degree plan will be required to accompany the CPS application. The graduate degree plan will be signed by the student's Graduate Advisory Committee and the head of the student's department and will have been submitted to and approved by the Office of Graduate Studies. An application to enroll in the CPS program will include the following information:

Applicant's name
Date of Application
Permanent and local mailing addresses, telephone number(s), and email address
Professional and employment experience
Past academic degree(s): type, location, year
Current Graduate Degree Program: Department, master or doctoral student status
Major advisor and Graduate Advisory Committee members
Coursework plan (degree plan)
Official undergraduate or graduate transcript, whichever is the most recent
Student's signature and date
Statement of intent (career goals and value of the CPS to meeting those goals)

Step Two: Receive Feedback Regarding the Review of the Application.

The CPS Advisory Council will review each student's application for compliance with the CPS requirements. A notice of acceptance or rejection will be issued by the Chair of the CPS Advisory Council.

Step Three: Pay Fees.

Students will be required to meet all financial obligations to the University by the due dates established by the University. Tuition and other institutional fees for seeking a certificate in prevention science will be charged in accordance with current rates of the University. Current rates are available at the web site and may change periodically.

Step Four: Receive CPS Advisory Council Review.

Each student who is near completion of CPS coursework will be required to submit a record of performance that includes a list of all courses taken and completed in the program and the grade earned in each course.

Step Five: Receive the CPS.

The advisor of each student who has completed the requirements for the CPS will send a letter of approval to the Chair of the CPS Advisory Council. The Chair of the CPS Advisory Council will compile and submit a list of all students who have completed the requirements for the CPS to the department head of each administrative unit. The Certificate will be awarded to a student who has successfully completed all CPS program requirements with an average GPA of 3.00 or higher. The CPS will be awarded by the department head of each student's administrative unit prior to scheduled graduation ceremonies for a master or doctoral degree. No certificate will be awarded to a student who has any outstanding fees or other financial obligations to the University or incomplete CPS coursework.

PART V: Policy for Maintaining Student Records

Official CPS records will consist of the following: an application: a copy of a student's approved CPS curriculum; a copy of his/her graduate degree plan (and any subsequent petitions for course changes that may affect participation in the CPS program); results of the completion

of approved courses; all official correspondence between the student, major professor, Chair of the CPS Advisory Council, and the Advisory Council;

The Chair of the CPS Advisory Council will keep these materials and will provide a copy of the student's CPS course plan and results of participation to the Registrar. The Registrar will maintain a permanent record of the award of a Certificate in Prevention Science and enter coursework results on each participating graduate student's grade transcript.

Personal data acquired on each student during the application process and participation in the CPS program will not be released, except in accordance with state law and University guidelines. The guidelines stated for the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 and the Graduate Appeal process in the Graduate Catalog will be enforced.

PART VI: Financial/Budgetary Implications

The financial implications of this proposal are minimal. Only one new, cross-listed course is recommended, the Interdisciplinary Seminar in Prevention Science, which will be a 1 hour course offered each Fall and Spring semester. It is expected that the instructors for this course will not receive a course load reduction for teaching the course. Rather, their teaching responsibilities for the course will be recognized as variable credit hour teaching beyond their expected faculty course load.

Completion of the CPS program is not expected to add to the total number of hours on students' degree plans. Students enrolled in programs in each of the sponsoring programs will be able to complete the CPS requirements without taking additional courses, by choosing all or some of their elective coursework from courses approved for the certificate program. Students at both TAMU and at the Health Science Center will pay the regular resident or non-resident fees for the other institution/school. They will be billed normally for their "home" school, with all fees. They will be billed at the "visiting" institution only for their tuition and hourly fees (e.g., library, etc.). This works both ways for students at the Health Science Center and at TAMU. No TAMU student, however, will be required to take courses in the School of Rural Public Health in order to complete the certificate requirements.

It is expected that the affordance of a Certificate in Prevention Science will enhance the ability of the sponsoring programs and departments to recruit highly competitive graduate students. The higher enrollment in the respective graduate programs will have a positive financial impact for TAMU. It is expected that completion of the Certificate in Prevention Science will enhance the ability of graduates to compete successfully for jobs post-graduation.

Appendix 1: Interdisciplinary Seminar in Prevention Science

Course Number: TBD. Will be cross-listed in each participating department

The Interdisciplinary Seminar in Prevention Science series (which will consists of three 1-hour courses across three semesters) is the only required course in the Certificate in Prevention Science program. Each 1 hour course will include 15 hours of lecture and discussions. The course will be designed to familiarize graduate students from different disciplinary backgrounds with contemporary research programs that represent the interdisciplinary field of prevention science. Students will develop an appreciation for the diverse theoretical and conceptual bases of research in prevention science and understand the strengths and limitations of different research methods. Students will demonstrate an ability to apply research findings to issues related to the prevention of mental, emotional, and physical health problems and the promotion of well-being in these same domains.

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