A $750,000 naming gift from husband-and-wife philanthropists Ken and Lisa Rosen and their children will establish a new Ph.D. Program in Community Well-Being at the University of Miami’s School of Education and Human Development.

The Rosen Leadership Initiative in Community and Social Change is aimed at producing scholars who promote individual, relational, and collective well-being through community-based research and action. The program, which is the first in Florida, will enroll its initial cohort of students next fall.

A previous pledge from the Rosen family supported scholarships that helped launch the school’s Master’s Degree Program in Community and Social Change, now enrolling its fourth cohort. The family’s latest gift, which is part of Momentum2: The Breakthrough Campaign for the University of Miami, will allow the school to award scholarships to students who will be named Rosen Doctoral Scholars.

“This program is a natural progression for our school,” said Isaac Prilleltensky, dean of the School of Education and Human Development. “It aligns with our vision of the school, which is to be a center of excellence in the study, promotion, and integration of educational, psychological, and physical well-being in multicultural communities.” Prilleltensky added that the new Ph.D. Program in Community Well-Being will build on the school’s undergraduate major in Human and Social Development and Master’s Program in Community and Social Change.

The UM Faculty Senate approved the program, and applications will be accepted beginning in June for a small number of students to begin the program in the fall 2013 semester. The program should attract students who are primarily interested in academic careers and conducting research in applied science that focuses on the improvement of well-being.

The program requires 30 prerequisite master’s level credits equivalent to the school’s requirements for its Community and Social Change program. The curriculum is composed of two sets of core courses (Core 1: Foundations, Core 2: Applications) and is research intensive, with 18 credits of research coursework required along with professional skills courses, electives, a comprehensive pre-candidacy exam, and a dissertation of original research. For more information on the Rosen Leadership Initiative in Community and Social Change, please contact Laura Kohn-Wood at [email protected].

For more information on ways to support the School of Education and Human Development, please contact Marsha Talianoff at [email protected].