phd in health management in usa

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Celia Stafford

Olivia Zhao

“ No other institution but HBS could have given me the same level of access to resources that span business, health policy, and medicine. ”

Current Harvard Health Policy Faculty  

Current health policy (management) students.

• Hassina Bahadurzada
• Derrick Bransby
• Crystal Guo
• Tanner Houston
• Bohan Li
• Celia Stafford
• Mitchell Tang
• Gabe Weinreb
• Olivia Zhao

Current HBS Faculty & Students by Interest

• Robert S. Huckman
• Kris Johnson Ferreira
• Marco Iansiti

Recent Placement

Emilie aguirre, 2021, michael anne kyle, 2021, a jay holmgren, 2021, lauren taylor, 2020, olivia jung, 2021, philip saynisch, 2019.

Health Policy and Management, PhD

Bloomberg school of public health, phd program overview.

Program Director: Dr. Brendan Saloner

The Department of Health Policy and Management (HPM) offers a world-class doctoral program, featuring a vibrant faculty of exceptional scholars and teachers along with world-class research facilities. The program trains students to conduct original investigator-initiated research through a combination of coursework and research mentoring.The first year of the program lays the critical foundation necessary for later work in dissertation-level research.The PhD program in HPM is full-time, residentially based in Baltimore, Maryland. 

Students within the PhD program in HPM will complete a common core of coursework, meeting department-wide competencies.  Students also select one of four concentrations within which they will focus their dissertation work.  Each concentration has its own core coursework and competencies that students within that concentration will meet. 

HPM PhD Concentrations:

• The  Bioethics and Health Policy   concentration addresses the ethical issues relevant to public health policy, practice and research.
• The  Health Economics and Policy  concentration addresses the most pressing challenges in health and health care through innovative, rigorous, and interdisciplinary research in the field of health economics.  
• The Health Services Research and Policy concentration addresses the organization, financing and delivery of both curative and preventive services, and their impact on access, quality, outcomes and cost, particularly for the most vulnerable.
• The Health and Public Policy concentration addresses the development, implementation, analysis, and evaluation of public policies to prevent disease and injury, reduce inequalities, and promote the health and quality of life of populations.

PhD Program Year-by-Year Overview and Expectations

Below is a description of how students move through the program.  Expectations and typical milestones are noted for each year.  

PhD Program Requirements

Course location and modality is found on the BSPH website .

The PhD program in HPM trains students to conduct original investigator-initiated research through a combination of coursework and research mentoring. The curriculum includes a common core set of competencies and courses, including courses in health policy, epidemiology, economics, and biostatistics.  Students in the program choose one of four areas of concentration to focus their studies which have their own set of competencies and coursework.  All students enrolled in the PhD program meet the Introductory Public Health knowledge learning objectives through the required curriculum.

Departmental Core Competencies and Curriculum

Core Competencies:  Upon successful completion of the PhD program in HPM, students will have mastered the following core competencies; specifically, students by the end of the program will have the ability to:

• Analyze the nature, scope and determinants of major health policy problems by applying conceptual frameworks from key academic disciplines, formulating testable hypotheses, and identifying appropriate interventions based on an understanding of the existing evidence base.
• Critique the policymaking process, including the underlying roles of legislation, regulation, litigation, and advocacy; the differences between federal, state, and local policies; and the influence of academic research in the policy formulation and evaluation processes.
• Assess the organization and financing of public health and/or medical services and critique their impact on access and use, quality of care, costs, and outcomes.
• Apply appropriate rigorous empirical methods to the evaluation of health policy, including a well-rounded foundation of the methods and tools of public health.
• Communicate scientific findings effectively through written and oral methods to technical and lay audiences, demonstrating an ability to interpret study limitations and prior research.
• Conduct research in accordance with the highest ethical standards, scientific integrity, and interpersonal collegiality.

Core Curriculum: To meet these competencies, all PhD students in HPM are required to successfully complete the following core courses: 

Course meets one or more CEPH learning objectives

Once students have completed all required and elective coursework, they must maintain a full-time registration (12+ credits per term) for the duration of their program. Students who have not yet passed the School-wide oral exam should register for 12 credits of PH.300.840 Special Studies and Research in HPM  with their advisor to work on their thesis proposal. Once a student has passed the School-wide oral exam, they should register for PH.301.820 Thesis Research in Health Policy and Management .

Concentration in Bioethics and Health Policy  

Concentration Director:  Stephanie Morain, PhD, MPH

The PhD concentration in Bioethics and Health Policy differs from most other bioethics doctoral programs in two important ways: first, it focuses on bioethics as it relates to moral questions in public health and health policy (rather than, for example, in clinical decision-making or bedside dilemmas); and, second, it provides rigorous training in quantitative and qualitative empirical research methods and expects the analysis of data to be part of the dissertation. Students study and conduct independent empirical and normative research on ethical issues in public health practice, research, and policy such as ethics and emergency preparedness, domestic and international research ethics, genetic screening policy, ethics and obesity prevention, ethics and infectious diseases, HIV screening, social justice and resource allocation. Original doctoral research conducted by students in the bioethics program involves analyzing primary or secondary empirical data about specific areas of public health, health policy, or health research and examining the ethical implications of the issue or study results. 

Bioethics Concentration Competencies and Curriculum

Bioethics Concentration Competencies:  Upon successful completion of the PhD concentration in Bioethics and Health Policy, students will have mastered the following core competencies; specifically, students by the end of the program will have the ability to:

• Recognize ethical dimensions of problems in public health practice, research, and health policy, and identify which ethical principles or foundational ethical theories are at stake and potentially in tension.
• Analyze ethical problems in public health practice, research, and health policy, identify and communicate morally compelling lines of argument that may include: building on existing ethical frameworks, further specification of an existing framework or ethical principle; further specification of an ethical norm or formulating a novel ethical norm.
• Critically review and synthesize relevant literature from moral and political philosophy and public health ethics in analyzing moral problems in public health practice, research, and health policy.
• Identify when, why, and how empirical scholarship can make a contribution to bioethics and how data can be relevant to normative analysis.
• Construct ethical arguments for or against different kinds of public health programs and policies.

Bioethics Concentration Curriculum: Bioethics students are required to successfully complete the following concentration courses in addition to the department core.  In addition, students in Bioethics also complete coursework in moral philosophy, applied bioethics, and public health law. These requirements are satisfied, in part, through the Department of Philosophy of the Johns Hopkins University and Kennedy Institute of Ethics at Georgetown University. Generally, coursework is completed in the first two years of the program. Students are required by the concentration to have a normative ethics chapter in their thesis in addition to the other chapters traditionally required. Students completing the manuscript option for the PhD will have one of their manuscripts focus on the normative aspects of their selected issue or results.

The timing and choice of some courses will be determined based on availability and individual needs.

Students in their first two years will participate each term in PH.306.861 Graduate Doctoral Seminar in Bioethics, a joint graduate student and postdoctoral fellows bioethics seminar at the Berman Institute of Bioethics. 

Students in the bioethics concentration are welcome to write either a traditional thesis or a manuscript thesis. Additional guidelines for the thesis for students enrolled in the Bioethics and Health Policy concentration can be obtained from the Bioethics concentration director.

Concentration in Health Economics and Policy

Concentration  Director:   Matthew Eisenberg, PhD, MPHIL   Health economics is a field of study that applies the theoretical concepts and empirical methods of economic analysis to various issues throughout the health sector, such as understanding underlying patient, provider, and insurer behaviors and evaluating healthcare interventions and policies. The PhD concentration in Health Economics and Policy prepares doctoral students to address the most pressing challenges in health and health care through innovative, rigorous, and interdisciplinary research in the field of health economics.  The curriculum stresses a solid grounding in applied modern microeconomic theory, economic evaluation, quantitative methods, and econometrics applications, including PhD-level courses from the Department of Economics in the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences (KSAS). Incoming students must have prior training in linear algebra, multivariable calculus, and real analysis in preparation for the economics courses at KSAS.   

Health Economics and Policy Concentration Competencies and Curriculum

Health Economics and Policy Concentration Competencies:  Upon successful completion of the PhD concentration in Health Economics and Policy, students will have mastered the following core competencies; specifically, students by the end of the program will have the ability to:

• Apply key concepts in microeconomic theory, including how the behavior of individual households and firms affects the market supply and demand of goods and services and how market failures arise under certain circumstances.
• Analyze key theoretical concepts in health economics, including the underlying determinants of health, patient demand for healthcare services, and the organization and financing of healthcare services, with an emphasis on critiquing the effects of alternative forms of financing and organizing healthcare services on cost, quality, access, and overall public health.
• Apply key concepts in applied econometrics, including sophisticated empirical models for healthcare utilization, expenditures, and health outcomes.
• Apply key concepts in applied econometrics, including various rigorous empirical approaches that emphasize causal inferences for policy analysis.
• Conduct original research in the field of health economics, ranging from conception of innovative ideas through study design, selection and application of appropriate analytic methods and data; interpretation of results; and both written and oral dissemination of findings.

Health Economics and Policy Concentration Curriculum:  The curriculum offers a broad exposure to the health economics literature and public health disciplines and stresses the policy implications of these fields of research. Student research generally focuses on econometric analyses of hypotheses generated by economic theory or quantitative evaluation of the effectiveness of various interventions.

Core Mathematics for Economics meets for 2 weeks in Summer Term and once weekly in Term 1

KSAS courses follow a semester schedule, and overlap multiple BSPH terms. 

Students must complete the first-year KSAS Microeconomic Theory Workshop wih a minimum grade of "B."

Concentration in Health Services Research & Policy 

Concentration Director:   Albert Wu, MD, MPH The PhD concentration in Health Services Research and Policy prepares students for innovative and rigorous quantitative and qualitative research and evaluation in health services delivery. The curriculum includes exposure to a wide variety of research methods, content areas, and datasets. It also offers the opportunity for in-depth study in areas such as public health informatics, organizational theory, quality of care and patient-centered outcomes research, hospital and physician payment incentives, managed care,  pharmacoeconomics  and economic evaluation, gerontology, and health care disparities. There are many research opportunities within the Department and elsewhere within the University and Health System. The Baltimore-Washington area is the home to the largest concentration of public and private health services research and health care policy analysis organizations in the world. Formal and informal relationships with these agencies, including research practicums, thesis collaborations, and internships are encouraged and facilitated.  

Health Services Research and Policy Concentration Competencies and Curriculum

Health Services Research and Policy Concentration Competencies:  Upon successful completion of the PhD concentration in Health Services Research and Policy, students will have mastered the following core competencies; specifically, students by the end of the program will have the ability to:

• Characterize and illustrate key concepts and developments in the field of health services research, including issues relating to care quality and safety, access, cost, and the role and effects of alternative forms of organizing and financing services. 
• Integrate and critique theoretical and empirical literature in the formulation of an original and significant health services research and policy research question with a clear and testable hypothesis.
• Evaluate the strengths and weakness of experimental, quasi-experimental and observational study designs and formulate the most appropriate design for a specified research question.
• Identify, evaluate, and determine the most suitable data source for a specified research question (data sources may include existing data sources or the development of a primary data collection protocol utilizing quantitative or qualitative methods). 
• Select and implement appropriate analytic techniques from advanced epidemiological, statistical, economic, and qualitative or survey methods to examine a specified research question. 

Health Services Research and Policy Concentration Curriculum:  The curriculum stresses the development of skills in research and analysis methods, as well as content knowledge. In addition to careers in academia, this concentration prepares students for leadership careers as health services researchers and health care policy analysts working in public or private agencies or organizations. Issues of relevance to the U.S. are emphasized. All students in the concentration are exposed to a broad array of methods and content. It is expected that all students will select at least one methods sub-area (e.g., econometrics, advanced statistical methods, informatics, or qualitative analysis) and develop expertise in one or more content areas.

Students are expected to participate in the graduate seminar for the first three years of the program and as much as their schedule allows in year 4.

Concentration in Health and Public Policy 

Concentration Director:   Johnathon P. Ehsani, PhD, MPH   Finding solutions to public health problems through the development, analysis, implementation, and evaluation of health policies is the focus of the PhD concentration in Health and Public Policy. Faculty and students consider a broad array of public health policies that affect health and safety. These include policies pertaining to food, alcohol, tobacco, firearms, inequality, housing, injury, transportation, and the environment. Students examine challenging public health problems and learn how political, social, economic, ethical, and legal factors affect health and how health policy can address these problems. Students acquire skills that enable them to conduct rigorous research to inform policy solutions, effectively translate their scholarly work to policy and practice, and emerge as leaders in public health policy.  

Through coursework, research, and practice, students in Health and Public Policy gain an understanding of the relationship between health and policy. Within this concentration, students may focus their elective and dissertation studies in one of the following areas: environmental and occupational health policy, injury prevention and control, social policy and health, and the practice of prevention; other specialty areas may be developed in consultation with each student's advisor and concentration director.

Health and Public Policy Concentration Competencies and Curriculum

Health and Public Policy Concentration Competencies:  Upon successful completion of the PhD concentration in Health and Public Policy, students will have mastered the following core competencies; specifically, students by the end of the program will have the ability to:

• Identify, describe, and analyze a public health problem, and recommend an appropriate policy solution to address it (e.g., legislative, regulatory, judicial, organizational).
• Examine and explain the steps of the policymaking process, including problem setting, formulation, implementation, analysis, and evaluation.
• Critically compare and apply theories of the policy process to the study of public health problems.
• Characterize the major institutions, sectors, and stakeholders involved in the policymaking processes at the global, federal, state, and local levels.
• Effectively translate and communicate public health policy research, in both oral and written forms, to policymakers, key stakeholders, and the public.

Health and Public Policy Concentration Curriculum:  Note, the timing and choice of some courses will be determined based on availability and individual needs.

Students are expected to participate in the graduate seminar during their first three years of the program, and are strongly encouraged to participate as much as their schedule allows in year 4.

Students in Health and Public Policy may choose specialized areas identified to help students focus their electives in such a way as to best provide the background needed for their dissertation work. Those interested in taking additional graduate-level coursework in policy or research methods for the social sciences as part of their electives requirement should consider courses offered at the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences (KSAS) and at the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).

Environmental and Occupational Health Policy Factors in the human environment that affect health require a multidisciplinary approach for evaluation. Courses from the Departments of Epidemiology, Environmental Health and Engineering, and Health Policy and Management are integrated to provide a foundation for the application of science to occupational and environmental policy. Evaluation, development and refinement of policies at local, state, federal and international levels are emphasized.

Social policy and health examines how social policies influence public health and/or the relationship between healthcare policy and other social policies.

Practice of Prevention The practice of prevention examines specific public health problems such as AIDS, tobacco, obesity, and violence and develops strategies for addressing problems through traditional and innovative policies.

HPM PhD Program Policies  

Full-time registration, ta educational experience , change of academic adviser/supervisor, satisfactory academic progress, pass/fail option, course waivers, university phd policies, bsph academic policies, union representation, university residency & course distribution requirements, qualifying exam, research project requirement  , phd pre-orals progress report, individual development plan (idp), departmental preliminary oral exam, school-wide preliminary oral exam , irb approval, thesis research documentation form, hpm student dissertation grant proposal submission process , thesis advisory committee, post-orals progress report, process to request an extension to the school-wide oral exam, thesis guidelines, thesis approval, thesis readers and final examination committee , final public seminar and closed oral final defense, online submission of thesis to sheridan library, extension request for completion of degree requirements, general program policies.

The Department is firmly committed to full-time PhD doctoral education. The Department requires full-time registration for the duration of each student's program. In year 1, students should register for a minimum of 16 credits per term. This will fulfill the School's residency requirement of four consecutive terms of 16 credits each. The Department discourages PhD students from registering for more than 18 credits in any one academic term unless required by their concentration. Any decision to register for more than 18 credits should be carefully considered and discussed with the student's adviser prior to registering.

In years 2 and beyond, students should register for required or elective coursework, or special studies or thesis research credits that total at minimum 12 credits each term. 

Developing knowledge and skills that are essential for delivering training or educational experiences in academic or professional settings is a critical component of a doctoral education. In part, to develop these critical skills, HPM PhD students are required to serve as full-time teaching assistants (TAs) in 6 HPM departmental courses while enrolled in the PhD program.  In addition, students register for a teaching assessment course, where they discuss their experiences and develop their teaching philosophy. 

Beyond the 6 courses required by the department as part of each student's academic program, additional TA work is required, per departmental policy, in order to receive the PhD stipend. 

All students are assigned a faculty adviser at the time of admission to the program. Advisers play an important role in the student's academic life. The adviser is expected to keep abreast of school and departmental degree requirements so that they can counsel advisees on courses and the proper progression towards the degree. Registration, add/drop, pass/fail agreements and many other School forms require the signature of the student's adviser. In addition, any special requests or petitions that a student submits to any of the administrative offices of the School will require the endorsement of the student's adviser as well as that of the Department chair.

EXPECTATIONS, RIGHTS, AND RESPONSIBILITIES Students can expect their adviser to work with them in defining educational goals, coursework, and independent studies that will assist in achieving their goals. In addition, the adviser periodically will review academic progress with the student, including assessing the student's strengths and weaknesses. Advisers provide advice while students must make the final choices consistent with the guidelines and policies of the Department, School, and University.

Students are responsible for scheduling regular meetings with their advisers, in-person or virtually, to discuss goals, progress, problems, and next steps. If an adviser does not know the answer to specific questions or issues, the adviser will refer the student to knowledgeable sources. Advisers are expected to make a regular time available for student-adviser meetings or have a clearly stated process by which students can schedule a time to meet individually. Students have the right to change advisers and individual faculty members have the right to accept or not to accept any specific student as an advisee. The first step in the process of changing advisers is to consult the program director.

Should a student want or need to change their academic advisor/supervisor, a written request should be submitted to the HPM PhD program director Dr. Brendan Saloner for review by department leadership.

Satisfactory academic progress is measured by the following as they relate to one another:

• To maintain satisfactory academic performance and good academic standing, all doctoral students must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.00 and grades of A, B, or P (pass) in all courses required by the School or by the student’s department/concentration
• Written documentation of successful completion of all Bloomberg School and departmental  degree requirements  within the established time limitations
• Confirmation of satisfactory performance by the student’s department and/or adviser as required. Each term, the progress of students is reviewed, and those students not making satisfactory progress in terms of the cumulative grade point average and completion of requirements within established deadlines are identified for all academic departments. Students may not graduate unless in good academic standing. Additional policies regarding continuation in a program while not in good academic standing are left to individual programs.
• A D is not considered a passing grade for HPM PhD students. 
• IMPORTANT : Students receiving federal loans and federal work-study funding must adhere to the  Federal Satisfactory Academic Progress Policy   posted on the Financial Aid Office website.

Any course required to meet the PhD departmental core or concentration requirement must be taken for a letter grade unless the course is only offered on a pass/fail basis (graduate seminars for example). 

In rare cases, students may request a waiver or substitution of a required program course.  Any request must be submitted in writing according to the guidelines outlined below at least one week prior to the start of the academic term and be approved in writing by the student's Program Director.

Examples of when a substitution might be appropriate:

• A student has successfully completed a  graduate level  course with a grade of "A" or "B" that covered the same content areas as the required course. (The completed graduate-level course syllabus must be submitted with the request.)
• A course or series of courses fulfills a general area of the required curriculum, such as biostatistics or epidemiology, but the student wishes to take a different course or series that is equally or more advanced than the normal requirement and that better aligns with their overall academic and career goals.

Course substitutions must abide by the following principles:

• A strong rationale must be made for how the substitution will benefit the student's overall academic and career goals.
• The resulting curriculum meets the requirements of the learning competencies of the student's program. 

Procedure for making a substitution request: 

• The request for substitution must be submitted to the student's Program Director in writing at least one week before the substituted course is to be offered.
• A brief rationale for the substitution must be provided in writing.
• A completed course-by-course curriculum plan for the degree must accompany the request.
• Approval or denial will be provided by the Program Director within one week of being received. Decisions on course substitutions may not be appealed. As such, students should be prepared to complete the required curriculum if the request is denied.
• Waiver or substitution decisions are communicated to the HPM Office of Academic Affairs for documentation.

Waivers for CEPH Competency Courses:

Students who have graduated with a degree from an accredited School of Public Health since 2020 have fulfilled the CEPH Learning Objectives. There is a waiver process in place and students will not be required to repeat these objectives through the Cells to Society offerings.   Students should contact the HPM Office of Academic Affairs prior to matriculation for further information on the waiver process.

• PhD Mentoring Policies and Resources
• PhD Professional Development Policies and Resources
• University Requirements for PhD
• Academic Leave of Absence (LOA) Policy
• Academic Ethics Code
• Student Grievance Policy
• All PhD student employee directory information will be sent to the Union unless restricted. Supplemental information will require a FERPA consent form available on SIS self-service.
• Union Representatives are current PhD Student Employees who are elected/selected to help their fellow PhD Student Employees navigate work-related disciplines, grievances, and other procedural/policy issues. Contact TRU-JHU with questions about your division’s specific Union Representatives.

TRU-JHU Contact Information

• Website: https://trujhu.org/
• Phone: (443) 281-9462
• Address: TRU-UE Local 197, PO Box 41149, Baltimore, MD 21203
• Email: [email protected]

Year 1 Expectations

The total number of course credits to be earned depends upon individual concentration requirements. But, to meet the university residency requirement, students must complete a minimum of 64 credits of didactic courses in four consecutive terms. When general and program-specific requirements total less than 64, the difference may be made up in electives. Thesis Research (820 series) may not be included in the count, but special studies earning credit that is part of a concentration requirement only (840 series) are admissible.

The School's Policy and Procedure Memorandum (PPM) overseeing all PhD programs require that at least 18 credits of formal coursework must be completed outside the student's primary department. Among these 18 credit units, no fewer than three courses must be completed in two or more departments of the Bloomberg School of Public Health. The remaining outside credit units may be earned in any department or division of the University.

PhD students who have completed a master's program at the Bloomberg School of Public Health may apply 12 credits from that program toward this School requirement provided the student matriculates into the PhD within one academic year of completing their master's degree. Students must request this application of credits in a formal letter. Contact the HPM Office of Academic Affairs for further information.

PhD students are eligible for the departmental qualifying exam upon successful completion of the first year required courses while maintaining the minimum GPA requirement. All students matriculating in September are expected to sit for the exam at the end of the first year. The exam is offered every June. The Academic Policy and Admissions Committee (APAC), and the PhD Exam Committee will consider exceptions on a case-by-case basis. The HPM PhD Qualifying Exam Guidelines can be found on the HPM doctoral portal page (portal login required).

Year 2 Expectations

PhD students are required to engage in at least two research projects to understand different research approaches. Students are encouraged to work within the department, but are free to pursue opportunities of interest throughout the School, University, or off-campus. The two projects may be related to a single study or two separate studies.  One research project can be accomplished through off-campus work, as long as the advisor has approved the work.   The research project requirement can involve participation in any of the following aspects of research, including, but not limited to elements of research design (literature review and development of the conceptual framework of a study); community development and liaison activities; community needs assessment and its related social, epidemiological, behavioral, or political diagnosis; development and piloting of health interventions or materials; quantitative or qualitative data collection; data analysis and interpretation; policy analysis; literature reviews; manuscript preparation; grant preparation; and any other form of research approved by the advisor.     The research project requirement must be met prior to scheduling the Departmental Preliminary Oral Exam. The Department, through submission of the Research Project Requirement Form to the HPM Office of Academic Affairs, will monitor completion of this requirement. The form is available on the HPM doctoral portal page (portal login required).

The Department is committed to assisting students to make steady and timely progress through the PhD program. To facilitate this process, all PhD students are required to submit regular progress reports to the HPM Office of Academic Affairs. Students who have passed the written qualifying exam, but have not yet passed their School-wide Preliminary Oral Exam, must submit a progress report on December 1 and June 1 each year until they have passed their School-wide Preliminary Oral Exam. The report must be reviewed, discussed, and approved by the student’s adviser prior to submission. 

The Individual Development Plan (IDP) is a mechanism for self-reflection as well as a communication and planning tool for the student and their faculty advisor and mentor(s).  The goal of the IDP is to support the student's successful performance in the program and in attaining readiness for their intended future career.  To this end, the IDP creates a structure for the student to: 

• assess current skills, interests, and strengths;
• make a plan for developing skills to meet academic and professional goals; and
• communicate and collaborate with supervisors, advisors, potential employers, and mentors about evolving goals and related skills. 

Rising HPM 2nd year PhD students will receive instructions on preparing the IDP after successful completion of the 1st year qualifying exam. Students are required to complete the self assessment and the IDP and meet and discuss with their advisor prior to submission of their first progress report due in the fall of the 2nd year. Third and fourth year students will revisit their IDP and discuss with their advisor each year at the submission of their yearly progress report. 

Year 3 Expectations

The Departmental Preliminary Oral Exam takes place before the School-wide Preliminary Oral Exam. The Departmental Exam may not take place until after the successful completion of the departmental qualifying exam. The format of the exam is similar to the School-wide Preliminary Oral Exam and is intended to determine if the student is academically prepared to pass the School-wide Preliminary Oral Exam and carry out independent research.

The exam requires the student to prepare a thesis proposal that will be examined by the faculty exam committee. The HPM Departmental Preliminary Oral Exam committee consists of a minimum of three faculty members; one must be the student's advisor. A fourth alternative committee member should be identified and may choose to participate in the exam. Guidelines for the Departmental Preliminary Oral Exam can be found on the Department's portal page (portal login required).

The School-wide Preliminary Oral Exam takes place after the student has successfully completed the departmental qualifying exam and the Departmental Preliminary Oral Exam. The purpose of this examination is to determine whether the student has both the ability and knowledge to undertake significant research in their general area of interest.

The examiners will be concerned with the student's capacity for logical thinking, breadth of knowledge in relevant areas, and ability to develop and conduct research leading to a completed thesis. While the specific proposal serves as a vehicle for determining the student's general knowledge and research capacity, this examination is not intended to be a defense of a specific proposal. The student will be expected to defend the public health significance of the proposal as well as the methodologies used to evaluate the problem.

The exam should be taken at the earliest possible time, before significant engagement in thesis research, and may not take place until after the Departmental Oral Exam has been successfully passed. If the student fails the Preliminary Oral Exam and is permitted reexamination, they must be reexamined within one year.

The Institutional Review Board (IRB) supports students in applying ethical principles in their research interactions with humans and/or their data, regardless of whether IRB review is required. 

All HPM PhD research must undergo IRB review and students must receive approval or an approved exemption within three months of passing the School-wide Preliminary Oral Exam. Students should consult the  IRB website  and specifically review the Student Primer and FAQ that are posted on that page.

PhD students are required to submit the "Thesis Research Documentation Form"  within three months  of passing the School-wide Preliminary Oral Exam. This form requires the signature of the HPM Academic Office in addition to the student and advisor prior to submission. Forms should be submitted to the HPM Office of Academic Affairs which will forward the completed form to the appropriate school office. Forms submitted directly to the school office without a departmental signature will not be accepted.

Dissertation funding opportunities that originate from sources outside the School usually require the submission of a formal grant proposal. HPM works closely with students in submitting these proposals and managing the award if and when it is awarded.

Anyone considering submitting a dissertation grant proposal must contact the Department's Grants and Contracts Manager who will work with them on the application process. All applications/proposals that are submitted to external funding agencies must be reviewed and approved by the Office of Research Administration (ORA). The department requires that all application materials be submitted a  minimum of 8 business days before the grant due date.  Students should seek guidance from the Grants and Contracts Analyst for specific due dates.

Once a grant has been submitted, the student must be available by email or phone at least 72 hours after submission in case any questions arise.

Within three months of passing the School-wide Preliminary Oral Exam, every doctoral student must identify a thesis advisory committee. This committee, consisting of the student's advisor and at least two other faculty members from either inside or outside the Department, will meet with the student at minimum once a year until the student has graduated to evaluate the student's work and progress.

Each student is required to submit a written summary report to the advisory committee prior to the committee's meeting. This approved summary report will be submitted to the Department each June with the annual progress report. A sample of the summary report can be found on the Department's portal page (portal login required). 

The Department is committed to assisting students to make steady and timely progress through the PhD program. To facilitate this process, all PhD students are required to submit regular progress reports to the HPM Office of Academic Affairs. Once a student has passed their School-wide Preliminary Oral Exam, a yearly progress report is submitted to the HPM Office of Academic Affairs until the program is complete. The progress report is due each year on June 1st. The report must be reviewed and discussed with the student's adviser prior to submission.

The School's PPM governing the PhD program requires students to sit for the School-wide Preliminary Oral Exam prior to the start of their 4th year in the program. Failure to meet this deadline necessitates the submission of an extension request by the student to both the Department and the School before they are permitted to continue in the program.

An initial request for an extension of time to sit for the oral exams must be submitted at least two months prior to the start of the 4th year in the program and may not exceed two terms.

The request is first submitted to the HPM APAC Student Matters Subcommittee for review, and if approved, is forwarded to the Student Matters Subcommittee of the School's Committee on Academic Standards (CAS). All requests must include the following information or will not be considered:

• A letter of request, initiated and signed by the student, stating the rationale for the request.
• A supporting letter signed by the adviser.
• Timetable and plan developed by the student in collaboration with the student's adviser that provides specific milestones that will be met to prepare the student for the school-wide preliminary oral exam.
• A (student) copy of the current transcript.
• If the HPM APAC Student Matters Subcommittee approves the request, a supporting letter from the Department will be included in the request that is forwarded to the school for final approval.

If the extension is granted, the student and adviser, in cooperation with the HPM Office of Academic Affairs, must provide evidence of progress at intervals determined by the school subcommittee, not to exceed 90 days, toward satisfying the milestones specified in the plan for completion. Failure to meet the specified milestones according to the prescribed timetable for completion may result in further action. Requests for a second extension beyond that of the initial extension are taken very seriously by the Department and CAS and require extension documentation.

Year 4 Expectations

All PhD students must complete an original investigation presented in the form of a thesis. The thesis must be based on original research, worthy of publication, and acceptable to the Department and to a committee of faculty readers. During the student's application process, various research ideas may have been discussed with faculty members. However, each student's thesis proposal must be developed, reviewed, and found acceptable to Departmental faculty while enrolled as a doctoral student at the BSPH.

PhD students in HPM have two options for the format of the thesis:

• The traditional doctoral thesis consists of a statement of the problem and specific aims; a literature review; data and research methods; analyses and results; and a discussion of findings and their implications. The form these will take reflects the specific academic discipline or orientation guiding the student's research.
• The manuscript-oriented thesis is an alternative to the traditional thesis. The manuscript thesis consists of a total of three (or more) papers linked to the student's research topic.

The decision on which format to follow should be made at the time of the Departmental Preliminary Oral Exam. If, during the writing process, the student wishes to change formats, the student must seek approval for this change from their faculty adviser and thesis committee

The Department has developed the following guidelines to help a student determine which of these options is best for their particular research. Students should discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each option with their advisor before determining a strategy.

TRADITIONAL THESIS GUIDELINES

The traditional doctoral thesis generally consists of an abstract, five chapters, references, and any appendices.  The outline of chapters below is merely a guide. The page numbers are rough estimates, and the form of the chapters will vary, reflecting the academic discipline or orientation of the student's research.

• Abstract: The abstract is a short overall summary of the work. It lays out the purpose(s) and aims of the study, the methods, and the key results and implications. The abstract generally is 2-3 double-spaced pages.
• Chapter I: Introduction: Statement of the problem and specific aims. This chapter, which tends to be relatively short (5-6 double-spaced pages), provides an introduction to the thesis. It describes briefly why this work was undertaken, what background conditions or data suggested it was an important problem, and what, then, this project was intended to accomplish.
• Chapter 2: Literature Review. The literature review summarizes existing literature that informed the thesis research. It generally is organized topically. The literature review tends to be a fairly detailed review, particularly for those topics most directly related to the content and methods of the thesis. The literature review tends to be 30-60 pages in length. 
• Chapter 3: Methods. The content of the methods chapter varies tremendously with the methodological approach taken by the student for the thesis research. With traditional empirical studies, it will generally include the specific aims, research questions, and/or hypothesis; a description of the source of study data, a description of the study instrument and its development, if relevant; a description of secondary data obtained, if relevant; analytic methods, including data cleaning, creation of a data set, creation of variables and/or qualitative codes, types of analyses done; and human subjects issues. The methods chapter ranges from 20-40 pages. 
• Chapter 4: Results. The results chapter reports the main findings of the thesis. It often is organized by research questions or specific aims or hypotheses but need not necessarily follow this format. The results chapter ranges from 25-50 pages. 
• Chapter 5: Discussion of results and policy implications. The discussion chapter both summarizes key findings and discusses findings in light of existing literature and in light of their policy implications.  Also included generally is a description of the study's limitations and implications for future research. The discussion chapter is generally 25-50 pages. 
• References. A listing of all citations used for the thesis must be provided. The Department allows any standard format for references. 
• Appendices. Appendices can be used for many purposes. They can include study instruments, if relevant; they can include additional tables not included in the main body of the thesis; also to be included must be a copy of the student's CV. The traditional thesis should be able to 'stand alone' without appendices; however, such results should never be put in appendices that are key to the study's main findings. 

MANUSCRIPT-ORIENTED THESIS GUIDELINES

The manuscript thesis consists of the following:

• A total of three (or more) papers, linked to the student's thesis topic. One of these papers may be a literature review, providing a comprehensive critical review, if it is suitable for publication.
• A chapter that integrates and discusses the findings reported in the manuscripts. It should include a discussion of the conclusions of the research and should make recommendations for further studies.
• An appendix outlining in detail the study methods and any accompanying data tables necessary to understand the data. 

A manuscript-oriented thesis must also meet the following criteria:

• The PhD student must be the first author on the three manuscripts used to satisfy this requirement;
• No manuscript will be accepted as part of the thesis if it was submitted for publication before the student passes the School-wide Preliminary Oral Exam; and,
• Co-authors should be determined based on the  criteria  for authorship developed by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE)

ROLE OF FACULTY ADVISER WITH THE MANUSCRIPT THESIS The adviser's role is to facilitate successful completion of the doctoral thesis. The thesis must reflect the student's independent and original work. The adviser can and should provide ongoing and critical feedback, but the research must be that of the student. Even if the adviser (or another committee member) serves as a co-author on a manuscript, the manuscripts must be viewed first and foremost as fulfilling the student's needs in the thesis process, with publication as a secondary goal. Advisers or other committee members who are co-authors may not undertake the first draft of any portions of the manuscripts nor substantial rewrites. Whether an adviser will be a co-author on any manuscript should be decided early in the thesis writing process. 

PhD advisers must provide official approval of the final draft of a student's thesis prior to dissemination to the other members of the Final Oral Examination Committee. A signed Thesis Approval  Form  (portal login required) must accompany each copy of the thesis distributed. Students should provide the final copy of the thesis to the readers at least five weeks prior to the Final Oral Examination.

Paperwork  (portal login required) to establish the formal final examination committee is submitted by the Department to the Office of Records and Registration at least six weeks in advance of the final defense.  

A formal, public seminar and closed oral defense of the thesis before a committee of the faculty is one of the final steps for a PhD candidate. The public seminar and oral thesis defense are typically held on the same day with the public seminar being conducted first, followed immediately by the closed defense before the approved final exam committee.

The public seminar is scheduled for 1 hour;  HPM students schedule the closed final defense for 2 hours. Members of the Final Oral Examination Committee are required to attend both the seminar and the closed defense. Students are strongly encouraged to attend the public seminars of their fellow students whenever feasible.

The Final Oral Examination Committee judges all components of the thesis to be either: Acceptable, Acceptable with Revisions, or Unacceptable. This is the case for both a traditional thesis and a manuscript-oriented thesis. Students, with guidance from their advisor, will rework their thesis until all components are judged Acceptable.

Taking the Final Oral Examination and receiving an unconditional pass does not release the student from further responsibilities to complete the degree requirements. All students must stay continually registered until the degree requirements have been completed, including receipt of the thesis acceptance letters and electronic submission of the thesis to the Sheridan Library. Once everything has been submitted, the student will be reported to the Committee on Academic Standards and be considered complete.

• ETD Electronic  Submission
• Formatting  Instructions
• Sheridan Library contact: [email protected]
• Publication Embargo: Students are allowed to choose an embargo period of 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4 years during the ETD submission. This means that the Sheridan Library will withhold publication of the thesis for the period of time chosen. The Sheridan Library does make some details of the thesis public (student name, degree, thesis title, abstract) during the embargo period, but the actual thesis is hidden from view. 
• The Department of Health Policy and Management does not require submission of an electronic or paper copy of the final thesis document to the department. However, students must forward the thesis acceptance confirmation from the Sheridan Library to the HPM Office of Academic Affairs to certify completion of all program requirements. 

The School's PPM governing the PhD program requires students to defend their thesis within seven years of matriculation. Failure to meet this deadline necessitates the submission of an extension request by the student to both the Department and the School before they are permitted to continue in the program.

A request for an extension of time to complete the degree must be submitted at least two months prior to the conclusion of the 7th year in the program and may not exceed four terms.

The request is first submitted to the HPM APAC Student Matters Subcommittee for review and if approved, is forwarded to the Student Matters Subcommittee of the School's Committee on Academic Standards (CAS). All requests must include the following information or will not be considered:

• Timetable and plan developed by the student in collaboration with the student's adviser and members of the thesis advisory committee that provide specific milestones from completion; agreement to this plan should be indicated in writing by member(s) of the thesis advisory committee.

If the extension is granted, the student and advisor, in cooperation with the HPM Office of Academic Affairs, must provide evidence of progress at intervals determined by the school subcommittee, not to exceed 90 days, toward satisfying the milestones specified in the plan for completion. Failure to meet the specified milestones according to the prescribed timetable for completion may result in further action. Requests for a second extension beyond that of the initial extension are taken very seriously by the Department and CAS and require extension documentation.

PhD Program Learning Outcomes

Hpm phd departmental competencies, concentration in bioethics and health policy competencies, concentration in health economics and policy competencies, concentration in health and public policy competencies, concentration in health services research & policy competencies, ceph-defined introductory public health learning objectives.

Upon successful completion of the PhD program in Health Policy and Management, students in each of the four concentrations will have mastered the following core competencies; specifically, students by the end of the program will have the ability to:

Upon successful completion of the PhD concentration in Bioethics and Health Policy, students will have mastered the following core competencies; specifically, students by the end of the program will have the ability to:

Upon successful completion of the PhD concentration in Health Economics and Policy, students will have mastered the following core competencies; specifically, students by the end of the program will have the ability to:

Upon successful completion of the PhD concentration in Health and Public Policy, students will have mastered the following core competencies; specifically, students by the end of the program will have the ability to:

Upon successful completion of the PhD concentration in Health Services Research and Policy, students will have mastered the following core competencies; specifically, students by the end of the program will have the ability to:

According to the requirements of the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH), all BSPH degree students must be grounded in foundational public health knowledge. Please view the   list of specific CEPH requirements by degree type .