Health Services Research

Health services research aims to identify the most effective ways to organize, manage, finance and deliver high-quality care to benefit population health.

The Ph.D. program explicitly seeks to train scientists to contribute as part of multidisciplinary teams in academic, government, and private-sector research and health care organizations. The program emphasizes communication of scientific knowledge and development of leadership skills to improve the delivery of services and influence health policy at the organizational, state, national, and international levels. The competency-based curriculum provides students with a strong analytic foundation and general health services research orientation. Students may also select an emphasis area in pharmaceutical health services research, health economics, or comparative effectiveness research/evidence-based medicine.

Health Services Research faculty are members of the Department of Health Services, Policy, and Practice and the School of Public Health, which are home to world-class research centers, such as the Center for Gerontology and Health Services Research, the Centers for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, the International Health Institute, the Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine, and the Center for Statistical Sciences. Students are engaged in collaborative research with faculty at many of these centers, as well as the Department of Health.

Major areas of faculty activity include long term care research, pharmaceutical health services research, eliminating racial disparities, evaluation of state policies, and end of life care. Strengths of the program include its student-centric approach to learning, high faculty to student ratio, and hands-on experience conducting supervised research.

Application in SOPHAS, which includes:

• Letters of Recommendation (3)
• Official Transcripts
• Personal Statement
• Resume/CV
• GRE General Test or MCAT Scores
• Application Fee

International Applicants:

• Language Proficiency (TOEFL or IELTS if applicable)
• Transcript Evaluation (if applicable)

Comprehensive application requirements are detailed on the School of Public Health's admissions requirements website.

Application Deadline: December 15