PhD in Health Services Research Curriculum

Prerequisites

Students who are admitted to the PhD program generally will have completed a master’s degree in a relevant discipline, or a terminal professional degree (e.g. MD, JD, PharmD) prior to matriculation. Admitted students who have attained only a bachelor’s degree will have to complete an additional 32 semester hours of coursework.

Cognate Areas

Each student must select one of two research areas known as cognates: (1) health economics or (2) health politics and policy. These cognate areas provide students with core knowledge relating to a specific conceptual approach for health services research. Students typically designate their cognate area at or before matriculation, but must designate a cognate area no later than the end of their first semester.

Summary of PhD Program Curriculum

PhD Core Courses	19 credit hours
Prescribed Statistics and Methods Courses	15 credit hours
Prescribed Cognate Courses	9 credit hours
Free Electives	12 credit hours
Capstone (Papers/Dissertations)	9 credit hours
Total	64 credit hours

PhD Core Courses

Course Number	Course Title	Credit Hours
PHPM 601	Foundations of Public Health	3
PHPM 619	Organizational Theory	3
PHPM 637	Political Foundations of Public Health	3
PHPM 661	Introduction to Health Economics	3
PHPM 671	Introduction into Health Services Research	3
PHPM 681	Seminar (1 hour, repeated first 4 semesters)	4

PHPM 601 is waived for students who have attained a public health degree from a CEPH-accredited institution. To be eligible for teaching assistant positions, students also must complete SOPH 676 (Professional Development Seminar in Public Health Teaching).

Prescribed Statistics and Methods Courses

Course Number	Course Title	Credit Hours
PHPM 672	Data Science for Health Services Research	3
PHPM 674	Secondary Analysis of Health Data	3
PHPM 678	Qualitative Research in Public Health	3
PHPM 667* *Course available fall 2024. See your academic advisor for alternatives.	Analytical Issues in Health Services Research I	3
PHPM 676	Analytical Issues in Health Services Research II* *New course title for fall 2024.	3

Health Economics Cognate Courses

Course Number	Course Title	Credit Hours
PHPM 662	Advanced Health Economics	3
PHPM 663	Cost-Effectiveness Analysis and Health Policy	3
PHPM 654	Health Insurance and Managed Care	3

Health Politics and Policy Cognate Courses

Course Number	Course Title	Credit Hours
PHPM 640	Health Policy and Politics	3
PHPM 641	Advanced Health Policy	3
PHPM 643	Health Policy Analysis	3