Program Overview

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Introduction to the Population Health PhD Program

The Population Health PhD program is a member of the Interdisciplinary Biological and Health Sciences Consortium (IBHSC), which fosters a collaborative environment for research and study in the biological and health sciences. The Department of Population Health Sciences, part of the School of Medicine and Public Health, strives to provide leadership in the emerging, integrative field of population health.

Program Overview

The program's mission is to create, integrate, disseminate, and apply knowledge promoting the most efficient, equitable, and effective possible use of resources to maintain and improve the health of populations. The department offers two graduate degree programs: an MS and PhD in population health and an MS and PhD in epidemiology. The MS and PhD in Population Health can be taken with either a named option in Epidemiology or a named option in Population Health.

Research-Oriented Degree Programs

The research-oriented degree programs are designed to provide rigorous, interdisciplinary training to develop students' abilities to synthesize knowledge and skills needed to address today's health-related problems. Methodological and analytical training is grounded in biostatistics, epidemiology, and health services research, but also emphasizes methods employed in the social sciences and econometrics that contribute to the study of health in populations.

Program Structure

While the program is based on a sequence of core courses, students, in consultation with their major professor, have the flexibility to design advanced study and research that best prepares them for their chosen area of interest. Individuals choose this program because of its innovative approach, strong research focus, and personal attention to students.

Interdisciplinary Focus

The program's interdisciplinary focus allows students the flexibility to work with a wide array of research/faculty on campus. For instance, program faculty include members from a number of other departments such as business, family medicine, industrial engineering, law, medical history and bioethics, medicine, nursing, ophthalmology, public affairs, sociology, and veterinary medicine.

Research Topics

Faculty, staff, and students in the Department of Population Health Sciences engage in a wide variety of world-class epidemiological and health services research projects to understand determinants of health and health problems in populations, analyze public and clinical health policies, and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of healthcare. Research topics may include:

• Chronic, infectious, and environmental disease epidemiology
• Public health
• Studies of medical outcomes
• Health economics
• Maternal and childhood health
• The determinants and measurement of population health status
• Health administration and policy

Methods Employed

Methods employed involve developing and maintaining long-term cohort studies, disease registries, population surveys, and retrospective analyses of large observational databases. Researchers in the department also work to advance methodology in health economics, population health evaluation, and statistical analyses.

Admissions

Students apply to the PhD in Population Health through one of the named options: Epidemiology or Population Health.

Funding

The Bursar's Office provides information about tuition and fees associated with being a graduate student. Resources to help afford graduate study might include:

• Assistantships
• Fellowships
• Traineeships
• Financial aid

Program Resources

Students admitted to the degree programs are automatically considered for any available scholarships, traineeships, or graduate assistant positions in the department. The most common forms of funding support for students are:

• Assistantships
• Traineeships
• Fellowships

Minimum Graduate School Requirements

Review the Graduate School minimum degree requirements and policies, in addition to the program requirements listed below.

Major Requirements

Curricular Requirements

• University General Education Requirements
• Requirements Detail
  • Minimum Credit Requirement: 51 credits
  • Minimum Residence Credit Requirement: 39 credits
  • Minimum Graduate Coursework Requirement: 51 credits must be graduate-level coursework

Overall Graduate GPA Requirement

Students must maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.25 in all graduate work (including transfer credits) unless conditions for probationary status require higher grades. Students must also maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.25 or better in all coursework completed while enrolled in the population health graduate program.

Other Grade Requirements

No grade of BC or lower in epidemiology required courses will be accepted for the degree.

Assessments and Examinations

Full-time students have up until the end of their third year to pass the qualifying exam and their first sitting must occur no later than the end of their second year. Part-time students are expected to pass the exam before the end of their fourth year (regardless of whether the student is continuously enrolled) and their first sitting must occur no later than the end of their third year.

Language Requirements

No language requirements.

Graduate School Breadth Requirements

All doctoral students are required to complete a doctoral minor or graduate/professional certificate.

Required Courses

Select a Named Option for courses required.

Named Options

A named option is a formally documented sub-major within an academic major program. Named options appear on the transcript with degree conferral. Students pursuing the PhD in Population Health must select one of the following named options:

• Population Health: Epidemiology, PhD
• Population Health: Population Health, PhD

Policies

Students should refer to one of the named options for policy information.

Professional Development

The Graduate School provides resources to build skills, thrive academically, and launch a career.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the program, students will be able to:

• Articulate research problems, potentials, and limits with respect to theory, knowledge, and practice of Population Health
• Assemble, evaluate, and synthesize evidence from literature and data sources to formulate ideas, concepts, designs, and/or techniques beyond the current boundaries of knowledge within Population Health
• Demonstrate breadth of knowledge of Population Health in its subject matter, historical and social context
• Create research that makes a substantive contribution to the knowledge base of Population Health
• Develop mastery of scholarship in Population Health relevant to academia, for-profit and non-profit organization, and/or government
• Communicate complex ideas both in writing and orally in a clear and understandable manner
• Recognize and apply principles of ethical professional conduct in their scholarship