Department of Health Policy and Management

Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health

School URL: http://www.pbhealth.iupui.edu

School E-mail: pbhealth@iupui.edu

(Please note that when conferring University Graduate School degrees, minors, certificates, and sub-plans, The University Graduate School’s staff use those requirements contained only in The University Graduate School Bulletin.)

Curriculum

Curriculum
Courses
Faculty

Degrees Offered

Doctor of Philosophy in Health Policy and Management

(The Master in Public Health, Health Policy and Management Concentration and Master of Health Administration are granted by the Indiana University Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health. For information on all five of the concentrations offered in the M.P.H. Program and M.H.A., visit the Fairbanks School of Public Health website, (http://www.pbhealth.iupui.edu).

Doctor of Philosophy

Special Department Requirements

(See also general University Graduate School requirements.)

The PhD in Health Policy and Management program at the IU Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health is ideal for students who are interested in developing the analytical, methodological and professional skills needed to tackle the many health policy and management challenges facing Indiana, our nation, and the world. As a core discipline within the field of public health, health policy and management focuses on the creation of new knowledge that informs the advancement of health services delivery within and across the public, private, and non-profit sectors. With a PhD degree in Health Policy and Management, students will be well-prepared to take on independent research roles as academic faculty members.

Students pursuing this degree must complete at least 90 credit hours that include advanced graduate coursework, passing a qualifying examination, and researching and defending a dissertation that makes an original contribution to the field. The department’s distinguished faculty members instruct, mentor, and collaborate closely with students. You’ll benefit from working with faculty members who are nationally recognized for their research in health information technology, healthcare organizations, health policy and law, health impact assessment, and more. To support this research, faculty members have a diverse research funding portfolio that includes grants and contracts from the NIH, AHRQ, SAMHSA, NCAA, CDC, and numerous Indiana state agencies. Students have access to outside expertise through the department’s longstanding close collaborations with the IU School of Medicine, the Regenstrief Institute, the IU Kelley School of Business, the IU McKinney School of Law, the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute, the Indiana Hospital Association, the Indiana State Department of Health, and top health systems and professional organizations throughout the state and nation.

Admission Requirements

The application deadline for the Health Policy and Management Ph.D. program is April 1 for International applicants and May 1 for US applicants of each year for matriculation in the following fall semester. Applications must be submitted through the School of Public Health Application System (SOPHAS) at www.SOPHAS.org.  Document to be submitted with the application include:  

• Resume or Curriculum Vita
• Statement of Purpose and Ojectives
• Sample of scholarly writing authored solely by the applicant
• Three (3) letters of recommendation from people who can comment on the applicant’s suitability for doctoral level studies (e.g., former professors, employers or other professionals involved in health policy and management)
• Competitive scores on the GRE, GMAT, MCAT, LSAT, or DAT.  The graduate entrance exam requirement may be waived if the applicant has a graduate or professional degree from an accredited U.S. college or university.
• TOEFL Scores
• Official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended documenting a cumulative GPA of at least a 3.0 on a 4.0 scale in all prior academic work and a letter grade of B or higher in all courses that fulfill prerequisites.
• World Education Services (WES) ICAP course-by-course evaluation for all post-secondary foreign institutions attended.
• Application to the I.U.'s University Graduate School.
• Selected candidates will be invited for a personal interview with members of the Admissions Committee.

Course Requirements

A minimum of 90 credit hours are required for the Health Policy and Management Ph.D. degree. The 90 credit hours will consist of the following:

Public Health Foundations (9 crs.)

Take all three courses for a total of nine credit hours. Some students will be able to transfer credit for these courses.

• H670 (future H506) Population and Public Health (3 credits)
• H641 Ethics in Public Health (3 credits)
• B551 Biostatistics for Public Health I (3 credits)

Health Policy and Management Foundations (12 cr.)

• H670 (future H786) Healthcare Organizations Research (3 credits)
• H670 (future H787) Health Policy Research (3 credits)

One of the following two:

• H658 Methods in Health Services and Policy Research (3 credits)*
• S510 Introduction to Research Methods in Public Health (3 credits) *

One of the following two: 

• H619 Health Economics (3 credits)
• H514 Health Economics (3 credits)

*PhD students may be expected to register for a different section of these courses and/or complete additional assignments/tasks commensurate with the expectations of a doctoral course. PhD students with prior equivalent coursework will be expected to substitute a more advanced course in a related area.

PhD Seminars (13 crs.)

• Students will be expected to take the HPM Research Seminar course during four times for a total of 12 credit hours. These courses do not build on one another and need not be taken in order.
• H747 Health Policy and Management Research Seminar (12 credits)
• S725 Preparing for Academics in Public Health (1 credit)

Methods and Skills Courses (24 crs.)

Required Courses 

• B562 Biostatistics for Public Health II (3 credits)
• H644 Health Impact Assessment (3 credits)
• H781 Research Design in Health Policy and Management Research (3 credits)
• H782 Quantitative Methods in Health Policy and Management (3 credits)
• H783 Qualitative Methods for Health Services Research (3 credits)
• H657 Application of Cost-Effectiveness Analysis in Pub Health (3 credits)

Elective Courses

Choose two of the following. Other courses may be substituted with program director approval.

• E606 Grant Writing for Public Health (3 credits)
• E710 Advanced Public Health Survey Methods (3 credits)
• E563 Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis in Health Sciences (3 credits)

Minor Area (12 crs.)

Students must complete a PhD minor. The minor must contain at least four graduate courses (12 credit hours) and comply with the requirements of the minor department/unit. Students wishing to complete a minor outside of the following should consult with the program director for guidance: Epidemiology, Biostatistics, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Health Informatics, Sociology, Policy Analysis.

Dissertation (20 crs.)

• H799 Dissertation Proposal (4 credits)
• H800 Dissertation Research (16 credits)

Qualifying Exam

All Health Policy and Management Ph.D. students must pass a qualifying examination before they can proceed to their dissertation. The written qualifying exam will be taken after the coursework for the Ph.D. has been completed.  Students who fail the qualifying examination are normally allowed to retake it only once. The qualifying exam will consist of written and oral components.

Admission to Candidacy

Following the passing of the qualifying examination and the completion of all required coursework, the student’s advisory committee will nominate the student to candidacy. Upon approval by the dean of the University Graduate School, the student will be admitted to candidacy.

Students who have passed the qualifying examination and have been admitted to candidacy must enroll each semester (excluding summer sessions) for dissertation credits. Once such students have accumulated 90 credit hours in completed course work and deferred dissertation credits, they may maintain continuous enrollment by enrolling in G901; G901 may be taken for no more than six semesters.

Dissertation

The dissertation will be written on an original topic of research and presented as one of the final requirements for the Ph.D. degree. The student’s dissertation research committee will be comprised of members of the graduate faculty.  The chair of the dissertation research committee must be a regular faculty member in the Department of Health Policy and Management and a full member of the Graduate Faculty.  The student will submit to the I.U.P.U.I. Graduate Office, acting for the University Graduate School, a two-page prospectus of the dissertation research and the membership of the research committee at least six months before the defense of the dissertation for their approval.

When the dissertation has been completed and approved by the dissertation research committee chair, the student will submit an unbound copy to each member of the research committee as the initial step to the dissertation defense.

After the committee has reviewed the dissertation, the decision to schedule the defense will be made.  The student will then present and defend the dissertation orally in a public forum before the committee.  Following the dissertation defense, all deficiencies must be adequately addressed to obtain approval by the dissertation research committee.

Final Examination

This is an oral examination, primarily a defense of the dissertation.

Normal Progress and Termination

The Department of Health Policy and Management will monitor the students’ progress toward the Ph.D. degree and will make recommendations to the University Graduate School regarding the nomination to candidacy, the appointment of a research committee, the defense of the dissertation, and the conferring of the Ph.D. degree.

Doctoral Minor in Health Policy and Management

Departmental URL: https://fsph.iupui.edu/academics/doctoral/minors/hpm.html

The IU Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health offers a PhD minor in Health Policy and Management that provides students with a foundation in the concepts, principles and practice of health policy and management. People who possess these specialized skills are in high demand because of what they can contribute to many doctoral-level research projects.

The doctoral minor in Epidemiology is a rigorous, highly focused 12-credit hour minor that serves as a useful complement to many major areas of study. You will learn both theoretical concepts and how to apply them. By completing this minor, you will be able to:

• Identify and analyze the components and issues of leadership, including financing and delivery of public health services and systems
• Apply policy process, development, and analysis methods to address current national, state, and local public health issues
• Use systems methods to analyze the effects of political, social, and economic influences on public health systems at the individual, community, state, national, and international levels
• Discuss the policy process for improving the health status of populations
• Apply principles of strategic planning and organizational development to public health agencies
• Apply the principles of budgeting, management, and performance evaluation in organizational and community initiatives

Because you can choose three of the courses from a list of options, you can easily customize this minor to your unique interests and needs. This minor is ideal for students from many schools, including the IU schools of Nursing, Dentistry, Medicine, Physical Education and Recreation, Health Rehabilitative Sciences, Law, and Public and Environmental Affairs.

Students who wish to obtain a doctoral minor from the IU Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health must earn a grade of “B” or better in the coursework for the minor. Courses in which a grade of “B-” or lower is earned will not apply toward completion of the minor. Faculty in the department of Health Policy and Management will serve as advisors for students choosing this minor.

Required Course

• PBHL H501 U.S. Health Care: Systems, Policies, and Ethical Challenges (3 credits)

Plus choose three courses from the following list:

• PBHL H509 Financial Management Principles of Healthcare (3 credits)
• PBHL H518 Statistical Methods for Health Services (3 credits)
• PBHL H521 Management Science for Health Services Administration (3 credits)
• PBHL H523 Health Services Human Resources Management (3 credits)
• PBHL H611 Policy Development, Implementation and Management (3 credits)
• PBHL H612 Marketing Health Services Delivery (3 credits)
• PBHL H615 Healthcare Outcomes and Decision Making (3 credits)
• PBHL H620 Patient Centered Outcomes Research (3 credits)
• PBHL H623 Healthcare Applications of Strategic Management (3 credits)
• PBHL H624 Developing Strategic Capability (3 credits)
• PBHL H628 Health Care Information Systems (3 credits)
• PBHL H624 Health Care Strategic Management (3 credits)
• PBHL H644 Health Impact Assessment (3 credits)
• PBHL H657 Applications of Cost Effectiveness Analysis in Public Health (3 credits)
• PBHL H658 Health Policy and Program Evaluation (3 credits)
• PBHL H641 Ethics and Public Health (3 credits)
• PBHL P670 Law and Public Health (3 credits)
• PBHL H680 Seminar in Contemporary Health Policy Challenges (3 credits)
• PBHL H681 Comparative Effectiveness Research Methods (3 credits)
• PBHL H682 Global Health Perspectives on Health Policy and Health Systems (3 credits)

Other courses may be taken if approved by the student’s minor advisor. Students who have already completed any of the required courses as part of their MPH or PhD requirements may not apply those courses toward their minor in Health Policy and Management and must instead work with their faculty advisor to identify alternate HPM courses.

The student’s minor advisor will monitor satisfactory completion of the requirements for the doctoral minor in Health Policy and Management. Doctoral students must notify the Fairbanks School of Public Health before beginning their course of study for the minor.