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

Doctor of Philosophy

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

Admission to the Health Policy and Management PhD program at the IU Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health is based on completion of a baccalaureate degree, although it is anticipated that many applicants will have completed a post-baccalaureate degree in public health or other health-related discipline. Online Application Steps

You may apply to our Health Policy and Management PhD program online via SOPHAS, the centralized Schools of Public Health Application Service.

Remember to designate the IU Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health as one of your school choices, along with your desired program.

The application deadline for Fall admission is May 1 (April 1 for international students). Applications will be reviewed as they are received. The deadline to receive priority for financial support is January 5.

Supporting Documentation

In addition to completing the SOPHAS application, you are also required to submit the following supporting documentation directly to SOPHAS:

• Statement of Purpose and Objectives: Provide an essay of approximately 750 words describing your past education, experience, and current professional career objectives. You are encouraged to comment on any or all of the following: plans you have to use your education and training; the needs and/or challenges you perceive as important in your field of study; and, any personal qualities, characteristics, and skills you believe will enable you to be successful in your chosen field of study.
• Résumé or Curriculum Vitae (CV)
• Official post-secondary transcripts from all U.S. institutions attended (must be sent directly from the institutions to SOPHAS). This includes previous study at Indiana University.
• It is strongly recommended that all transcripts be submitted no later than 15 days before the application deadline to allow SOPHAS adequate time to verify transcripts. Please note it can take up to four weeks for transcripts to be verified.
• World Education Services (WES) ICAP course-by-course evaluation for all post-secondary foreign institutions attended. Please Note: U.S. applicants who studied at foreign institutions as part of a study abroad experience at their U.S. college or university, do not need to provide a WES evaluation of their study abroad coursework.
• Three letters of recommendation from persons qualified to assess your academic work; clinical, public health, or professional experiences; or, leadership potential in public health. These letters should be from professional sources who can provide an unbiased, current and critical assessment of your abilities, skills, strengths and weaknesses related to successfully completing a doctoral program.
• Sample of scholarly writing – Applicants must submit an electronic copy of a course paper or published article in which the applicant is the sole author. This document can be uploaded to your SOPHAS application.
• GRE test scores – GRE scores, while not required for admission (see waiver instruction), must be submitted in order for students to be considered for some fellowship funding.  Applicants must submit GRE scores to SOPHAS using the following designation DI Code 0167.
• Test Score Waiver – If you have a graduate or professional degree from an accredited U.S. institution, you may request a waiver for the test score requirement. (Please contact fsphinfo@iupui.edu to obtain information contained in this document in an accessible format.)
• Proof of English Proficiency

Applicants whose native language is not English or whose academic study was done exclusively at non-English speaking institutions, must prove English proficiency by providing either official Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or International English Language Testing System (IELTS) scores. Scores must be less than two years old.

On-site Interview Steps

In-person interview: Applicants will be invited to participate in an in-person interview with several members of the Admissions Committee. Alternative arrangements can be made for applicants unable to be interviewed on-site.

Completion of an on-site essay: Applicants participating in the interview process may be asked to write a short essay on a specific topic assigned to them using Microsoft Word. The purpose of this step is to allow the Admissions Committee to assess the applicant's English writing skills.

Review of Applications

Completed applications will be carefully reviewed by the Health Policy and Management PhD Admissions Committee after the program deadline. The Admissions Committee will determine each applicant’s acceptance or non-acceptance to the Health Policy and Management PhD program by using the following selection criteria:

• Scientific Leadership Potential: Assessed by the applicant’s resume/CV, personal statement, and personal interview.
• Ability to Engage in Advanced Graduate Work: Assessed by the applicant’s personal interview, evaluation of letters of recommendation, overall grade point average in prior graduate work, and scores from the GRE or other graduate entrance exams.
• Learning Goals and Objectives: Assessed by the applicant’s personal statement and personal interview.

Apply Now

You may apply online to our Health Policy and Management PhD program via SOPHAS, the centralized Schools of Public Health Application Service, SOPHAS. Remember to designate the IU Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health as one of your school choices along with your desired program.

Applicants will be reviewed as they are received, and decisions may be made on a rolling basis. The application deadline to receive priority for financial support is January 5. However, applications will be accepted through May 1 (April 1 for international students). All required application documents must be submitted by the PhD program deadline. It is strongly recommended that all transcripts are submitted no later than 15 days prior to the application deadline to allow SOPHAS adequate time to verify transcripts. Please note that it can take up to four weeks for transcripts to be verified.

We'll let you know by e-mail once we receive your application. If you have questions about the application process, contact student services (317) 274-2000.

Course Requirements

The Health Policy and Management PhD program consists of ninety (90) credit hours and can be completed on a full-time or part time basis. Students must complete the PhD courses within seven (7) years of matriculation into the program. After finishing their coursework, students have up to seven (7) additional years to complete their dissertation. However, students must complete their coursework and dissertation within a ten (10) year period.

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.

• PBHL P501 U.S. Healthcare System and Health Policy (3 credits)
• PBHL P510 Introduction to Public Health (3 credits)
• PBHL B551 Biostatistics for Public Health I (3 credits)

Health Policy and Management Foundations (12 cr.)

• PBHL H514 Health Economics (3 credits)
• PBHL H611 Policy Evaluation, Implementation, and Management (3 credits) 
• PBHL H658 Health Policy and Program Evaluation (3 credits) *
• PBHL H786 Healthcare Organizations Research (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.

• PBHL H747 Health Policy and Management Research Seminar (12 credits)
• PBHL S725 Preparing for Academics in Public Health (1 credit)

Methods and Skills Courses (24 crs.)

Required Courses 

• PBHL B562 Biostatistics for Public Health II (3 credits)
• PBHL H781 Research Design in Health Policy and Management Research (3 credits)
• PBHL H782 Quantitative Methods in Health Policy and Management (3 credits)
• PBHL H783 Qualitative Methods for Health Services Research (3 credits)
• PBHL S619 Health Disparities and Health Equity (3 credits)

Elective Courses

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

• PBHL B552 Fundamentals of Data Management (3 credits)
• PBHL E606 Grant Writing for Public Health (3 credits)
• PBHL E635 Foundations of Public Health Informatics (3 credits)
• PBHL E647 Introduction to Population Health Analytics (3 credits)
• PBHL H628 Healthcare Information Systems (3 credits)
• PBHL H751 Doctoral Readings in Health Policy and Management (variable 1-3)
• PBHL H752 Doctoral Level Directed Research (3 credits)
• NURS-D735 Population Health Surveillance and Management (3 credits)
• NURS-R615 Comparative Effectiveness and Patient-centered Research (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.)

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

Other Degree Requirements for the PhD in Health Policy and Management

Public Health Coursework

Health Policy and Management PhD students without a graduate degree, certificate or coursework in public health will be required to complete online introductory modules on Environmental Health and Social and Behavioral Science to ensure they have basic competencies in all five core public health areas. This is a requirement of the Council on Education in Public Health (CEPH), the Fairbanks school’s accrediting body.

PhD Advisory Committee

The Department of Health Policy and Management will assign the student to an advisory committee after completion of the first year in the PhD program. The advisory committee will include at least two Health Policy and Management faculty; one member may be from another discipline. The advisory committee will approve the student’s program of study and counsel the student until he or she passes the qualifying examination. The chair of the PhD advisory committee will be a full-time faculty in the Department of Health Policy and Management. Faculty who meet the IUPUI Graduate School guidelines will be eligible to serve as dissertation advisors.

Minor Area

The student will select at least one minor from outside the department of Health Policy and Management. The PhD minor typically includes four graduate level courses, complies with requirements of the respective minor department or program, and must be approved by the student’s advisory committee. Examples of minors include: bioethics, international research ethics, biostatistics, epidemiology, health economics, medical sociology, medical anthropology, nursing administration, business administration, and bioinformatics.

Qualifying Examinations

The written qualifying examination is designed to assess the student’s attainment of the stated Health Policy and Management PhD competencies and is taken after the coursework for the PhD has been completed. Students who fail the qualifying examination are normally allowed to retake it once.

Students who have passed the qualifying examination must enroll each semester (excluding summer sessions) for dissertation credits. Once students have accumulated 90 credit hours in completed course work and dissertation credits, they may maintain continuous enrollment by enrolling in G901 for six credit hours at a cost of $150. Students can enroll in G901 for no more than six semesters.

The department of Health Policy and Management will monitor the students’ progress toward the PhD 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 PhD degree.

Dissertation

The dissertation will be written on an original topic of research and presented as one of the final requirements for the Health Policy and Management PhD 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 IUPUI 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.

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.

Health Policy and Management Doctoral Program Director: Justin Blackburn, Ph.D.

Doctoral Minor in Health Policy and Management

Program E-mail: fsphinfo@iu.edu  

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

(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.)

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 and methods of health policy and management research. These concepts and methods draw on many disciplines, including economics, organizational theory and behavior, informatics, sociology, psychology, and statistics. Therefore, this minor is ideal for students from many schools including the IU Schools of Nursing, Dentistry, Medicine, Liberal Arts, Physical Education and Recreation, Health Rehabilitative Sciences, Law, and Public and Environmental Affairs. Students in other School of Public Health doctoral programs are also welcome in the minor.

The doctoral minor in Health Policy and Management is a rigorous, highly focused 12-credit hour minor that serves as a useful complement to many major areas of study. You will learn theoretical concepts and how to apply them. Accomplished and research-productive faculty in the Department of Health Policy and Management will serve as advisors and instructors for students choosing this minor. By completing this minor, you will be able to:

• Critically appraise research streams in healthcare management, health policy, and health services research and identify important new research questions.
• Understand foundational theories and concepts used in healthcare management, health policy, and health services research and apply them to novel research studies.
• Identify and understand the strengths and weaknesses of study designs frequently used in healthcare management, health policy, and health services research.
• Conduct quantitative and qualitative analyses to answer critical healthcare management, health policy, and health services research questions.

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.

Health Policy and Management Minor Curriculum

Choose any four of the following 3-credit courses:

• PBHL-H 747 Health Policy and Management Research Seminar (may be taken up to 2 times on different topics)
• PBHL-H 786 Healthcare Organizations Research
• PBHL-H 781 Research Design in Health Policy and Management
• PBHL-H 782 Quantitative Methods in Health Policy and Management
• PBHL-H 783 Qualitative Methods in Health Services Research

Other courses may be taken if approved by the student's minor advisor.