The PhD concentration in Health Policy and Administration is designed to prepare students with the research skills that are necessary to study the complex systems involved in the organization, access, financing and delivery of health services and policies.

  • 118 Semester Hours

  • 3 Areas of Research Focus

PhD Program Director

Portrait of Lisa Powell

Lisa M. Powell, Ph.D., is a Distinguished Professor and Director in the Division of Health Policy and Administration in the School of Public Health and Director of the Illinois Prevention Research Center in the Institute for Health Research and Policy at the University of Illinois Chicago. Dr. Powell has extensive experience as an applied micro-economist in the empirical analysis of the effects of public policy on a series of behavioral outcomes. Much of her current research is on assessing the importance of economic and environmental factors (such as food prices, sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) taxes, access to food stores, fast-food restaurants, other eating places, and facilities for physical activity; and television food advertising exposure) on food consumption and physical activity behaviors and as determinants of obesity, including related disparities. Her work has made substantial contributions to the evidence base for policymakers in the areas of SSB taxes and child-directed marketing.

PhD Alum

portrait of Hansoo Ko

Hansoo Ko, MD, PhD Assistant Professor at George Mason University College of Health and Human Services. Hansoo authored a study titled Intergenerational effects of old-age pension on children’s health and well-being, which estimates the impacts of the basic old-age pension reform in South Korea on childhood/adolescent health and well-being

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Research centers our faculty collaborate with: Heading link

faculty attending the minority health conference

The Institute for Health Research and Policy (IHRP) catalyzes innovative research by providing the services and infrastructure needed to develop research ideas, form collaborations and successful teams, and manage grants from proposal to closeout.

P3RC researchers and staff

At the Policy, Practice and Prevention Research Center (P3RC), we are building and translating evidence and strengthening leadership capacity to advance policies and practices that improve population health and equity.

heat map of Chicago skyline

The Population Health Analytics, Metric and Evaluation (PHAME) Center integrates novel technology with academic expertise to provide community-level data analysis, evaluation, and visualization for community members, policymakers, researchers, and students in the city of Chicago and beyond.