Degree Requirements

The PhD in Health Policy and Administration (HPA) program requires a minimum of 96 semester hours. This program includes the following course requirements:

PhD Student Handbook

School-Wide Core Requirements (46 semester hours) Heading link

  • BSTT 400 – Biostatistics I (4 semester hours)*
  • BSTT 401 – Biostatistics II (4 semester hours)*
  • EPID 403 – Introduction to Epidemiology: Principles and Methods (3 semester hours)*
  • IPHS 520 – Foundations of Public Health (required for all PhD students without an MPH degree) (3 semester hours)
  • IPHS 599 – PhD Dissertation Research (minimum 32 semester hours)

* Only required if not previously taken at the master’s level.

Required Non-Credit Training Heading link

Core Requirements (32 to 46 semester hours) Heading link

  • HPA 420 – US Healthcare System for Public Health Practitioners (3 semester hours)
  • HPA 521 – Empirical Methods for Health Research I (3 semester hours)
  • HPA 522 – Empirical Methods for Health Research II (3 semester hours)
  • HPA 567 – Public Health Policy Analysis (3 semester hours)
  • HPA 573 – Principles of Economic Evaluation of Healthcare Interventions (3 semester hours)
  • HPA 581 – Advanced Topics in Health Economics (3 semester hours)
  • IPHS 595 – PhD Seminar (1 credit per semester, for four semesters in the first two years, if not previously taken at the masters level).

Selectives (at least 9 semester hours) Heading link

  • BSTT 505 – Logistic Regression and Survival Analysis (2 semester hours)
  • BSTT 537 – Longitudinal Data Analysis (2 semester hours)
  • ECON 509 – Microeconomic Theory I (4 semester hours)
  • ECON 534 – Econometrics I (4 semester hours)
  • ECON 535 – Econometrics (4 semester hours)
  • ECON 516 – Development Economics (4 semester hours)
  • ECON 539 – Microeconomics (4 semester hours)
  • ECON 555 – Health Economics (4 semester hours)
  • ECON 531 – Labor Economics (4 semester hours)
  • CHSC 534 – Management and Analysis of Qualitative Data (3 semester hours)
  • CSCH 551 – Advanced Research Methods for Community Health Sciences (3 semester hours)
  • EOHS 501 – Exposure Assessment Strategies (3 semester hours)
  • POLS 502 – Time Series Analysis for Political Science (3 semester hours)
  • POLS 544 – Regulatory Public Policies (3 semester hours)
  • POLS 566 – Interest Groups (3 semester hours)
  • POLS 584 – Methods of Policy Analysis (3 semester hours)
  • PSOP 502 – Research Methods in Pharmacy Systems, Outcomes and Policy
  • UPP 501 – History and Theory of Urban Planning (4 semester hours)
  • UPP 501 – Urban Space, Place and Institutions (4 semester hours)

Electives Heading link

All students must complete a sufficient number of courses to bring the total program hours to 118 SH. A minimum of 9 SH must be taken at the 500-level. Note: IPHS 599 hours may not be counted toward fulfillment of this requirement

Students with a master’s degree in a relevant research area may receive 32 SH of credit towards the 118 SH total.