Basic Information

Overview: The Harvard PhD in Health Policy, awarded by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, is a collaborative program among six Harvard University faculties: Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Harvard Business School, Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard Law School, and John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Key Faculty and Administration: The faculty chair of the program is Joseph P. Newhouse, John D. MacArthur Professor of Health Policy and Management, Harvard University. The Director of Graduate Studies is Katherine Swartz, Professor of Health Policy and Economics, Harvard School of Public Health. Joan Curhan is the Director of the program, and Deborah Whitney is Associate Director. The Administrative Office is located at 14 Story Street, 4th floor, in Cambridge, MA.

Approximately one hundred twenty faculty members from schools within the university are actively involved in the program. Students are free to take classes throughout the university. A hallmark of the program is the accessibility of faculty members to students and the commitment of faculty to students enrolled in the program.

Program Structure: Within health policy, a student selects one of seven concentrations or disciplines in which to specialize. The concentrations are: decision sciences, economics, ethics, evaluative science and statistics, management, medical sociology, and political analysis. In addition, at the dissertation stage, a student chooses one of the following policy areas: environmental health, health care services, international health, mental health, or public health.

Usually, students take courses during the first two years and work primarily on the dissertation for the next two to three years. Most students complete the entire program within four to five years. The PhD program is a full-time program, in-residence program. There are no opportunities for distance learning.

The program started in 1992, and there are now approximately 100 graduates. Nearly 65 students are currently enrolled.

Application & Financial Aid: The application deadline is mid-December each year. For matriculation in Fall of 2009, completed applications must be received at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences by 5pm on December 15, 2008.

Most students have either a prior graduate degree (master's, MD or JD) in a related field and/or some relevant work experience in health policy.

Although both GRE and GMAT scores are acceptable, GRE scores are preferred. MCAT scores cannot be substituted. Recent median GRE scores for entering students: 740 Quantitative, 660 Verbal, and 5.5 Analytical Writing.

The PhD Program in Health Policy is able to offer financial aid to students enrolled in the program. For example, thanks to grants from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), traineeships are available to some students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents.

The PhD Program in Health Policy is committed to increasing the diversity of its doctoral student population. Minority candidates, including African Americans, Native Americans, and Hispanic Americans, are especially encouraged to apply. Financial aid (full tuition for 5 years and stipend for 3 years) is available for those admitted minority applicants with financial need.

Combined Degrees:
MD/PhD: Those wishing to combine the MD and the PhD in Health Policy must apply separately to the MD program at the Harvard Medical School and to the PhD Program in Health Policy through the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. An admitted student may combine the two programs, which saves approximately one year of coursework.

JD/PhD:Applicants interested in the coordinated JD/PhD Program must first apply to and be separately admitted to both the Harvard Law School and the PhD Program in Health Policy. Combining both programs saves approximately a half year of coursework.

Applicants to either combined degree must notify the PhD Program in Health Policy as early as possible in the process, as well as indicate on the application to the PhD Program that a concurrent application has been submitted to Harvard Medical School or Harvard Law School.

Graduates: The purpose of this program is to train students primarily for academic positions in graduate schools and research positions in government agencies and research institutes. Many of our graduates eventually lead interdisciplinary research teams; therefore, we feel it is important to provide training that is interdisciplinary in content.

We have found that there is a major unfilled need worldwide for individuals trained at the doctoral level in health policy.

Examples of positions held by graduates include: Vice President, Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation; Research Director, Institute for Ethics, American Medical Association; Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, Yale School of Medicine; Senior Health Economist, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Associate Professor of Medicine, Public Health Sciences, University of Toronto; Policy Analyst, Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President; Assistant Professor, University of Michigan Law School; Associate Economist, RAND; Assistant Professor, Department of Ambulatory Care and Prevention, Harvard Medical School and John F. Kennedy School of Government; Assistant Professor, Harvard Business School; and Health Financing Specialist, Central Eastern Europe and Central Asia, World Health Organization EURO.

For additional information and an information packet on the program, please contact Deborah Whitney at: deborah_whitney@harvard.edu (617) 496-5506.

For access to all of Harvard's resources in Health Policy, please visit: www.healthpolicy.harvard.edu.