Office of the Registrar
Campus Address
Hanover, NH
03755-3529
Phone: (603) 646-xxxx
Fax: (603) 646-xxxx
Email: reg@Dartmouth.EDU

Organization, Regulations, and Courses 2025-26


Health Policy and Clinical Practice

The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice (TDI)

Requirements for the Doctoral (PhD) degree in Health Policy and Clinical Practice include:

The Dartmouth Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) program offers in-depth and a multi-disciplinary approach that integrates relevant theories, methodological strategies, and evidence from a variety of fields. Disciplines represented by the faculty include clinical medicine, decision science, economics, epidemiology, health services research, geography, political science, psychology, public health, and sociology.

The doctoral program is designed so that each student-researcher works closely with a faculty advisor and his or her research group to design a course of study and participate in ongoing research. PhD students are encouraged to investigate a specialized area in-depth while also gaining an informed appreciation of other core areas. They are trained in independent and team-based strategies to integrate these perspectives into research.

Our PhD graduates are expected to further the development of these core areas, to lead in the design, initiation and management of effective change in health care, and to contribute to the education of future scholars in health policy and clinical practice. Graduates of the doctoral program go into academic, government, and corporate positions involving health services research and health policy.

 

The requirements for the PhD include:

  • Satisfactory completion of the following courses (listed below)
  • A minimum of two (three are allowable research rotations (PH 181-183) during the Fall and Winter terms of the first year).
  • One ethics course PH 700 (offered second half of Fall term of the first year)
  • All PhD students must engage in research (PH 197-199) efforts each academic term related to their dissertation research topic.  These efforts will form the basis of the Qualifying Examination Defense proposal. 
  • An on-topic (thesis-related) qualifying examination consisting of a written proposal and an oral defense.
  • PhD students must serve as a Teaching Assistant (TA) (PH 272-276) in at least two units of courses, and across at least two terms. Beginning in the student’s second year of study, they will be eligible to TA one of The Dartmouth Institute courses or electives unless another course has been approved by The Dartmouth Institute. 
  • After successfully passing the Qualifying Examination Defense.  Students will continue their research (PH 297-299) efforts as a doctoral candidate each academic term until they are ready to present their doctoral research at their thesis defense.
  • Annual formal presentation of a research in progress (RIP) seminar to TDI faculty and students.
  • Attendance at TDI program functions.
  • Preparation, presentation (seminar and defense with an internal examination committee and one external faculty member), and submission of a thesis upon successful defense of thesis.

 

Satisfactory completion of the following courses:

Core Course Requirement: Year 1

While all courses below are required, we strongly recommended for your training, students are required to complete PH140 OR successfully petition for course equivalency credit with supporting evidence of their mastery of that material.  There are also a number of elective courses offered in the first year that provide valuable background content related to the Dartmouth Institute’s research areas.

The following 3 courses must be completed during Year 1:

  • PH 141: Regression and Other Approaches

  • QBS 139/PH 147: Advanced Methods in Health Services Research

  • QBS 140/PH 121: Decision and Cost Effectiveness Analysis

Core Course Requirement: Year 1, Year 2, and Year 3

  • PH 700: Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research

    • (required for all graduate students in first term/first year)

At least 3 courses from the following list must be completed by the end of Year 2:

Biostatistics courses (a minimum of 1 of the following is required):

  • QBS 119: Biostatistics I: Applied Biostatistics

  • QBS 120: Statistical Theory

  • QBS 121: Statistical Modeling

  • QBS 122: Statistical Analysis of Complex Data

Epidemiology courses (a minimum of 1 of the following is required):

  • QBS 131: Epidemiology II

  • QBS 136 or 137: Applied Epidemiology Methods

  • QBS 133: Clinical Epidemiology

Year 2 and Year 3:

  • PH 290 Doctoral Seminar (Professional Development Seminar – register each term – F, W, Sp)

    • Year 2 Fall: Grant Writing Seminar

    • Year 2 Winter: Writing Seminar

    • Year 2 Spring: Writing seminar

  • PH 270: Advanced Research Methods (register each term – F, W, Sp)

    • Year 3 Fall

    • Year 3 Winter

    • Year 3 Spring