About the Program
PLEASE READ: For the 2025-2026 academic year, the University of Rochester will pause our acceptance and review of applications to our Epidemiology and Health Services Research PhD programs. We will not review any applications and will not be enrolling any PhD students this year. This pause is only for 1 year and we will return to accepting applications and enrolling students next year (during the 2026-2027 academic year). Please note that we continue to accept and review applications this year to our Masters programs as usual (MS in Epidemiology, MS in Clinical Investigation, MS in Health Services Research and Policy, and our Master of Public Health programs), as well as all of our certificate programs. The pause is for our Epidemiology and Health Services Research PhD programs only.
- Our Ph.D. can be combined with other degrees such as the M.P.H. or M.D.
- For PhD programs in HSRP and EPI, part time study will NOT be accommodated.
- Stipends, tuition grants, training and travel expenses are provided for doctoral study
- Join a diverse student body with education and experience in many health related fields
- Open selection of courses from different schools allows for a unique range of options (e.g. School of Medicine and Dentistry, the College of Arts and Sciences, and the Goergen Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence).
Knowledge
- Our PhD program is designed to produce researchers who generate knowledge and strategies used in solving healthcare problems
- The Program provides an extensive knowledge-base in substantive areas related to the institutions, structures and functioning of the U.S. healthcare system
- The program prepares students for a career in academia, government or the private sector
- Coursework includes health care systems, policy, and outcomes; health economics; data analytics and statistics; and epidemiological and research methods
- Coursework includes statistics, economics, epidemiology, public policy, and research methods
- Both formal didactic and experience-based interactive phases of study: coursework, graduate research and teaching, and dissertation
Skills
- Trains students to teach and conduct independent research into the organization, delivery, and outcomes of health care
- Interdisciplinary courses, research and teaching, provide candidates with a broad range of skills
- Active teaching assistant program provides additional skills training in teaching
Research method skills learned in the PhD Program
- Study design
- Statistics & data analytics
- Risk adjustment
- Cost effectiveness analysis
- Policy analysis
Theory skills learned in the PhD Program
- Economics
- Psychology
- Systems theories
Dissertation
The dissertation process focuses on producing rigorous scientific thinkers who can integrate these skills and knowledge to identify and address vital research questions, and who can propose, test, and communicate creative solutions to real world policy and healthcare issues.