Doctoral Programs Available through Public Health Sciences

Program website: https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/education/graduate/phd/epidemiology.aspx
Program Director: David Rich, ScD
PhD-EPI Program Format: On-Campus (Courses are In-person, Online, or Hybrid)
STEM approved: Yes

PhD-EPI Program Guiding Statements

Program Goals

• Foster scholarly achievement in the field of epidemiology in an environment of interdisciplinary and collaborative research at the University of Rochester
• Train graduate students to become independent research investigators and educators
• Provide trainees with a unique set of skills and perspectives that can be applied in all areas of clinical and population research
• Promote research and service at the local, state and national level, thereby contributing to improving the health of all U.S. communities
• Build a cadre of prepared individuals who will reflect the strengths of the university as these individuals fill academic positions in other institutions nationwide

Program Objectives

The primary objective of the epidemiology doctoral program at the University of Rochester is to train epidemiologists in a wide variety of skills and methods spanning the disciplines of psychology, social and behavioral health, statistics and biostatistics in addition to solid course offerings in advanced epidemiologic methods and specialized areas of epidemiologic and population health research.

Specific objectives are to:

• Educate individuals in the basic science of Epidemiology
• Teach the skills required to conduct population research
• Provide intense mentoring to assure a productive, and satisfying educational and research experience
• Prepare students to successfully transition into a role of an independent investigator by providing opportunities for peer mentoring, writing grant proposals, publishing work in scientific journals, and reviewing the work of peers
• Provide educational role models and opportunities that encourage students to develop and cultivate their own teaching skills
• Nurture a research environment in which accuracy, integrity and ethical practices are highly valued

Epidemiology PhD Program Competencies

Upon completion of the epidemiology doctoral program, every graduate should be able to:

• Describe the development of epidemiology into its own distinct scientific field from various disciplines
• Understand and describe traditional and emerging epidemiological study designs, including their advantages and limitations
• Define key concepts of bias and interaction and assess their impact in epidemiologic investigations
• Develop and apply a detailed statistical analysis strategy using a combination of techniques
• Critically evaluate the design and conduct of published observational and interventional studies and interpret their findings
• Design and conduct an original epidemiologic investigation including recruitment, data collection, data management and statistical analysis
• Understand the methodological commonalities and differences across specialized areas of epidemiologic and population health research

PhD-EPI Program Requirements

• 61 credit hours of formal coursework and 29 credit hours of dissertation research as mandated by the University of Rochester Graduate Studies Program
• Coursework will focus on methodologic skills while providing adequate training in current epidemiologic content areas
• Three electives specific to area of research interest

PhD-EPI Suggested Class Schedule

Epidemiology Content Courses (3 credits each) include

• PM 418 Cardiovascular Epidemiology (fall)
• PM 424 Chronic Disease Epidemiology (spring)
• PM 442 Nutritional Epidemiology (fall)
• PM 451 Infectious Disease Epidemiology (fall)
• PM 466 Cancer Epidemiology (spring)
• PM 470 Environmental & Occupational Epidemiology (fall)
• PM 489 Injury Epidemiology & Emergency Care Research Methods (fall)

Additional courses within and outside of the department that are judged to significantly contribute to the student’s specific area of epidemiologic research may also be taken as electives with approval from the Epidemiology Program Director. An independent study course on scientific writing in epidemiology (overseen by epidemiology program faculty) is encouraged. Related basic science courses are also encouraged.

PhD-EPI Comprehensive Examinations

Written and oral qualifying examinations are required upon completion of a minimum of 55 credit hours of coursework.

• Written examination is developed yearly by the Executive Committee of the Program and administered in a one-day classroom setting.
• Oral examination is administered by the Executive Committee of the Program on one-day immediately adjoining the day of the written examination.

Student performance in the oral examination is independently scored by each committee member and these scores are averaged to one grade which represents 33% of the overall qualifying examination grade (0-100%). Each written examination is independently scored by two faculty reviewers. If the scores differ by more than 10% or if the two grades result in a differing decision regarding the pass/fail status of the student, that written exam is graded by a third reviewer. The scores are then averaged and this grade represents 67% of the overall grade. The weighted average of the oral and written exams represents the student’s final qualifying examination grade. A cut-off score for passing has been established, determining successful completion of the examination. Students will receive formal notification of pass/fail status, but will not receive the actual grade. If a student does not pass the exam, she/he may repeat the examination once following a minimum of six months of remedial preparation.

Completion (pass) status

• Based on scores of written and oral examination
• Second qualifying examination opportunity is provided for those who fail
• A minimum of six months must elapse since the first examination
• No further opportunities will be provided if a student fails the qualifying examination twice
• Any student not successfully completing the examination will be counseled to complete requirements for a Master of Epidemiology or one or more Certificates

PhD-EPI Research Assistantships

After 20 months of Dean’s funding, students are required to complete at least 24 months of Research Assistantships. Research assistantships are based within the University of Rochester; however, the Director can approve community-based research assistantships if the assistantship is judged to provide an educational opportunity for the student. Assistantships can be no more than 20 hours per week appointments.

PhD-EPI Teaching Assistantships

• Each student is required to serve as a Teaching Assistant for a minimum of two courses in the Epidemiology graduate program, typically during the second and third year of the program.
• If additional Teaching Assistant positions need to be filled in order to meet course demands, students who are funded on a training fellowship will be the first asked to serve in these additional Teaching Assistantships.

PhD-EPI Seminar Series

• All students are required to attend this weekly series
• The series includes student and faculty presentation of ongoing or completed research, as well as Journal Club presentations led by students

PhD-EPI Dissertation Research

Research Component of the Doctoral Training that is planned as an intense, carefully mentored process:

• Program faculty will provide the primary source of research opportunities for students to share in during their training, as well as serving as the foundation for dissertation research
• Collaboration with faculty across URMC clinical and basic science departments is encouraged
• The inclusion of primary data collection in the doctoral research is required and is a critical component of each project
• Candidates are required to make a formal oral presentation and defense of their planned thesis research investigation to the public and their Dissertation Advisory Committee. This presentation is open to any URMC faculty, student, and staff
• Candidates are required to draft a thesis proposal (using the format on the next page)
• Each student will be strongly encouraged to seek pre-doctoral funding to support the dissertation research.
• At the completion of the research investigation the student will be required to
  • present and defend his/her research methodology and findings at a public forum
  • draft a thesis dissertation (using the format on the second to next page)

• The committee for the final defense will consist of:

  • The committee Chairperson must be at an Assistant Professor or higher level and must be an Epidemiology PhD Program faculty member. Faculty at the Assistant Professor level must have served as a member on such a committee of a completed dissertation research project prior to serving as committee Chairperson
  • One full-time faculty member of the rank of Assistant Professor or higher who is an Epidemiology PhD Program faculty member
  • Two “outside” members who hold a primary appointment in another department
  • All other requirements for completion of this process will follow the university’s graduate student regulations and policies
• A Chair is appointed for each PhD oral defense exam to monitor and promote fairness and rigor in the conduct of the defense. At least 4 months prior to the defense, students with support from their advisor and/or program director, must identify a faculty member to serve as Chair for the oral defense. The Chair must be a current full-time tenure-track University of Rochester faculty member at assistant professor rank or higher who is external to the program, and without a significant scholarly relationship with the candidate or other committee members. Students must include the Chair in planning for specific dates and times for the defense.
• Award of Degree
  • A degree candidate upon meeting all degree requirements will be recommended for the degree at the next meeting of the Board of Trustees
  • Degrees are approved by the Board of Trustees at its regular meetings in October, February and May
  • Degrees are conferred annually at the University’s Graduate Commencement in May

PhD-EPI Contact Information

Quratulain A. Majoka, MBA, PHS Graduate Programs Administrator (for registration, graduation processes, financial questions, and other administrative matters) Phone (585) 275-7882 Email: Annie_majoka@urmc.rochester.edu

David Rich, ScD, Program Director for PhD-EPI (for curricular questions and graduation requirements) Phone: (585) 276-4119 Email: david_rich@urmc.rochester.edu

Thesis Research Proposal

Before the thesis research project can start, the final research proposal, including the background, study objectives, and methods, is presented and defended publicly. The goal of the presentation is to obtain feedback about the study objectives and proposed methodology from additional faculty and students. The presentation should last no more than 50 minutes to leave ample time for discussion.

To set a date, first verify availability of committee members, then secure a presentation date with the Graduate Program Administrator.

Send an electronic version of the proposal abstract to the Administrator at least 7 days in advance of scheduled presentation. The abstract should describe the project and be approximately 250-300 words. An electronic announcement for the presentation with the abstract will be disseminated to all PHS faculty, staff and students as well as invited guests one week prior to the scheduled presentation. Printed announcements will also be posted. A reminder announcement will be forwarded the morning of the scheduled presentation.

Thesis Proposal Requirements

The final thesis proposal document should have the following sections:

1. Title page (see formatting below)
   1. The cover page is not numbered
   2. Project title is typed in Title Case following standard rules of English
   3. Only the Chair is listed on the cover page. Others may be included in the acknowledgements
   4. Department of Public Health Sciences
   5. University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry
   6. Year of Final Defense (not month or day)
2. Table of contents
3. Abstract
   1. The abstract of the project should appear immediately after the table of contents
   2. The final abstract must include the following headings bolded with a brief description of each: Background, Objective, Methods, Results and Conclusion.
4. Introduction
5. Background Chapters for topics relevant to the thesis
6. Methods (separate chapters for each Aim)
   1. Study design and study population
   2. Outcome(s)
   3. Exposure(s)
   4. Statistical Analyses
   5. Power
7. Clinical or Public Health Significance
8. References
9. Appendix
   1. Study materials (surveys etc)

Students should use the following margins: 1 l/2" from the left side and 1 l/4" from the right side, top and bottom, including the page number (you may put the page number on the bottom of the page). Font size should be 11 – 12; Font type should be Times New Roman; The proposal should be double-spaced.

Final Thesis Dissertation Formatting for Epidemiology PhD Students

All dissertation formatting should follow that required by the University of Rochester, described in https://www.rochester.edu/graduate-education/academic-resources/dissertation-manual/. The text below describes the revised formatting required for all PhD Epidemiology dissertations, starting with students entering the PhD program in August of 2020. This formatting is also separate from the PhD proposal document, which will not change. 

The title page should have the format below 

The (minimum) required PhD dissertation chapters will now be:

• Introduction
• Specific Aims
• Three individual chapters (or more), comprising at least 3 publishable papers written in the same format as a manuscript submitted for publication (each in its own chapter)
• Summary and Conclusions

Descriptions of Chapters are provided below.

Chapter 1 – Introduction: The first chapter will be a description of the main background themes that lead you to propose the research question(s) on which your dissertation is based. This should include sufficient biologic descriptions of your “disease outcome” and “exposure”. This should also include the research gaps that your thesis will address, and the anticipated scientific, public health, and/or clinical significance of your research. Included in this chapter should also be a well-developed, scientifically grounded and justified theoretical framework that explicitly integrates and identifies all of the proposed aims. This should not be a copy of your thesis proposal document, but a substantially shorter and more concise summary of the most important background information from your proposal. Include a Reference section for just the Introduction.

Chapter 2 – Specific Aims: Chapter 2 will be a description of your specific aims. This should include the basic objective of each aim, being sure to include all outcomes and exposures for each analysis of that aim. Under each aim and sub-aim, include relevant hypotheses, as well as a basic description of any exploratory analyses to be conducted under each aim/sub-aim.

Chapters 3-5 (adding a Chapter 6 if there are 4 publishable papers instead of 3): Each publishable paper will be written with the following sections (as when writing a manuscript for publication). If a manuscript from the thesis is submitted for publication before the thesis defense date, that manuscript format can instead be applied in that chapter.

1. Title page: This should include a formal title and all authors with full names, degrees, and affiliation(s) given. This will be the only information on this page
2. Abstract: A structured abstract with section headers of Background, Objectives, Methods, Results, and Conclusions. This should be no more than 300 words and should be on a separate page from the title page.
3. Abbreviations: A page of abbreviations used and their definition
4. Introduction: This should include all background material necessary to justify the research question(s) and hypothesis(es). This material will be taken from the thesis proposal document, but shortened considerably to fit within the targeted manuscript length of 3500-4000 words.
5. Methods
6. Results
7. Discussion
8. Conclusions: The target length from the Introduction to the end of the Conclusions should be ≤4000 words.
9. References
10. Tables (should be included in the text of the paper where the table is referenced)
11. Figures (should be included in the text of the paper where the table is referenced)
12. Supplemental Material: The supplemental material can be used to include tables, figures, and descriptive text that is needed for the paper, but if included in the main paper would lengthen the paper beyond the targeted length ≤4000 words

Chapter 6 or 7 – Summary and Conclusions: Although each of the (minimum) 3 papers/chapters will summarize that thesis chapter’s findings, and place them in the context of extant literature (which may include earlier chapters in this thesis), this chapter should provide an integrated summary of the hypotheses proposed by the thesis, the findings with regard to each hypothesis observed in the thesis, and discussion of how the thesis chapters are or are not consistent with each other and the field. This concluding chapter should provide some discussion of both the scientific importance and the public health or clinical significance of the findings. The chapter should discuss what research gaps were addressed directly by the thesis, and what research gaps still remain after this work. It should end with a discussion of the possible next steps and/or future studies for this line of research. Include a Reference section for just the Summary and Conclusions if needed.

Program website: https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/education/graduate/phd/health-services-research-policy.aspx
Program Director: Yue Li, PhD
PhD-HSRP Program Format: On-Campus
STEM approved: Yes

PhD-HSRP Program Guiding Statements

Since 1994, the PhD program in Health Services Research and Policy in the Department of Public Health Sciences has been highly successful in preparing students to become scholars for research, teaching, and public service careers in university, public policy, and governmental settings. Our PhD program has also been designated as a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) program since 2010. Set within a large medical center with all its clinical research resources and collaborative faculty, our program focuses on interdisciplinary application of the social and behavioral science disciplines to real world health issues such as the organization, financing, and delivery of health care; the quality and safety of care; health outcomes; and the management of population health.

Students in our program are offered a unique education at the forefront of health policy; health outcomes assessment; statistical, epidemiological, and quasi-experimental methodologies; analytics of large data sets; and economic evaluation. They enjoy an intimate learning environment in which they can easily interact with program faculty as well as develop strong collaborative ties to hospitals, clinical departments, and the Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute at the University of Rochester Medical Center. During the course of study in the program, our students regularly present posters and podium presentations at major conferences, and publish in high impact journals their research on quality, access, cost, and outcomes of health care services to inform policy and practice.

PhD-HSRP Program Expectations

Timeline and milestones

All incoming first-year students are required to participate in Math Camp (see below) two weeks prior to the start of the Fall Semester. Core courses that comprise the basis of the comprehensive exams are completed in the first two years (see below); depending on cohort and individual plans, additional courses may be required in the third year. Comprehensive exams are required at the end of the second academic year; if the student does not pass this exam, they may retake the exam before the end of the calendar year.

After the comprehensive exams, students typically begin fulfilling their required Research Assistantships and Teaching Assistantships.

After taking the comprehensive exams students are expected to begin formally developing their dissertation proposal. As presented in Table 1 below, students are expected (1) to have a proposal topic selected by November of the third year, (2) to have a theory and conceptual framework identified by March of the third year, (3) data identified by June of the third year, and (4) methods identified by September of the fourth year. Progress toward, and completion of, each milestone is to be periodically reviewed with the student’s advisor. A dissertation committee must be formed and a proposal date scheduled by December of the fourth year. The proposal (which is the University’s qualifying exam) must be completed by January of the fourth year. The dissertation is expected to be completed within 2 years following a successful proposal.

Math Camp

Incoming students are required to attend a short-course prior to the start of the fall semester of their first year. This course provides a refresher on key mathematical concepts used in the program. The course is held within the two-week period prior to the start of the fall semester: the syllabus and specific schedule will be provided to each incoming student before the two-week period.

PhD-HSRP Program Requirements

- 64 credit hours of formal coursework and 29 credit hours of dissertation research as mandated by the University of Rochester Graduate Studies Program

See below for the suggested schedule of courses for all PhD students—these are the courses the student must take, except as modified by necessity due to course availability or as determined by the Program Director. Per Graduate School policy, a student receiving a C grade or below on any course is placed on academic probation; the receipt of a second C (or below) at any time during their tenure in the program constitutes grounds for dismissal from the program.

Core Classes

• PM 410 -Intro to Data Management/Analysis with SAS and R
• PM 412 -Survey Research
• PM 421 -Intro to US Health Care System
• PM 422 -Quality of Care and Risk Adjustment
• PM 431 -Advanced Methods in Health Services Research
• PM 445 -Introduction to Health Services Research and Policy
• PM 456 -Health Economics I
• PM 463 -Introduction to Mathematical Statistics, Part I
• PM 464 -Statistics II: Introduction to Regression Analysis
• PM 472 -Measurement and Evaluation of Research Instruments
• PM 483 -Advanced Health Economics II
• PM 484 -Cost Effectiveness Research
• IND 501 -Ethics and Professional Integrity in Research

Elective Classes

Fall Semester

SMD Graduate Education

• BST 413 -Bayesian Inference
• BST 479 -Generalized Linear Models
• PM 415 -Principles of Epidemiology
• PM 418 -Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention
• PM 419 -Recruitment and Retention of human Subjects in Clinical Research
• PM 451 -Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases
• PM 469 -Multivariate Stat Analysis
• PM 493 -Health Policy Lab

Department of Economics

• ECON 518-01 -Econometrics II

Goergen Institute for Data Science

• DSCC 420 -Intro to Random Processes
• DSCC 440 -Data Mining
• DSCC 461 -Database Systems
• DSCC 463 -Data Management System
• DSCC 465 -Introduction to Statistical Machine Learning
• DSCC 475 -Time Series Analysis & forecasting in Data Science

University of Rochester School of Nursing

• NLX 469 -Project Management in Health Care
• NLX 479 -Foundations of Healthcare Leadership

Other electives with permission of program director

Spring Semester

SMD Graduate Education

• BST 413 -Bayesian Inference
• BST 426 -Linear Models
• BST 465 -Design of Clinical Trials
• PM 415 -Principles of Epidemiology
• PM 416 -Epidemiology Methods
• PM 426 -Social & Behavioral Medicine
• PM 438 -Grantsmanship
• PM 458 -Qualitative Health Research
• PM 465 -Advanced Multivariate Analysis

Department of Economics

• ECON 485-1 Intro to Econometrics I
• ECON 486-1 Intro to Econometrics II
• ECON 487-1 Applied Econometrics

Goergen Institute for Data Science

• DSCC 402 -Data Science at Scale
• DSCC 440 -Data Mining
• DSCC 461 -Database Systems
• DSCC 463 -Data Management System
• DSCC 465 -Introduction to Statistical Machine Learning
• DSCC 475 -Time Series Analysis & forecasting in Data Science

Other electives with permission of program director

PhD-HSRP Suggested Schedule of Classes

PhD-HSRP Financial Support

Students are provided with a fellowship from the Office for Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs that covers a stipend and health fee for 20 months (September 1 of first year to April 30 of second year). If used continuously, this funding continues through April of the second year. However, if the student obtains a paid internship during their first summer, the Dean’s fellowship can be extended accordingly up to the 1st of July (the Dean’s fellowship does not extend into or beyond July of the second year). Students’ stipends and health fees are covered by Research Assistantships after the Dean’s fellowship is completed.

Tuition is waived for students throughout the program when covered by the Dean’s fellowship, a Research Assistantship, or as otherwise approved by the Associate Dean of Graduate Education.

PhD-HSRP Seminars and Workshops

Students are expected to attend workshops, seminars, and presentations listed below and as required by the Director:

• RESEARCH WORKSHOPS, a bi-weekly workshop (PM 428) at which students present their work and ideas; student participation is required.
• HSRP DOCTORAL STUDENT PROPOSALS AND DEFENSES. HSRP doctoral students’ dissertation proposals and dissertation defenses.
• JOB CANDIDATE TALKS. Presentations by faculty job candidates in the Division.

PhD-HSRP Research Assistantships

After 20 months of Dean’s funding, students are required to complete at least 24 months of Research Assistantships. Research assistantships are based within the University of Rochester; however, the Director can approve community-based research assistantships if the assistantship is judged to provide an educational opportunity for the student. Assistantships can be no more than 20 hours per week appointments.

PhD-HSRP Teaching Assistantships

Students are required to gain experience as teaching assistants for two graduate courses. Except by permission of the Director, students must have passed their comprehensive exams before becoming a teaching assistant. Students should consult with their advisor to determine appropriate timing for completing the TA requirement: a teaching assistantships should be timed so as not to postpone progress toward the dissertation proposal.

PhD-HSRP Comprehensive Exams

Except as otherwise approved by the Director, Comprehensive Exams are taken at the end of the second academic year in the program. They are graded by faculty exam committees appointed by the Director. Students who fail the exams may retake the exams before the end of the calendar year. Students who fail the retake of the comprehensive exams will be dismissed from the program.

The objectives, structure, and content of the comprehensive exams is as stated below, or as modified by the Director and core HSRP faculty.

Objectives: To examine student’s abilities to integrate knowledge and methods learned across coursework in order to (1) identify and conceptualize an important health services research question, (2) develop testable hypotheses, and (3) propose rigorous empirical plans for hypothesis testing.

Structure: Five-day take-home exam.

Content: Usually questions that ask the student to integrate and use methods taught in individual courses, and/or paper on an assigned topic to demonstrate student’s abilities regarding

1. Analysis. Students must show sufficient ability to break down complex conceptual structures into appropriate components and understand the individual components and how they relate to each other.
2. Synthesis. Students must show sufficient ability to combine disparate ideas into coherent systems of concepts.
3. Reasoning. Students must show sufficient ability to properly reason to conclusions, providing arguments for claims.

PhD-HSRP Dissertation Proposal

Year 3 is crucial in identifying and focusing on the possible dissertation research topic. Starting in the summer preceding year 3, and continuing onwards, each student is expected to work closely with his/her academic advisor, selected faculty member, or future dissertation chair to complete each of the following benchmarks and research milestones in a timely manner. At each milestone, the advisor, together with the student, will review the student’s progress and identify reasons and remedies for insufficient progress.

Dates and Milestones

1. November 30(YR3)
   • Select an area of interest; synthesize and critically evaluate the current state of knowledge within this area.
   • Identify important gap(s) in current knowledge and isolate the research and/or policy question of interest.
   • Argue why the research question or phenomenon is important to explain, answer, or further investigate.
2. March 31(YR3)
   • Formulate a theory-based explanation or conceptual framework for the question of interest.
   • Argue why the explanation or framework is important for understanding the selected phenomenon or answering the selected question.
   • Develop a model that connects theory to data such that theory implied hypotheses are testable or theory implied quantities can be estimated.
   • Meet with core faculty to discuss the research or policy question and its importance.
   • Identify dissertation committee. 
3. June 30(YR3)
   • Identify the required type of data and measurements.
   • Identify appropriate data collection and/or data generation procedures.
4. September 30(YR4)
   • Select appropriate methodology for the proposed analyses.
   • Draft written proposal and work with the committee to finalize.
5. December 31(YR4)
   • Complete written proposal
   • Obtain consensus of committee that the student is ready to propose.
   • Schedule doctoral proposal defense.
6. January 30th(YR4)
   • Doctoral dissertation proposals must be defended no later than January 30th of Year 4.

Any student who has not proposed by January of 30^th of their fourth year will be recommended to the Associate Dean of Graduate Education for dismissal from the program unless an extension is granted per described below. Students are expected to defend their dissertation within two years of successfully passing the dissertation proposal.

PhD-HSRP Extensions

Automatic extensions. Students will be granted extensions to the timeline as per University policy for prior medical leave or maternity leave.

Technical extensions. Extensions due to technical difficulties not due to student progress (e.g. difficulty scheduling proposal dates due to committee schedules, unexpected legitimate absenses) may be granted at the discretion of the PhD Program Director.

Progress extensions. Students who do not propose by January 30th and who do not obtain Automatic or Technical extensions may petition the Director for an extension. The petition must include

1. the request for extension, 
2. a summary of previous progress, 
3. a description of current status, 
4. the justification for extension, 
5. a plan for completing the proposal, and
6. the endorsement of the proposed plan by the chair of the dissertation committee. 

Upon review of the student’s petition by the Director and the Progress Review Committee, the Director will take one of two actions: 

1. notify the student that the petition for extension is granted and notify the student of conditions for continuing in the program, or 
2.  recommend dismissal of the student to the URSMD Associate Dean of Graduate Education.

PhD-HSRP Dissertation Proposal

Unless otherwise approved by the dissertation committee, the dissertation proposal should contain seven essential components:

1. Provide an introduction that motivates the study: What are the basic questions, why are they important, and how can they be answered? This is a short version of the introduction to the dissertation.
2. Sufficiently summarize the synthesis and analysis of the current literature bearing upon the thesis topic. Essentially this is a version of the background section for the thesis. What is “sufficient” means is up to the committee, but this section should leave little doubt regarding the student’s knowledge of the literature and provide assurance that the remaining, unexplored, literature is not likely to render the thesis topic moot.
3. Carefully develop and articulate the theory, model, and hypotheses or questions. This of course is a preliminary version of the corresponding sections in the thesis. This section must be sufficiently developed to convince the committee that it is correct, or at least that any uncertainty about it will not compromise the dissertation. A failing in theory or modeling and their connection to the hypotheses could well derail the dissertation effort later if it is undetected at an early stage. Essentially, this section provides the explanation of the phenomenon being studied and frames the investigation.
4. Describe the key variables and the data collection (or generation) process. This section must be sufficient to assure the committee that the data properly correspond to the requirements for testing and estimation, and that the data generation process is sufficient to support the analysis.
5. Describe the methods of analysis with supporting argument why the methods are appropriate. This section must be sufficient to assure the committee that there exists an analytical method appropriate to the data generating process and data to facilitate the required tests or estimation.
6. Discuss limitations. This section should identify any limitations can compromise achieving the study goals. Each limitation should be accompanied by a discussion of why it is not fatal and why the study remains sufficiently informative to warrant its status as a thesis topic.
7. Provide a conclusion that discusses some potential outcomes and briefly summarizes the proposed study and its importance.

The structure of the proposal is determined by the dissertation committee: common structures are a document following the sections above, or a document in the form of an NIH research grant application, with modifications as indicated by the committee.

PhD-HSRP Qualifying Exam

The dissertation proposal constitutes the University required Qualifying Exam. The exam is a closed-door oral exam at which the dissertation committee and student are in attendance. Prior to the exam, the student must provide the committee with an acceptable proposal document as outlined above. The committee must meet and determine that the student is ready to propose prior to formally scheduling the exam through the Office for Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs.

The qualifying exam must be immediately preceded by a public presentation of the proposed dissertation work by the student.

PhD-HSRP Dissertation

The dissertation process objectives

The goal of the dissertation process is to train the student to, and provide evidence to the dissertation committee that the candidate can, operate at the level of a PhD in both thought and performance. In Health Services Research this requires that the student, through the dissertation process and writing of the final document itself, learn and exhibit the following ten capabilities:

1. to synthesize and analyze the current state of knowledge regarding a specific area of interest;
2. to identify an important gap in current knowledge and a research question or phenomenon to be explained;
3. to clearly formulate a theory-based conceptual framework or explanation that implies testable consequences or interpretable parameters for estimation;
4. to develop a model that connects the conceptual framework/explanation to data such that implied hypotheses are testable or implied quantities can be estimated;
5. to identify the required type of data and measurements;
6. to identify appropriate data collection and/or data generation procedures (this is where design issues come in to play);
7. to select appropriate methodology for analysis;
8. to carry out the analysis;
9. to draw conclusions based on results and integrate findings into the current body of knowledge; and
10. to communicate the full extent of the preceding steps in both written and oral form.

Dissertation Committees

The dissertation committee for the Health Services Research and Policy PhD must comprise at least four members meeting the following eligibility requirements:

A committee chair, who must be a

1. PhD or academic equivalent (e.g. ScD) faculty member with the Division of Health Policy and Outcomes Research having a primary appointment in the Department of Public Health Sciences, and either
2. A full or associate professor who has been a committee member of a completed HPOR PhD dissertation proposal (i.e. the qualifying exam), or
3. An assistant professor with at least three years of experience in the Division and who has been a committee member of a completed HPOR PhD dissertation.

A second member who must be a

1. A faculty member in the Health Services Research and Policy PhD program having a primary appointment in the Department of Public Health Sciences, and either
2. Have a PhD or academic equivalent (e.g. ScD), or
3. Have a professional doctorate (e.g. MD, JD, DrPH) with at least three years of experience in the Division, research experience on HSRP, and, if the committee chair has not been chair for a completed dissertation, has been a member of a committee for a completed HSRP dissertation.

A third member who must be a

1. University of Rochester faculty member as allowed by the UR policy, and who
2. Must not have a primary appointment with the Department of Public Health Sciences.

A fourth member who

1. Need not have a primary appointment with the department, but must be a
2. University of Rochester faculty member as allowed by the UR policy. Students can petition for individuals who are not University of Rochester faculty to be the fourth member.

Additional members may be added as deemed appropriate by the Chair and the student.

At least two members of the dissertation committee must have relevant PhD’s or academically equivalent doctoral degrees (e.g. ScD) and experience in the fields of Health Services Research or Health Policy.

The structure of the dissertation

The Health Services Research and Policy PhD dissertation may be structured in the traditional dissertation format or in the three-paper format described below. The student must select the format with agreement of the dissertation committee. Dissertations must be the student’s original work.

A thesis is to be written for non-specialized scientists. Specifically, every member of the thesis examination committee must be able to read and understand the document as a whole, and the details of each section must be understandable to at least one committee member with the expertise to verify its content is sound. Specialist terms need to be explained or avoided. It is written in English with correct spelling and grammar. It is not the job of the committee to proof-read the text. Having the text of the thesis corrected and edited for spelling and grammar by a second person is acceptable and recommended. A committee member can refuse to accept a thesis with excessive grammatical or graphical errors. There is no formal minimum or maximum length.

This section is meant to be a supplement to the general guidelines of the University of Rochester for preparation of a traditional thesis (THE PREPARATION OF DOCTORAL THESES: A MANUAL FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS), which can be found at the website: https://www.rochester.edu/graduate-education/academic-resources/dissertation-manual/, and which governs all theses at this university. This guideline does not supersede the general guidelines.

The Graduate School’s manual titled “The Preparation of Doctoral Theses” outlines the overall structure of the thesis in terms of general formatting and required parts such as Title Page, Abstract, etc. See The Preparation of Doctoral Theses manual for specifications regarding these components. The graduate school’s manual does not address the substantive chapters of the thesis. HSRP theses may have a traditional or a three-paper structure as described in the following sections

Traditional format 
Because HSRP theses topics and methods vary greatly, the thesis document may vary from the guidelines presented below as is required to facilitate coherent presentation. However, notwithstanding such exceptions, the structure and content provided below is the standard for a traditional HSRP thesis at the University of Rochester.

A traditionally formatted Health Services Research and Policy thesis will typically contain five chapters:

1. Introduction, which introduces the research question, provides the requisite arguments to establish its importance as a health services research topic, and briefly summarizes the research approach to the thesis.
2. Background, which provides the information necessary to understanding what is currently known and what needs to be known regarding the research question. This chapter also describes underlying theories, the development of explanations, and the description of substantive parameters of interest and any substantive hypotheses.
3. Methods, which details the study design, data, and analytical methods that were used in the research. This chapter will also provide the identification of structural parameters of interest with empirical parameters to be estimated and the translation of substantive hypotheses into empirical hypotheses. Results of specification tests used to determine the statistically adequate model used to empirically address hypotheses or identify parameters can be included in this section.
4. Results, which reports the empirical results of applying the methods to address the research question.
5. Discussion and conclusion, which briefly outlines the dissertation topic, and then provides an interpretation of the results in light of the research question, integrates the results and interpretation with existing literature, discusses any limitations of the methods in addressing the research question, and provides a concluding section that addresses the student’s broad scientific conclusions, broad policy implications, and future research.

The three-paper format
The three-paper format must meet the following requirements:

1. The dissertation must form a coherent body of work addressing a single research topic.
2. Each paper must be distinct; therefore, each paper must address different questions, perspectives (e.g. phenomenological/theoretical/conceptual frameworks, or methodological approaches), or goals (e.g. identification of predictors, risk factors and moderators, estimation of effects, or testing explanations) regarding the research topic. The purpose and scope of each paper should be approved by the committee.
3. The dissertation must have four sections, each may comprise multiple chapters:
   1. An introductory section that presents the research topic with general background; the general theoretical/conceptual framework (if a general framework does not cover all papers, the conceptual framework section within each paper may be acceptable at the discretion of the committee); a synthesized summary of the purposes, scopes, methods, and key results of the three paper; and a conclusion that integrates the findings of the three papers and discusses implications.
   2. The three sections for papers (one for each paper). Each paper must be deemed by the dissertation committee to be of publishable quality and formatted for specific peer-reviewed journals.
   3. An optional appendix section that includes any additional elaboration or details related to each paper required to support the level of training for a PhD dissertation project.
   4. All content and formatting requirements of the Graduate School must be followed.

PhD-HSRP Dissertation Defense.

Timeline

The timeline for submission of paperwork prior to defense is as follows:

Selecting a defense chair

A Chair is appointed for each PhD oral defense exam to monitor and promote fairness and rigor in the conduct of the defense. At least 4 months prior to the defense, students with support from their advisor and/or program director, must identify a faculty member to serve as Chair for the oral defense. The Chair must be a current full-time tenure-track University of Rochester faculty member at assistant professor rank or higher who is external to the program, and without a significant scholarly relationship with the candidate or other committee members. Students must include the Chair in planning for specific dates and times for the defense.

Results of the defense

The result of the dissertation defense can be (1) pass without revision, (2) pass with only minor revisions, (3) pass with major revisions, or (4) a fail. If the student passes without revisions or with only minor revisions, the student is expected to make any requested changes before submitting the final document. No further review of the document from faculty is necessary. If the student passes with major revisions, the student must make the required revisions and they must be approved by a designated committee member before submitting the final document. If a student fails, the student will need to discuss the situation with the chair of the dissertation committee to determine next steps.

PhD-HSRP Contact Information

Quratulain A. Majoka, MBA, PHS Graduate Programs Administrator (for registration, graduation processes, financial questions, and other administrative matters) Phone (585) 275-7882 Email: Annie_majoka@urmc.rochester.edu

Yue Li, PhD, Program Director for PhD-HSRP (for curricular questions and graduation requirements) Phone: (585) 275-3276 Email: yue_li@urmc.rochester.edu