The UW Health Services PhD program balances comprehensive instruction in the determinants and disparities of population health with knowledge of the health care system and health policy.
Degree Requirements
All Health Services PhD students are required to complete three exams and earn a minimum of 100 credits.
- Core Courses (16 or 17 courses, depending on courses chosen)
- Area of Emphasis (minimum of 5 courses in that area)
- Health Services Reseach Seminar — Doc Sem (minimum of 8 quarters)
- Exams
- Preliminary Examination (written)
- General examinations (written and oral)
- Dissertation and Defense (minimum of 30 credits)
Core Courses
The core courses consist of general health services knowledge, theory, and methods. These courses emphasize the interdisciplinary nature of health services research. All incoming students receive grounding in the theory and methods as applied to health services research from the disciplines of health services, biostatistics, economics, other social and behavioral sciences, epidemiology, and policy analysis.
Advanced students who enter with equivalent training in our foundational courses may opt out of specific courses by passing an exam or presenting documentation of the level of completed coursework.
Required Health Services Courses
All Ph.D. students must take the following courses:
- HSERV 512: Health Systems and Policy (3 credits)
- HSERV 513: Health Policy Research (3 credits)
- HSERV 514: Social Determinants of Population Health and Health Disparities (3 credits)
- HSMGMT 514: Health Economics (4 credits)
- HSERV 522: Program Evaluation (4 credits)
- HSERV 523: Advanced Health Services Research Methods I – Large Public Databases; Big Data (4 credits)
- HSERV 524: Advanced Health Services Research Methods II – Hierarchical and Incomplete Data (4 credits)
- HSERV 525: Advanced Health Services Research Methods III – Causal Inference Using Observational Data (4 credits)
- HSERV 579: Racism and Public Health (1 credit)
- HSERV 578: Preparing, Writing, and Critiquing Scientific Research Proposals (3 credits)
- EPI 512: Epidemiologic Methods I (4 credits)
- EPI 513: Epidemiologic Methods II (4 credits)
- CS&SS 508: Introduction to R for Social Scientists (1 credit)
- BIOST 511: Medical Biometry I (4 credits)
- BIOST 512: Medical Biometry II (4 credits)
- BIOST 513: Medical Biometry III (4 credits)
Note: Students may substitute the BIOST 517/518 series or the BIOST 514/515 series for this BIOST series.
Theory Courses
All PhD students must take one of the following theory courses:
- HSERV 590: Organizational Theory and Applications in the Study of Health Services
- PPM 506: Advanced Microeconomics for Policy Analysis (4 credits)
- SOC 510: Seminar in Sociological Theory (3 credits)
- CSDE 513/SOC 513: Demography and Ecology (3 credits)
Note: Students completing the CSDE Graduate Certificate must choose a different theory course - SOC 518: Social Stratification (3 credits)
- HSERV 581: Strategies of Health Promotion (4 credits)
Note: Not an option for students with the Health Behavior and Social Determinants of Health Area of Emphasis - HSERV 548: Research Methods of Social and Contextual Determinants of Health (3 credits)
Note: Not an option for students with the Health Behavior and Social Determinants of Health Area of Emphasis
Areas of Emphasis
All PhD students choose an area of emphasis, typically after their first year in the program. Each area of emphasis has its own additional course requirements.
Health Services Research Seminar — Doc Sem
PhD students are required to attend at least eight quarters of research seminar known as Doc Sem, unless they complete the program in under three years.
Program Seminars
HSERV 592: Health Services Research Seminar (2 credits)
Minimum of 5 quarters
This seminar is a combination of presentations by students on their work in-progress and by UW faculty on the methods they are using and problems they face in conducting health services research.
This seminar also builds professional skills by teaching successful strategies for:
- Writing grants and papers for publication and successfully navigating the peer review process
- Disseminating results at national and state conferences, and to lay audiences
- Translating research into practice and policy
- Career development and job searches
Additional Seminars
HSERV 592: Health Services Department Seminar (1 credit)
This seminar presents sessions on current issues in research and practice.
Selected Research Seminars: A number of other research seminars, both at the UW and affiliated institutions, may be used to satisfy up to three of the eight required quarters.
Exams
The preliminary examination is written and takes place after completion of first-year courses.
The general examination includes both written and oral parts.
Dissertation
All PhD students are required to write a dissertation that significantly advances the state of knowledge in the field.
Sample Course Schedules
Sample schedules are only presented to provide a general sense to PhD applicants. The PhD Handbook (on Canvas) is always the most up-to-date resource for curriculum requirements for current students. Canvas is the learning management system used by UW to connect instructors and current students.
View examples of curriculum schedules, one for incoming students with a background in statistics and epidemiology and another for students with no prior background in statistics and epidemiology. Most students follow the course schedule for those with no statistics and epidemiology background.
Sample Schedule: No Statistics and Epidemiology Background
Year One
Autumn Quarter 1
Winter Quarter 1
Year Two
Autumn Quarter 2
Winter Quarter 2
- HSERV 524: Advanced Health Services Research Methods II (4 credits)
- HSERV 592: Doc Sem (2 credits)
- Emphasis Area Elective (3-4 credits)
- Emphasis Area Elective (3-4 credits)
Spring Quarter 2
- HSERV 525: Advanced Health Services Research Methods III (4 credits)
- Emphasis Area Elective (3-4 credits)
- Emphasis Area Elective (3-4 credits)
- Written General Exam
Year Three
Autumn Quarter 3
Winter Quarter 3
Spring Quarter 3
Year Four
Autumn Quarter 4
Winter Quarter 4
Spring Quarter 4
Sample Schedule: Statistics and Epidemiology Background
Year One
Autumn Quarter 1
Winter Quarter 1
- HSERV 513: Health Policy Research (3 credits)
- HSERV 524: Advanced Health Services Research Methods II (4 credits)
- HSERV 592: Doc Sem (2 credits)
- Emphasis Area Elective (3-4 credits)
Year Two
Autumn Quarter 2
- HSERV 592: Doc Sem (2 credits)
- HSERV 522: Program Evaluation (4 credits)
- Emphasis Area Elective (3-4 credits)
Winter Quarter 2
- Emphasis Area Elective (3-4 credits)
- Emphasis Area Elective (3-4 credits)
- Emphasis Area Elective (3-4 credits)
- HSERV 592: Doc Sem (2 credits)
- Written General Exam