The Dartmouth Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Health Policy and Clinical Practice prepares students for careers in research, teaching, and leadership in health policy, health services research, and clinical practice.
Our PhD program provides rigorous, multidisciplinary training in research addressing important questions about health, health care, and health policy. Students work closely with faculty mentors and research teams, gaining hands-on research experience while developing their own areas of expertise and programs of independent research.
Our faculty bring expertise from clinical medicine, decision science, economics, epidemiology, health services research, geography, political science, psychology, public health, biostatistics, causal inference, and sociology. Students learn to draw on multiple disciplines and methodological approaches to address complex health and health care problems.
Graduates pursue careers in academic institutions, government, health care and research organizations, and the private sector.
Research and Mentorship
Close collaboration between students and faculty is a defining feature of the program. Students participate in ongoing research while developing their own research interests and establishing relationships with faculty mentors whose expertise aligns with those interests.
Research opportunities span health services and outcomes research, health policy, health economics, epidemiology, decision science, implementation science, health equity, rural health, aging, patient-centered care, and evaluation of health care delivery and policy.
Recent dissertation topics include:
- Hospital Closures and Cancer Surgery in the United States: Evidence from Colon and Lung Cancer
- Characterizing Naloxone Access During the Implementation of Pharmacist-Integrated Opioid Use Disorder Treatment in Primary Care
- Digital technology for health promotion among individuals with serious mental illness
- Treatment decision making in multi-vessel coronary artery disease
- Serious choices: Decision-making support for seriously ill patients at risk of death
- Patient-centered communication about early abortion methods in the United States
Students receive individualized research and career-development mentoring, including opportunities to build skills in grant writing, scientific communication, interdisciplinary collaboration, and research leadership. Multiple current Health Policy and Clinical Practice PhD students have successfully competed for individual NIH F31 Predoctoral Fellowships to support their dissertation research and advanced research training.
To learn more about the curriculum and program structure, review our TDI PhD Handbook. Meet our current PhD students.
PRAISE: NIH-Funded Training in Rural Aging
PRAISE (Promoting Rural Aging Innovations, Science, and Education) is a new NIH-funded T32 institutional research training program at Dartmouth that provides a specialized training opportunity for eligible PhD students.
PRAISE prepares scholars for research careers focused on improving whole-person care for rural older adults with multiple chronic conditions through multi-level policy evaluation and clinical intervention research.
The program draws on expertise from across Dartmouth and Dartmouth Health and provides multidisciplinary training in:
- Clinical medicine, including geriatrics and palliative care
- Social and behavioral sciences, including behavioral decision science, social psychology, economics, and health policy
- Research methods, including epidemiology, biostatistics, implementation science, clinical trials, and quasi-experimental policy evaluation
PRAISE scholars receive intensive mentored research experience and individualized career development, with particular emphasis on developing the skills needed to conduct interdisciplinary research and compete successfully for independent research funding.
PRAISE supports two new predoctoral scholars each year for up to two years. Students in Dartmouth's PhD programs in Health Policy and Clinical Practice and Quantitative Biomedical Sciences may apply.
Selection for PRAISE is competitive and separate from admission to the PhD program. In accordance with NIH NRSA requirements, trainees must be U.S. citizens, non-citizen U.S. nationals, or lawfully admitted permanent residents at the time of appointment and meet other NIH eligibility requirements.
Prospective students interested in rural aging, multimorbidity, whole-person health, health services research, policy evaluation, or clinical intervention research are encouraged to explore potential alignment with PRAISE and participating faculty mentors.
PhD Funding
Students admitted to the PhD in Health Policy and Clinical Practice receive guaranteed funding for their first year. During that year, students develop their research interests and establish relationships with faculty mentors and research groups.
After the first year, students are typically supported through funded research and training activities with their faculty mentors. Additional sources of support may include individual NIH fellowships such as the F31 Predoctoral Fellowship and institutional training programs such as PRAISE.
PRAISE provides NIH NRSA predoctoral support for up to two years, with participating faculty mentors providing costs not covered by the T32.
Applying to the PhD Program
Admission to our PhD program is highly selective. Approximately two students are admitted each year.
Applications are reviewed by the PhD Admissions Committee, and qualified applicants are invited to interview with prospective faculty advisors and members of the Admissions Committee. Because close faculty mentorship is central to the program, applicants are encouraged to consider how their research interests align with the work of TDI faculty.
Applicants interested in PRAISE are encouraged to describe relevant interests in their application and discuss potential alignment with prospective faculty mentors. Admission to the PhD program does not guarantee selection for a PRAISE training position.
For application requirements, instructions, deadlines, and additional information, please visit the Guarini School of Graduate and Advanced Studies PhD program page: https://apply.gs.dartmouth.edu/apply
Contact Us
Paul Barr, PhD, MSc
Professor
Faculty Co-Director of the PhD Program
paul.j.barr@dartmouth.edu
Nancy Birkmeyer, PhD
Principal Research Scientist
Faculty Co-Director of the PhD Program
nancy.j.birkmeyer@dartmouth.edu