At a time when health care is consistently one of the most important issues to Americans at home and at the polls, Vanderbilt University (VU) is now accepting applications for its newest doctoral program in health policy.
The new program adds to a lengthy list of doctoral programs, but it is the first for the Department of Health Policy, which was founded at VU six years ago. The degree will offer students an opportunity to train alongside nationally recognized faculty who have extensive expertise in health policy and health services research.
“We couldn’t be more excited to recruit our first cohort of Health Policy doctoral students,” said Stacie Dusetzina, PhD, director of the new PhD Program and Ingram Associate Professor of Cancer Research.
Dusetzina said the program will allow students to develop expertise in health services research methods and fully engage in influential policy-based research with faculty mentors and other members of the VU and Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) faculty.
“Our goal is not to be the biggest program, but to be the best program,” Dusetzina said.
The program comes as American politics and policy discussions reach a fever pitch regarding how to address challenges in the health care industry such as long-term care, prescription drug prices and health care affordability.
“We are very excited about the launch of the new Health Policy Ph.D. program,” said Mark T. Wallace, Ph.D., dean of the Vanderbilt University Graduate School. “Nashville and Middle Tennessee have long been important hubs for health care, and with the presence of world-class faculty working on issues surrounding health policy, such a program is strategically positioned to elevate Vanderbilt’s role in this arena and to train the next generation of leaders in health policy.”
Students in the program will be able to blend their research with other complementary studies on campus such biostatistics, epidemiology and social sciences.
“The Ph.D. program will reflect our priorities as a department – to produce timely research that has relevance for policymakers and to work in an interdisciplinary and highly collaborative environment,” said David Stevenson, PhD, professor and vice chair of education for the Department of Health Policy. “Students who come into our program should expect to be an integral part of the research we do, and that’s really what we’re most excited about.”
The department has grown since its founding five years ago under the leadership of Melinda Buntin, PhD, Mike Curb Professor of Health Policy and department chair.
“This doctoral program is the final piece of our plan to create a top-ranked department of Health Policy, and we expect our outstanding doctoral students to enhance our work and go on to do great things once they graduate,” Buntin said.
Candidates will leave the program prepared to excel in elite academic, private sector, and governmental settings as part of multidisciplinary teams.
The program is accepting applicants now through January 15, 2020, to begin in fall 2020. For more information, visit www.vumc.org/health-policy/phd-program.
