Program FAQ_PhD

Please review the information on this site regarding program structure, funding opportunities, curriculum, admission requirements. If you still have questions, reach out to us at HealthPolicyPHD@vanderbilt.edu.

No, this is a full-time residential program. Students are expected to live and study in Nashville and complete the program in four years.

Yes, we are proud to offer the full funding package to international students.

This is a full-time program and we expect that students focus on their coursework and research. If you are looking for funding support (in addition to the stipend) there may be additional TA/RA opportunities available, but we discourage any other outside work.

To make it an equitable evaluation process (for those that are not able to meet in-person), we do not meet applicants in person. We can set up a call or zoom to answer questions, as schedules permit. We do set up campus visits for students that receive offers so they can see our campus and meet with the program team and department faculty.

Given the close collaboration between mentors and mentees, we require that students live and work from Nashville for the duration of the program.

We have faculty members working on a wide variety of health policy issues. Please review the list of primary faculty and their research. All primary faculty are currently accepting mentees.

We don’t typically support these requests, but we will consider for extenuating circumstances. We ask that you complete the full application and provide additional letters of support from your current program and mentors. Credit transfers would be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

We value applicants with diverse backgrounds and experience. Work experience in a field outside of health policy will certainly be reviewed, but we would expect you to address how you will apply that experience to a career in health policy research.

Yes, many of our faculty members have experience outside of academia or mentoring students for non-academic careers. Our training will help develop skills you can apply to a leading health policy researcher career in government agencies or industry positions, in addition to academic roles.

Given our current students are focusing on their studies and research, we ask that you not reach out directly. We will have information sessions scheduled with current students. Please sign up for our newsletter to be notified of these events. Students who are extended interviews will also be able to connect with our PhD students at that time.

Our first cohort entered in the fall of 2020, so we don’t have alumni yet. That said, our faculty members have mentees that have been placed in the fields of government, industry, and academia. Within academia these placements include positions at Harvard, Duke, Penn, Pitt, and UNC, among others. We also have strong ongoing collaborations with many leading School of Medicine and Public Health programs including Hopkins, Yale, Brown, BU, UW, and UMN.

Yes, our program is STEM designated eligible for the Optional Practical Training (OPT) Extension for STEM Students. This designation allows students training on an F-1 visa to apply for a 24-month extension of their post-completion optional practical training (OPT).