The PhD Program in Population Health at Northeastern University integrates interdisciplinary education and experiential learning opportunities to train students to become public health researchers and leaders who understand the complex factors that affect the health and well-being of populations.
The program has:
Our Population Health doctoral students conduct research that addresses key determinants of health including:
Social and Neighborhood/Community Contexts
Environmental Risks
Health Care Access and Delivery
Education
Economic Stability
All Population Health PhD candidates must earn at least 33 credits by completing core research courses, selecting a concentration, and taking additional electives and directed study courses, as needed and in consultation with their faculty advisors. They must complete a dissertation in order to earn their degree.
Students investigate the underlying causes of adverse health, including disease, disparities, and disability, through training in core population health disciplines.
Students are trained to conduct research examining the social and environmental determinants of health through a cohesive, transdisciplinary program that integrates topics that include the five pillars of public health, including epidemiology, biostatistics, health program evaluation, environmental health, and social determinants of health.
Students are trained to conduct highly rigorous research examining the financing, organization, and delivery of health care services through the use of quantitative and qualitative research methods.
The Population Health PhD program accepts applications through 12/15 for Fall entry only.
| Applicants accepted: | Domestic and International |
| Delivery: | On campus with some options to take classes online |
| Student status: | Full-time |
| Term Start: | Fall only* |
| Application deadline: | 12/15 |
*Requests or part-time study are considered on a case by case basis. Please refer to the FAQ section for information about full-time work and part-time study.
Click each required application item for more information.
For information on sending official transcripts, please review the instructions on the Bouve Graduate Application website.
GRE scores from exams taken prior to 2020 are required: use code 7533. While the PhD Program in Population Health does not have GRE score cutoffs, we encourage you to submit the best scores you can.
TOEFL scores are required from international applicants who possess degrees from institutions outside the United States. Use code #5688. The PhD Program requires a minimum score of 100 on the TOEFL (official test scores from similar English-language tests may not be substituted in place of the TOEFL).
Requests to be waived from the TOEFL requirement are determined on a case by case basis by the Program Director. Email Dr. Beth Molnar at [email protected] with your request and relevant materials (eg, CV/resume, transcripts).
Only academic and professional letters of recommendation will be accepted.
Click on each alumni photo to read about their research interests and experiences in the doctoral program.
Why did you choose to apply to this program?
I chose to apply to the Population Health program because it is unique in that it combines multiple facets necessary to understand how to approach improving the health outcomes and behaviors of an entire population. This includes statistical and epidemiological methods, social theory and determinants, and how to translate health outcomes into policy recommendations.
What kind of research are you doing?
I am currently evaluating biases associated with different survival analysis methods and censoring techniques, particularly during their use when analyzing multidrug-resistant tuberculosis treatment cohorts. I aim to identify more efficient means to analyze these data under differing scenarios, resulting in less bias outcomes and more accurate effect measures to inform treatment recommendations.
What kind of research or professional experiences have you had?
I have over 6 years experience implementing clinical trials, including drug trials for asthma treatment and international research assessing tuberculosis treatments. My most current research, evaluating multidrug-resistant tuberculosis treatment outcomes in adolescents, was presented at the 46th UNION World Conference on Lung Health in December 2015.
What are your professional aspirations?
I aspire to be a member of an academic institution, teaching epidemiology and/or research methods courses, to mentor students early in their research careers, and to conduct personal research related to identifying more efficient processes for the diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of tuberculosis patients worldwide.
Meredith Milstein
I chose this program due to its multidisciplinary take on health research. It lets me merge together my interests and think of translational research.
What kind of research are you doing?
I am focusing primarily on nutrition research, but have been able to work with a wide array of projects that incorporate this component, such as air pollution and the human gut microbiome.
What kind of research or professional experiences have you had?
I have gone to several conferences and also traveled to San Diego to do a research fellowship.
What are your professional aspirations?
I like this program because I do not feel limited in my future career and plan to keep the options open.
Renee Wurth
I actually started in the Personal Health Informatics program but realized that I was doing most of the course work for Population Health and I switch programs last year. The Population Health program fit my interests in healthcare delivery and quality better, and I am glad I made the change.
What kind of research are you doing?
My research is centered on healthcare delivery, utilization, and quality. I am interested in exploring the challenges in our healthcare system that lead to waste, low efficiency, and poor outcomes. I working on two projects at the moment: one on hospitals in accountable care organizations and how hospitals performed on a variety of measures including quality, community spending, and community benefits; the other is going to explore patterns of diagnostic imaging across Massachusetts with data from a massive claims dataset collected by the state.
What kind of research or professional experiences have you had?
I have worked in healthcare for many years in clinical, managerial, and research settings. I have presented at radiology conferences and quality symposiums on several occasions, and have worked extensively with faculty in research and clinical settings.
What are your professional aspirations?
My goal is to work in an academic setting where I can do healthcare services research and teach.
Stephen Flaherty
A mentor of mine and faculty member at NYU advised me to apply here.
What kind of research are you doing?
I am working with Becky Briesacher, an amazing new faculty member. We are researching nursing home prescribing practices. With a novel dataset she has acquired I hope to be able to investigate prescribing practices among HIV/AIDS nursing home patients.
What kind of research or professional experiences have you had?
The majority of the last 10 years of my professional career were spent in clinical laboratories in NYC, clinical chemistry and genetics specifically. During my MPH, worked at CHIBPS NYU on a study of young men who have sex with men in NYC and their HIV outcomes. After finishing my MPH, I took a data management and analysis position working with the New York City Fire Department studying health outcomes of 9/11 first responders.
What are your professional aspirations?
After completing my PhD here at NEU, my hope is to go on to broaden the scope of literature on HIV/AIDS among under represented populations such as the different sub populations within the LGBT community and the elderly. Teaching is a challenge I would like to take on, but research is my real passion.
Brianne Mui
Arielle Scoglio
No, our program does not have specific requirements with regard to classes applicants must take or have taken prior to applying. However, the majority of the students in the program enter with a previous master’s degree.
No. Admission to the Population Health PhD program is contingent on receiving GRE scores (taken within the past five years) from all applicants, and this requirement cannot be waived. In addition, TOEFL scores are required from all international applicants who have not earned an undergraduate or graduate degree in the Unites States or in a country where English is the primary language. Fluency in English is integral to success of graduate students in our program. Guidelines for submitting a request to waiver the TOEFL requirement are outlined in the Admissions section.
Certain required classes (for example, introductory classes in Biostatistics and Epidemiology) can be waived if you’ve taken equivalent classes in previous graduate programs. Course waivers will be determined on a case-by-case basis once a student is accepted and officially matriculates into the PhD program. Please note: course waivers do not substitute for the 33-credit requirement. Students can enroll in elective courses to meet the requirement.
Our program offers graduate assistantships for doctoral students, which cover tuition and include a yearly stipend in exchange for 20 hours of work each week. You do not need to do anything further than submitting your application to the Program to be considered for a graduate assistantship. Please note that part-time students are not eligible.
A few required courses have online course equivalents that doctoral students may choose to take. However, we do not offer the program as an online program, and these online class offerings are very limited.
It is a critical part of the admissions process that there be a close match between a prospective student’s research interests and one of our faculty members. The first step is to examine faculty profiles and discuss potential matches in your personal statement. The next step happens within our faculty committee. There is no need to obtain any commitment from a faculty member before you apply.
We welcome any questions you might have about our program. Please feel free to send general program inquiries and admissions-related questions to the Program Manager: Tracy Hunt ([email protected])
Beth E. Molnar, ScD
Associate Professor and Director,
PHD Program in Population Health
323 – INV
Tel: 617.373.8936
[email protected]
