Population Health PhD
Close mentoring by distinguished faculty
Focus on solution-based, innovative research
Specialized training in critical population health topics
Curriculum
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.
- Biostatistics in Public Health (3 credits)
- Epidemiology (3 credits)
- Principles of Population Health 1 (3 credits)
- Principles of Population Health 2 (3 credits)
- Economic Perspectives on Health Policy (3 credits)
- Applied Regression Analysis (3 credits)
- Intermediate Epidemiology (3 credits)
- Research Skills and Ethics (1 credit)
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.
- Social Epidemiology (3 credits)
- Advanced Methods in Biostatistics (3 credits)
- Dissertation preparation classes (exact credits determined in conjunction with faculty advisor)
- Directed Study (3 credits, can be repeated as needed)
- Various electives (exact number of courses determined in conjunction with faculty advisor)
Sample Electives (3 credits)- Theoretical Foundations of Personal Health Informatics
- Health Organization Management
- Public Health Policy and Administration
- Strategic Management and Leadership in Health Care
- Global Health
- Health Education and Program Planning
- Advances in Measuring Behavior
- Social Movements in Health
- Qualitative Methods in Health and Illness
- Causal Inference in Public Health
- Data Mining
- Statistics for Big Data Sets
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.
- Microeconomic Theory (4 credits)
- Evaluating Health Care Quality (3 credits)
- Dissertation preparation classes (exact credits determined in conjunction with faculty advisor)
- Directed Study (3 credits, can be repeated as needed)
- Various electives (exact number of courses determined in conjunction with faculty advisor)
Sample Electives (3 credits)- Theoretical Foundations of Personal Health Informatics
- Health Organization Management
- Public Health Policy and Administration
- Strategic Management and Leadership in Health Care
- Global Health
- Health Education and Program Planning
- Advances in Measuring Behavior
- Social Movements in Health
- Qualitative Methods in Health and Illness
- Causal Inference in Public Health
- Data Mining
- Statistics for Big Data Sets
Admissions
The Population Health PhD program accepts applications through 12/1 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: | 12/1 |
*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.
Admissions Checklist
Click each required application item for more information.
Completed application
Completed Application, Resume, and Personal statement.
All applications must be submitted through the SOPHAS application system. In addition to the application, applicants must submit a resume and a personal statement.
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Official transcripts
Official transcripts
For information on sending official transcripts, please review the instructions on the Bouve Graduate Application website.
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Official test scores
Official test scores
GRE scores from exams taken prior to 2020 are required: use code 7533. The GRE requirement can be waived if there are difficulties in taking the test during 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 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 b.molnar@northeastern.edu with your request and relevant materials (eg, CV/resume, transcripts).
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3 letters of recommendation
Three letters of recommendation
Only academic and professional letters of recommendation will be accepted.
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Personal statement
Personal statement
Your personal statement should discuss how your background informs your research interests. It should demonstrate how your training and experience motivates you to pursue a type of research. The type of research doesn’t have to be specific, but it should also not be too general (eg, population health is too general).
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Our Alumni
Click on each alumni photo to read about their research interests and experiences in the doctoral program.
Meredith Milstein
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.
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Meredith Milstein
Renee Wurth
Why did you choose to apply to this program?
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.
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Renee Wurth
Stephen Flaherty
Why did you choose to apply to this program?
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.
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Stephen Flaherty
Brianne Mui
Why did you choose to apply to this program?
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.
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Brianne Mui
Students in the News
Arielle Scoglio
Frequently Asked Questions
Does your program have course prerequisites?
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 our program enter with a previous masters’ degree.
Do I need to possess an advanced degree to apply?
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 previous a master’s degree.
Does your program accept transfer credits?
A maximum of 9 semester/12 quarter hours of credit obtained at another institution may be accepted towards the degree, provided the credits consist of work taken at the graduate level for graduate credit, carry grades of 3.000 (B) or better and have not been used toward any other degree. These courses must have been taken within 5 years prior to the transfer.
Can I be waived from submitting official test scores?
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.
Can I be waived from any classes?
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.
How much does the program cost?
Doctoral students in the Population Health PhD program pay per credit taken. The latest cost per credit for Bouve College of Health Sciences programs can be found on Northeastern’s Student Financial Services webpage.
What kind of funding does the PhD Program offer?
Our program offers graduate assistantships for doctoral students, which covers tuition and includes a yearly stipend in exchange for 20 hours of work each week. You do not need to do anything further than submitting an application to the Program to be considered for a graduate assistantship.
Does your program offer online courses?
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.
Can I work full time and attend the PhD Program on a part-time basis?
Many of the courses in the PhD program meet during the day. There is a requirement for 20 hours of work in order to receive a graduate assistantship with tuition and health benefits. Working full-time and attending the PhD program is possible, however there needs to be flexibility for day time courses. Part-time students who are not working with faculty on campus are not eligible for graduate assistantship benefits.
Can I apply to the PhD Program and the MPH Program at the same time?
Yes, you can apply to both programs and be considered for both simultaneously. Please note the application process is separate for the two programs. Also, keep in mind that the majority of the students in our PhD program enter with a masters’ degree completed previously. Please see the MPH Program page for more information about applying to that program.
Can I speak with faculty in the PhD Program that may share my research interests?
Yes, we would be happy to put you in touch with our faculty. Please send your query to Tracy Hunt, Population Heath PhD Program Manager, at PopHealth@northeastern.edu along with a description of your research interests so you can be appropriately matched.
Contact Information
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 (t.hunt@northeastern.edu)
Beth E. Molnar
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Beth E. Molnar, ScD
Associate Professor and Director,
PHD Program in Population Health
323 – INV
Tel: 617.373.8936
b.molnar@northeastern.edu