Typical course schedule
Fall, Year 1Spring, Year 1Fall, Year 2Spring, Year 2Fall, Year 3
HPM 873HPM 873HPM 874 HPM 874HPM 994
HPM 874HPM 874HPM 882HPM 883
HPM 880HPM 881HPM 886 Minor
HPM 884HPM 885Minor
Minor Minor
  • HPM 754 (Health Care in the United States: Structure and Policy), EPID 600 (Principles of Epidemiology for Public Health) or EPID 710 (Fundamentals of Epidemiology), and SPHG 600 (Introduction to Public Health) are HPM/SPH core courses that can be completed during the first year of the PhD program, for students who do not place out based on prior coursework or experience.
  • HPM 873 and HPM 874 are core Departmental seminars. All students take HPM 873 during the fall and spring semesters of their first year (total of 2 credit hours) and HPM 874 during the fall and spring semesters for their first two years (total of 4 credit hours).
  • HPM 871 (Seminar in Teaching Health Policy and Management) will be taken in the first semester the student is a Teaching Assistant.

PhD students in HPM take courses that allow them to develop expertise in a minor area. Minors include Decision Sciences and Outcomes ResearchEconomicsFinancial ManagementHealth Politics and PolicyQuality and Access, and Organization and Implementation Science. In addition to the wealth of courses campus-wide at UNC-CH, students may take courses at Duke University or North Carolina State University at no additional cost. Students must pass written comprehensive examinations after completing course work, then present and defend a dissertation proposal and the final dissertation based on original research.

There are three core HPM/SPH courses, which can be taken preferably during the first year of the program: HPM 754 (Health Care in the United States); EPID 600 (Principles of Epidemiology for Public Health) or EPID 710 (Foundations of Epidemiology); SPHG 600 (Introduction to Public Health Concepts). Many students, especially those with master’s degrees in public health or a related field, may waive these courses if they have taken them (or their equivalents) at the graduate level prior to matriculation into our PhD program.

A core competency of the PhD Program is to prepare students to be effective classroom teachers. To fulfill this competency, students complete HPM 871 while serving as a teaching assistant (TA) at some point during their training. HPM 871 is designed to: (1) facilitate the development of a contract identifying mutual expectations for the TA and course instructor; (2) help prepare students to develop and deliver a lecture (or equivalent activity) in the course for which they are a TA; (3) identify and resolve common TA issues using a key incidents/discussion approach; and (4) identify resources on campus (e.g., Center for Faculty Excellence) or the Internet to support students.

The Guidelines and Procedures manual contains more of the rules, regulations, policies, and procedures of the PhD program.

RELATED PAGES
CONTACT INFORMATION
BSPH, MSPH and Resident MHA:
Academic Coordinator: Yolonda N. Childs

Doctoral and Executive MHA:
Academic Coordinator: Kim Sieler

Assistant to Chair: Stephanie Forman
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Mailing Address
135 Dauer Drive
1101 McGavran-Greenberg Hall, CB #7411
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7411