Population Health Science Graduate Degree Program

Position title: Quinn Fullenkamp, Graduate Program Manager

Website: Population Health Science Graduate Degree Program's website

Phone: 608-265-8108

Address:
744 WARF Building
610 Walnut Street
Madison, WI 53726

MAIN AREAS OF RESEARCH

The Graduate Program in Population Health prepares students to investigate multiple determinants of health and the functioning of the health care system. It draws on medical and social sciences, including health economics, econometrics, psychometrics, epidemiology and biostatistics in an interdisciplinary manner to build strong methodological skills in study design and data analysis. The research typically uses large data sets such as electronic health and Medicare records, or population surveys conducted by the researchers. UW–Madison Population Health faculty are based in many departments, and evaluate comparative effectiveness of therapies, patient reported outcomes, quality of health care, health disparities and access to care, and economic and health impacts of insurance. Clinical settings and social sciences play important roles in this research.

PROGRAM FUNDING

Students admitted to our degree programs are automatically considered for any available scholarships, traineeships, or graduate assistant positions in the department. The most common forms of funding support for our students are assistantships, traineeships, and fellowships.

ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Applications are welcome from students with diverse academic backgrounds. Students with strong academic preparation in the biological/medical sciences, quantitative analysis, and/or population health related social sciences are strongly encouraged to apply. Historically, many applicants who have succeeded in our program have come to the program with backgrounds in fields as diverse as microbiology, genetics, nutritional sciences, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, environmental sciences, political sciences, business, sociology, education, engineering, psychology, and economics.

New students are admitted to start in the fall semester of each school year. Applications are due by December 1 of each year. Late applications are not accepted.

Minimum requirements are:

Applicants must fulfill all Graduate School requirements.
Applicants must have an undergraduate degree with a grade point average of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale). Successful applicants generally have GPAs well above 3.0.
GRE scores no more than five years old are required for admission. Applicants with professional degrees may substitute their scores for the entrance exam that was required for the degree (e.g., MCAT, LSAT), if taken within the last 5 years. For more information on the GRE, see this link.
Applicants whose native language and language of study is not English must submit official TOEFL scores. Scores must be no more than five years old at the start of the semester for which an applicant is applying. Further details are available on the Graduate School website. Note that the minimum test scores for the program are higher than those required by the Graduate School. Students can submit scores for the TOEFL or the IELTS exam. For the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), a minimum score of 580 (written), 237 (computer-based), or 92 (Internet-based) or above is absolutely required. For the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), a minimum score of 7 is required. Use ETS institution code 1846.
At least one semester of advanced quantitative preparation (calculus is strongly preferred) with a grade of “B” or better.
A personal statement is required.
Three letters of recommendation are to be submitted electronically.

Upon entry to the graduate programs, students are matched with a faculty advisor. Faculty advisors helps students hone their interests, assists with identifying research projects, provide support for career development, and link students to the greater campus community. Students have the benefit of regular dialogues with faculty members. Seminars and integrated discussion groups allow for increased interaction with core faculty and community lecturers. Finally, the work of students is valued as evidenced by their entries in the annual department poster session, participation in public health symposia, authorship of publications, and involvement in community/research projects.