The learning objectives for the program in Health and Public Policy will be met through required and elective coursework, independent research, and the proces of writing a dissertation. Learning objectives and requirements from the Department of Health Policy and Management are listed below, along with the learning objectives for the health and public policy program.
Health and Public Policy-specific Learning Objectives: Demonstrate knowledge of the issues, research literature, conceptual frameworks and research tools in one of the following areas:
- Application of environmental and occupational health policy concepts and theories to the field of public health;
- Application of prevention concepts and theories to the field of public health;
- Application of injury prevention and control concepts and theories to the field of public health;
- Application of health and social policy concepts and theories to the field of public health.
Department-wide PhD Learning Objectives: Demonstrate knowledge of the development and implementation of health policy:
- Identify and discuss the major public health problems in the US and provide examples of how health and health care policies have effectively reduced these health problems;
- Identify conceptual models linking the social, economic, and political context to population health and health care policy formation;
- Describe the process of constructing policy alternatives;
- Describe the assessment and selection of policy from among different options;
- Describe the role of various government agencies and officials, including public health agencies, in the formation and implementation of policy, and the role of law and regulation.
Design and conduct research from the initial conception of an idea to study design, data collection, selection and application of appropriate analytic methods, interpretation of results, publication of findings and translation into programs and policies:
- Pose innovative and unique research questions that are informed by structured reviews of the literature and relevant theoretical and conceptual models; and formulate testable hypotheses to address these questions;
- Select appropriate experimental, quasi-experimental, and observational study designs to address specific research questions. Articulate support for a specific study design and understand how designs can minimize bias and maximize generalizability;
- Develop and implement research protocols that adhere to ethical standards; prepare an application for IRB approval;
- Obtain appropriate data sources from which sufficient variables can be validly measured to operationalize the study constructs necessary for testing specific hypotheses;
- Analyze data using appropriate epidemiological, statistical, economic, or qualitative techniques;
- Communicate research findings in oral and written form; place research findings in the context of current knowledge; identify limitations and further areas for research; discuss policy implications and the public health significance of findings.
Communicate scientific findings through written and oral methods to technical and lay audiences:
- Write manuscripts of publishable quality for the peer reviewed literature that describe and explain research findings;
- Teach introductory materials in the students’ general area of expertise.
Cultivate a community of scholars who are collegial and respectful, and who uphold standards of professional integrity in interactions with each other and the community at large. | 
