The rigorous Public Health PhD program at GPH allows students to balance the theoretical with the practical; the innovation with the application. Students will work side-by-side with, and under the guidance of, esteemed faculty from NYU’s global and interdisciplinary network on vanguard research and solutions to universal public health issues.
Concentrations
Students will further tailor their studies by selecting one of the following four areas of study:
Biostatistics
The Biostatistics concentration focuses on statistical foundations and methods for study design, data analysis, interpretation and communication, with concern for ethics, equity, and awareness of structural racism and their roles in health.
Epidemiology
The Epidemiology concentration is designed to deepen students’ understanding and application of advanced data analytic techniques and research methodology. Students complete coursework in advanced epidemiologic methods and applied biostatistics and engage in mentored research activities to develop mastery in the conceptualization and implementation of independent epidemiologic research.
Global Environmental Health
The Global Environmental Health concentration trains the next generation of public health leaders and researchers. In an era marked by unprecedented global challenges, this program equips students with the advanced theoretical knowledge, critical analytical skills, and innovative research methodologies necessary to address the complex interplay between planetary health and human well-being.
Public Health Policy and Management
The Public Health Policy and Management concentration is dedicated to the rigorous exploration and application of research methods, legal frameworks, policy development, and managerial strategies pertinent to contemporary public health issues and challenges. We delve deeply into a wide range of themes that are critical to the conceptualization, formulation, implementation, and evaluation of public health policies and management strategies. These include, but are not limited to, healthcare delivery systems, health economics, and healthcare legislation, all seen through the lenses of legal principles, medical knowledge, and organizational contexts.
Social and Behavioral Sciences
The Social and Behavioral Sciences concentration prepares individuals to use social science and behavioral theory and an array of methodological approaches to understand and address the social and behavioral determinants of health and illness on the population level. The curriculum provides students with rigorous training in foundational social and behavioral theory, quantitative and qualitative research methods, and intervention and implementation science. Upon completion of the program, graduates will be equipped to conduct independent scholarly research in academic and research settings and translate that knowledge to solve pressing public health challenges.
Admissions
All applicants are required to submit the following:
SOPHAS application form, select a single area of concentration from four different areas of study
Official transcripts from each institution attended (or an evaluation of your credentials if you graduated from a foreign institution)
Three letters of recommendation
Statement of purpose
Resume/CV
English language proficiency exam (TOEFL iBT or IELTS Academic) results for all applicants whose native language is not English and who did not receive the equivalent of a US bachelor's degree at an institution where English is the primary language of instruction.
International students requiring a visa to attend NYU must complete the IELTS exam in person at an authorized test center. If you are required to take the exam but will not need it for visa purposes you may choose to take it online or at a test center.
Writing sample / Publication (must be sole author or first author among multiple)
Personal interview
Although not required, PhD applicants are encouraged to identify potential faculty mentors at NYU whose research interests align with theirs and with whom they would like to work with in a proposed area of research interest.
Prerequisite Courses
These courses are only required for students who enter the program without an MPH. For questions related to this, please consult with the Director of Doctoral Studies.
Required only for students who have not taken an equivalent intermediate level course in epidemiology and have obtained permission to waive this course.
Required only for students who have not taken an equivalent intermediate level course in epidemiology and have obtained permission to waive this course.
2
Students will engage in a course of study designed to deepen their understanding and application of advanced data analytic techniques and research methodology. Students are required to take two of the courses listed.
3
Students will identify a specialization area (e.g. chronic disease epidemiology, mental health epidemiology, etc.) and take three courses in their specialization area.
Tackling Global Health Disparities through Implementation
3
Concentration Electives
Select two additional concentration electives, by advisement
5
Total Credits
72
1
Required only for students who have not taken an equivalent intermediate level course in epidemiology and have obtained permission to waive this course.
Required only for students who have not taken an equivalent intermediate level course in epidemiology and have obtained permission to waive this course.
Required only for students who have not taken an equivalent intermediate level course in epidemiology and have obtained permission to waive this course.
2
Students should identify a social science discipline that will serve as their sub-field. Possibilities include sociology, political science, anthropology, or psychology. Students are required to take the three advanced methods courses listed above.
Candidacy and Dissertation
The culmination of years of advanced study, ardent research, and dedicated attention to improving the global public health paradigm are the candidacy exam and subsequent dissertation. All PhD in Public Health students are expected to demonstrate competence in their area of study via successful completion of both.
Candidacy Exam
In June following your second year of study, you will sit for the candidacy examination to assess your potential to successfully undertake scholarly research at the PhD level.
Dissertation
After you pass the candidacy exam, you must prepare a dissertation proposal that outlines your research ideas and officially form a dissertation committee. The dissertation is the culmination of the PhD degree and should demonstrate not only your mastery of the literature of the subject, but also an ability to carry out independent research that results in a genuine contribution to public health knowledge, or an original interpretation of existing knowledge in an articulate and impactful way.
Sample Plan of Study
Timeline
Although the maximum allotted time you have to complete the degree is seven years, we expect most GPH doctoral students to complete their degree in four or five years. The sample timeline below assumes that you have completed the prerequisite courses prior to entering into the doctoral program; if you have not, another year of coursework would be added to this timeline. Although the time it takes to complete the PhD degree varies for each student, we expect that students will typically complete the candidacy in Year 2 and the dissertation defense in Years Four/Five. See a sample timeline of a typical PhD degree completion on the Doctorate page.
Required only for students who have not taken an equivalent intermediate level course in epidemiology and have obtained permission to waive this course.
2
See Curriculum page for concentration course requirements for specific concentrations; additional electives may be considered in consultation with the department chair and/or faculty mentor.
Learning Outcomes
PhD Competencies
Discuss and critically evaluate the broad public health literature and literature related to the student's discipline.
Apply public health concepts in the framing of research questions and design a proposal to address the gaps identified in the student's discipline.
Explain the principles of research ethics and apply these principles to specific research projects.
Apply qualitative and/or quantitative techniques to analyze and synthesize data related to public health issues.
Author a publishable manuscript suitable for peer-reviewed publication as an independent researcher and present to colleagues and professionals in the field.
Convey public health concepts and methodologies to undergraduate and/or graduate students.
Concentration-Specific Competencies
Biostatistics
Critically evaluate public health and biomedical studies with respect to their design features (i.e., type I error, power), biases in sample selection and retention, and efficiency and correctness of analyses and interpretation.
Apply appropriate statistical methods and statistical software for optimal design of public health and biomedical research studies.
Utilize statistical methods and software for optimal analysis of public health and biomedical research studies.
Interpret statistical results from data analyses of public health and biomedical studies.
Communicate biostatistical principles and methods to researchers and trainees in public health and biomedical sciences.
Interpret the implications of structural racism and discrimination on study results and their potential to influence the interpretation of data and societal outcomes.
Epidemiology
Demonstrate mastery in the ability to systematically evaluate and synthesize the strengths and weaknesses of the epidemiologic literature about health and health inequities.
Demonstrate a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the theoretical and practical foundations of traditional as well as new epidemiologic study designs.
Formulate novel and testable research hypotheses and design appropriate epidemiologic investigations that can address important knowledge gaps and health inequities about a public health issue.
Demonstrate a high-level ability in employing traditional as well as cutting-edge analytic techniques to appropriately analyze epidemiologic data to understand the drivers of health inequities.
Provide evidence of excellent oral (via presentations at conferences) and written (via submission of manuscripts for publication and involvement in grant writing activities) skills.
Design and present an epidemiologic investigation resulting in a publishable manuscript.
Public Health Policy and Management
Apply appropriate research methods to analyze health policy and management issues and questions.
Synthesize evidence to guide policymaking and assess public policies and programs that promote population health and health equity.
Assess different theoretical perspectives in management and apply these ideas to the identification, analysis and understanding of critical themes and issues in health care and public health.
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Critically assess major theories, trends, and debates in the social and behavioral sciences literature regarding health.
Develop skills used to choose appropriate research designs and statistical methods for answering public health questions in the field of social and behavioral sciences.
Design rigorous and ethical research studies that examine theories or conceptual models relevant to the social and behavioral sciences.
Assess the means by which the social determinants of health create challenges to achieving health equity at the behavioral, community & societal levels.
Apply knowledge from a social science specialization (sociology, political science, psychology, anthropology) to a public health problem.
Communicate social and behavioral health theories, concepts, and scholarship in oral and written form.
Policies
Grading Policy
Courses taken for the PhD must be completed with a grade of C or better.