University of South Carolina, Norman J. Arnold School of Public Health, Dept. of Health Administration

PhD in Health Administration

The PhD in Health Administration prepares students to conduct health services research and/or teach at a university level. The program of study is designed around the interests of the individual, taking previous academic training and professional experience into account. Emphasis in the program is in research methods, statistics, and advanced concepts in health policy and management.

Application Requirements

  1. Applicants should have a Master's degree in Health Administration, Business Administration, Public Health, or Public Administration. Exceptions to this will be considered by petition to the faculty, which must approve by a majority vote. A strong student may be admitted with only a Bachelor's degree, but will be required to complete all requirements for the MPH degree before beginning the doctoral program.
  2. Applicants are expected to have taken graduate level courses in health care finance, statistics, organizational behavior, health economics, and epidemiology. An admitted student with deficiencies in any of these areas must take courses to make them up. A student with three or more deficiency areas will be given a conditional admission, contingent upon making up the deficiencies. Courses taken to make up deficiencies do not count towards the degree program. .
  3. The applicant must have earned a 3.0 grade point average (based on a 4.0 scale) in previous graduate course work.
  4. Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or GMAT scores must be submitted.
  5. Foreign applicants whose native language is not English must submit the results of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) scores. If prior academic experience in the U.S. illustrates that the student is proficient in English, this requirement may be waived.
  6. Three letters of recommendations must be submitted, from persons who can reflect upon the applicant's prior academic and professional performance.
  7. The applicant must provide a career goal statement and a current curriculum vita with the application.
  8. An interview with the departmental faculty is highly recommended.

Curriculum

Students in the PhD program must complete 61 credit hours. The hours must be completed in the following areas: HADM 845 & 846, HADM 710 & 711, BIOS 757, and HADM 719, constitute 18 hours of core courses that must be completed within the first three semesters of study. The core courses are essential for passing the qualifying examination.

The University requires one year of residency, meaning a minimum of nine hours of course work in each of the first two semesters of study. It is strongly recommended that students begin their studies Fall semester.

All courses require the approval of the Director of the Doctoral Program, who also functions as the PhD student's academic advisor until the student passes the qualifying examination and selects his/her comprehensive examination committee members and a dissertation advisor. 

Qualifying Examination

The qualifying examination is taken following the completion of at least 18 hours in the doctoral program. The qualifying examination will be offered twice per year: (1) Third or fourth week of January and (2) Third or fourth week of August.

Four questions are prepared by members of the HADM faculty in the following areas: health finance/health economics, organizational theory and behavior, research methods, and social/historical/political aspects to the health care delivery system. A student is allowed three hours to answer each question. The examination is closed book, unless indicated otherwise for a specific question. The examination must be completed on a departmental computer in WordPerfect.

Each question is graded by two faculty members. If the two faculty members disagree about the grade, a third faculty member will evaluate the exam answer. Examination results for each question will be reported as High Pass, Pass, Qualified Pass, or Fail. A Qualified Pass or Fail in one area will result in requiring an additional course, an independent study in that area, or repeating the question in the next examination cycle. Failure in two areas, or any three grades less than pass, will require that the entire exam be repeated. Failure in three areas will result in immediate termination. On the second examination, if needed, students must earn a High Pass or Pass in all areas to remain in the doctoral program.

Dissertation Proposal and Comprehensive Examination

The comprehensive examination will be taken within one semester of completing all course work. The student must prepare a draft of his or her dissertation proposal, identify a faculty member to serve as the dissertation advisor, and select three additional committee members. The committee must consist of at least two faculty members from Health Administration and at least one member from another academic department. Selection of the outside faculty member must be consistent with the Graduate School policy on academic qualifications for committee membership.

The four committee members will be notified by the Director of the Doctoral Program of their assignment. At this time, advisement of the student is turned over to the newly selected dissertation advisor. The chairperson of the committee will be the most senior member from the Department of Health Administration who is not the student's dissertation advisor. The chairperson of the committee is responsible for organizing the examination, collecting the four questions, and preparing the appropriate paperwork on the student's behalf. The Director of the Doctoral Program should be kept apprised of the student's progress and receive copies of all subsequent paperwork for inclusion in the student's permanent file.

The exam consists of two parts: written and oral.

Written examination: Each committee member will prepare a written question for the chairperson of the committee. The student will have three hours to answer each question. The answers are returned to the originating committee member for grading. The faculty member will assign a pass, qualified pass, or fail to the answer.

Oral examination: Within 30 days of completing the written portion of the exam, the student and committee members will assemble for the oral examination, The exam is approximately three hours in length.

Grading: The committee will collectively evaluate the student based on the grades assigned the individual written answers and the student's responses to the oral questions. One official grade will be given for the entire exam: pass, qualified pass, or fail. A qualified pass will require additional curricula as outlined by the committee to correct a deficiency. Failure will result in termination from the program. Admission to candidacy follows successful completion of the comprehensive examination, which requires a 3/4 favorable vote of the committee. The chairperson of the committee will officially notify the student and the Graduate School of the outcome of the comprehensive examination. After successfully completing the comprehensive examination, the draft proposal for the dissertation should be further refined and presented to the committee in detail. The doctoral committee must approve the proposal in writing before the student can proceed with the research. The student must present the proposal in the doctoral seminar (HADM 800).

Dissertation Defense

Doctoral candidates are required to prepare and successfully defend a dissertation based on original research. When the research is completed, the student and committee members meet and the dissertation is defended. The dissertation and its defense must be approved by all committee members. The chairperson of the committee will notify the student and the Graduate School in writing of the outcome of the dissertation defense. The dissertation defense must be completed at least 30 days prior to graduation. 
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Please send comments or questions to Sam Baker.
Copyright © 1998 by the Board of Trustees of the University of South Carolina.
http://hadm.sph.sc.edu/Programs/phd.html
July 24, 1998