Health Services Research in Pharmacy PhD

TheHealth Services Research in Pharmacy(HSRP)provides a rigorous background in a range of disciplines critical to preparing the next generation of health services researchers.The program's interdisciplinary approach combines theories and concepts from fields such as economics, sociology, psychology, management sciences, education, epidemiology, industrial/safety engineering, history, and law. The UWMadison Division of Health Services Research in Pharmacy, which administers the degree, has a national reputation for its research productivity, extramural funding support, publication record, and teaching. The HRSP Graduate Program at UWMadison has educated generations of researchers who have taken challenging leadership and advisory positions in academia, industry, and government. Our faculty members and graduates have provided influential roles in communicating research findings to the public, policy makers, pharmacists, and other health care professionals to improve health outcomes, patient care, medication use, and the healthcare system. UWMadison'sSonderegger Research Center(SRC) is housed at the School of Pharmacy and complements graduate student interactions with faculty, enriching student exposure with other researchers in the field.

About the Program

The program was renamed from theSocial and Administrative Sciences in Pharmacy(SAS) Ph.D. Program. Students who earn degrees in the Fall of 2019 and later will earn the degree nameHealth Services Research in Pharmacy.

The objective of the HRSPgraduate program is to prepare students for independent, theory-based research, leading to new knowledge and understanding of medication use, patient and provider communication and behaviors, health outcomes, patient safety, and healthcare systems. Further, it evaluates the need for pharmacists to fulfill various roles, such as clinical practitioner, drug consultant, and drug distribution system manager, in order to meet the needs of diverse patients, providers, and organizations that use pharmacy services. This is accomplished by integrating knowledge of pharmacy and pharmaceuticals with theories and concepts from numerous disciplines. The name change to HSRP was driven by faculty recognition of the policy orientation of much of its work, whether related to standards of care, practice innovations, reimbursement, safety, or a focus on patient-centeredness. There was also acknowledgement of the divisions scholarship as involving the examination of multiple health services, and being significantly broader than pharmacy” research only. The new name better reflects the training offered and the career trajectory of its graduates.

Why Consider a Graduate Degree in Health Services Research in Pharmacy at the University of WisconsinMadison

Students in the HSRP graduate program have the advantages of studying at a world class institution of higher learning. Courses may be taken from a wide range of academic units, providing access to top instructors and researchers. The HSRP graduate program has considerable curricular flexibility, and can be tailored to individual student interests. As program faculty have a broad range of knowledge and expertise, students can specialize in diverse areas of emphasis.

UWMadison is one of the nation's most prolific research universities, located on the shore of Lake Mendota in the state's vibrant capital city. The city of Madison is consistently recognized as one of the best cities in the nation in multiple categories for quality of life. Visitgrad.wisc.eduto learn more about the many reasons to choose UWMadison for graduate study.

TheGraduate Student Handbook is a resource for additional information.

POST-GRADUATE INFORMATION

Placement information for recent HSRP alumni is updated yearly; see theprogram website. HRSPhas a rich history of creating future pharmacy educators, as Wisconsin HRSP PhD alumni are faculty members at schools and colleges of pharmacy across the United States and abroad. Prospective students interested in careers in academic pharmacy are encouraged to explore resources from theAmerican Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. Beyond academia, common career setting options are in the pharmaceutical industry, contract research organizations, managed care, nonprofit research centers, and government entities. In non-academic settings, alumni have titles such as director for health economics and outcomes research; health researcher for patient safety and quality; social researcher; research scientist; director of pharmacy; director for global market access, pricing, and policy.

1. Demonstrate an advanced critical knowledge and in-depth application of economic, policy, and/or social behavioral analyses to the study of the interrelationships between pharmacy, pharmaceutical services, health care systems, and patients.
2. Formulate research questions, design experiments to test hypotheses, apply appropriate quantitative and qualitative methods, and evaluate evidence relevant to questions in health economics, health care systems, healthcare organization and management, outcomes research, health care policy, and pharmacy services.
3. Communicate, both orally and in writing, scientific knowledge, research findings, and/or core principles effectively to a range of audiences.

A bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution or a comparable degree from an international institution is required. International applicants must have a degree comparable to a regionally accredited U.S. bachelor’s degree. You must have completed your undergraduate degree, or similar, before starting graduate school.

A minimum undergraduate grade-point average (GPA) of 3.00 on the equivalent of the last 60 semester hours (approximately two years of work) or a master’s degree with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 is required. Applicants from an international institution must demonstrate strong academic achievement comparable to a 3.00 for an undergraduate or master’s degree. The Graduate School will use your institution’s grading scale. Do not convert your grades to a 4.00 scale.

Every applicant whose native language is not English, or whose undergraduate instruction was not in English, must provide an English proficiency test score. TOEFL scores must be submitted electronically via ETS. IELTS scores can be submitted electronically or by paper.  Our office address is: UW-Madison Graduate School, Office of Admissions, 232 Bascom Hall, 500 Lincoln Drive, Madison, WI 53706.  Your score will not be accepted if it is more than two years old from the start of your admission term. Country of citizenship does not exempt applicants from this requirement. Language of instruction at the college or university level and how recent the language instruction was taken are the determining factors in meeting this requirement.

Applicants are exempt if: