PHD 2015
A Plan for
Academic Doctoral Training at BUSPH
Approved by the SPH Governing Council
July 17, 2014
This plan for academic doctoral education at Boston University School of Public Health,
consists of 6 recommendations and is based on the PHD 2015 Task Force Report on
Academic Doctoral Training at BUSPH, which was submitted to the SPH Governing
Council on April 1, 2014. That report affirms the importance of PhD training to the
mission and goals of the School. It includes reviews of the three PhD programs
administered at BUSPH, and it provides a number of recommendations for strengthening
those programs. The Task Force Report and this plan do not address the PhD in
Biostatistics, which is administratively housed at the College of Arts & Sciences, or the
DrPH, a professional doctoral degree based at SPH.
1. Strengthen BUSPH academic doctoral programs in accordance with the
program-specific recommendations of the PHD2015 Task Force for the
Environmental Health, Epidemiology and Health Services Research doctoral
programs.
Environmental Health

Ensure that the EH department has the necessary faculty to offer advanced doctoral
courses and to maintain the program’s advising and mentoring capabilities for its
target enrollment of three students per year (15 students steady state).

Increase collaboration with other departments, especially epidemiology and global
health, to develop additional research opportunities for PhD students and create
curricular efficiencies via shared courses.

Monitor the 15-student steady state size of the PhD student program to determine if it
is large enough.
Epidemiology

Ensure that it has the capacity to offer higher level courses and to effectively advise a
steady state of 20 PhD students.

Institute methods to better align student and faculty interests at the time of admission.

Expand the recruitment pool of PhD students to include more non-Boston University
candidates.
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
Expand availability of training grant funding for students in their first two years.

Target an average size of 4 new PhD students per year, at least until resources are
acquired to cover additional student tuition and stipends adequately.
Health Services Research

Review curriculum requirements to reduce the number of required credits postmasters to 32.

Institute methods to better integrate the faculty and students who spend most of their
time at the VA with the rest of the program and the BUSPH community at large.

Offer more frequent seminars at SPH involving PhD students and faculty.

Emphasize the hiring of faculty who will be based in the department’s Talbot
Building space.

Pursue a department-based training grant that funds multiple students per year for
their first two years.

Target an average size of 4 new PhD students per year, at least until resources are
acquired to cover additional student tuition and stipends adequately.
2. Attract top students to PhD programs at SPH by moving to a full-funding model
for all PhD programs.
The University has established a model for full-time PhD education which stipulates that
PhD students should be full-time; have full coverage of tuition, fees and health insurance;
and receive a stipend (currently set at $32,000) that requires no more than 20 hours per
week of associated research or teaching time. Full-time employment is not an option
under this model, though the Provost for Graduate Education can allow outstanding
students to matriculate part-time. The University model also sets 4 new enrollees per year
and 20 students total as the typical lower limit for a robust PhD program.

The School of Public Health will adopt the basic elements of the University’s model
for its PhD programs. Offer letters to accepted candidates will include a commitment
to full-funding for up to five years. Students should matriculate full time, and they
may not be required to work more than 20 hours per week at BU. Exceptions from
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fulltime enrollment may be granted by the Associate Dean for Research prior to the
student’s acceptance.

The School and the departments will endeavor to identify and secure the resources
needed to implement the fully funded model in its PhD programs.
o Each department with a PhD program must develop an implementation plan
that identifies resources that it will acquire and deploy to cover student
expenses (tuition, stipends, insurance), with a 5-year budget and timeline for
the implementation. The budget must identify financial resources that will be
required to implement the plan. Training grants, research grants, teaching
assistantships and fellowships are allowable mechanisms to support tuition
and/or stipends. These plans will be reviewed by the PhD, MS and Postdoctoral Training Committee and approved following any revisions that are
required by the Committee.
o SPH will commit to covering tuition costs, though some recovery of these
costs should accrue through training grants and possibly other mechanisms.
For budgetary planning, each department may assume that it can allocate 3
tuition credits per PhD student per year from the school. Thus a department
with a steady-state enrollment of 20 students (4 per year x 5 years) will be
allocated 60 tuition credits per year.
o Annual PhD program budgets will be required from each department,
beginning in FY16. These budgets must be approved by the Dean and the
Associate Dean for Administration and Finance prior to accepting students
into the program for the following year.
o The financial models and administrative practices underlying the Biostatistics
PhD program will be reviewed regularly to determine if and when it may be
feasible to move the program administratively and financially to SPH.
o Proposals for any new PhD programs must provide a detailed plan with
timeline and budgets that outline existing and planned resources to support
PhD students over the first 5 years of the program, with clear identification of
required school resources to initiate the program and support additional PhD
students.
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
The full-funding model for PhD education will be implemented across the three
existing PhD programs following review and approval of the funding and
implementation plan for each department. Target roll-outs dates for the 3 programs
are:
o Environmental Health in FY16 for PhD students enrolling in Fall 2015
o Epidemiology in FY17 for PhD students enrolling in Fall 2016
o Health Services Research in FY18 for PhD students enrolling in Fall 2017

It may be possible to offer PhD training in other departments through partnerships
with existing PhD programs.
3. Strengthen the PhD training environment at BUSPH by encouraging
interdisciplinary collaboration, pursuing efficiencies in instruction, expanding
post-doctoral training opportunities and conducting regular program reviews.

Task the PhD, MS and Post-Doctoral Training Committee to identify efficiencies in
teaching PhD students for:
o Core doctoral instruction in methods and public health content areas
o Professional skills and cross-cutting competencies
o Cross-disciplinary topics of interest in 2 or more departments

Increase cross-departmental advising for PhD research, advisory committees, and
qualifying examination committees.

Expand post-doctoral training opportunities to strengthen the school’s graduate
training community.

Conduct formal PhD program reviews on a regular basis.
4. Enhance the school’s marketing and enrollment activities for its PhD programs
and enhance the student’s experience in each of those programs.

Improve PhD program marketing materials and communications strategies, including
the web presence of the PhD programs and departmental research activities.
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
Require all PhD programs to adhere to a set of standard practices, including:
o Participation in the School’s annual doctoral recruitment day.
o Use of approved offer letters to applicants with standardized information on
length of offer, tuition coverage, stipends, insurance coverage, mentorship,
and any special circumstances. These letters will be approved by the
Associate Dean for Research.

Recruit students to work with specific faculty members whose interests align with
theirs and outline these mentorship/advising plans in offer letters.

Provide research rotations and internships in departmental and school research
activities, centers and laboratories the first 1-2 years of study.

Provide opportunities for early work on dissertation research and for publications and
conference presentations throughout the training years.

Provide opportunities to develop teaching skills through teaching experience and a
seminar or course on teaching.

Maintain a vibrant PhD student community within each department and across the
school using seminars, student groups, social events, and placement of student
offices.
5. Provide mechanisms to ensure productive advising relationships for PhD
students.

Match student interests to faculty advisors, starting with the admissions process.

Consider research funding that is likely to be available during years 3-5 of each
student’s training when selecting students at admission.

Adequately recognize faculty teaching time for PhD students in their roles as
academic advisors, dissertation committee chairs and advisors, qualifying
examination committee members, PhD committee members, admissions reviewers,
and PhD seminar organizers/presenters.
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6. Expand upon opportunities for PhD students to prepare for teaching roles.

Require all PhD students to take the Preparing Doctoral Students to Teach course that
is currently available to all PhD and DrPH students.

Encourage PhD students to participate in workshops offered by the BU Center for
Excellence and Innovation in Teaching and the BUSPH Office of Teaching, Learning
and Technology.

Encourage PhD students to participate in the school’s educational mission.
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