vanderbilt health policy phd students

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Ph.D. Program

Ph.d. program .

Located in Nashville, Tennessee, the scholars in Vanderbilt University's Ph.D. in Health Policy & Health Services Research program work and learn at the epicenter of the national health care industry and adjacent to an elite academic medical center.

The Ph.D. in Health Policy & Health Services Research program:

• Develops students’ expertise in using interdisciplinary methods to address a wide range of health policy and health service challenges in the United States
• Prepares graduates to work in elite academic, private sector, and governmental settings as part of multidisciplinary teams
• Pairs candidates with faculty mentors and researchers in the Department of Health Policy and across Vanderbilt

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Please visit our  Program  and  Application  FAQ pages for answers to our most commonly asked questions.

Still have questions? Contact us at  [email protected] .

Leadership and Policy Studies (Ph.D.)

Examine education policy and problems through an interdisciplinary lens that incorporates economics, political science, sociology, and international and comparative education.

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Designed for those who intend to build an academic career focused on studying education and policy as researchers, professors, and policy analysts, gaining the knowledge and methodological tools to conduct cutting-edge research on the pressing educational issues of the day. 

Program Overview

At the heart of the program is the mentor-apprentice model, in which students work on research projects alongside a collection of esteemed faculty. As a doctoral student, you will be matched with faculty member whose research interests align with your own, and you will design an individualized program of study that reflects your specific interests and background. The program offers two concentrations: Educational Leadership and Policy and Higher Education Leadership and Policy. 

Program Facts

Admissions Coordinator: Rosie Moody Admission Term: Fall Credit Hours: 72 Application Deadline: December 1

Program Curriculum

Our program relies on a cohort-based model, in which students take most of their classes in the first two years together, allowing for a supportive, collaborative learning experience. All students take a 3-semester quantitative methodological sequence, at least one qualitative methods course, a course in causal research, and disciplinary courses in the history, politics, economics, and sociology of education. All students take a year-long course practicum course in their first year that allows them to begin conducting quantitative research from the very beginning of their time in graduate school. In addition, students take seminar courses with department faculty in their areas of expertise and can take full advantage of the breadth of courses available throughout Peabody College and Vanderbilt University.

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• Refer to the Brightspace portal for all forms and information regarding registration, thesis and practicum projects, and degree completion. The portal has the most up-to-date information.
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• Request for Permission to Receive Graduate Credit for an Undergraduate or Professional Course form
• Thesis Pre-Proposal Adviser Meeting form (certifies that the student and adviser have met to discuss the student’s pre-proposal)

All forms not integrated into YES should be routed to the program coordinator for submission to the Graduate School.

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Phd in nursing science program, meet our class of 2013 - 2014.

The PhD in Nursing Science Program at Vanderbilt is committed to academic excellence. We prepare our students for intellectually rewarding academic and research careers. Our students engage in a variety of scholarly activities and collaborate with faculty in nursing and other disciplines. Through mentorship and collaboration, our students learn critical skills and gain the knowledge they need for a successful and productive career in nursing.

Jennifer Barut, MSN, RN-BC

Nashville, Tennessee Track: Clinical Research Faculty Adviser: Dr. Sheila Ridner

I am a Nursing Professional Development Specialist in the VUMC Department of Nursing Education and Professional Development and based in the psychiatric hospital. I have always been interested in research and have long felt a desire to pursue a PhD. I knew the time was now after being involved in VUMC’s Evidence Based Practice Fellowship as a mentor. Working with Dr. Nancy Wells and others in that program really inspired me. I chose Vanderbilt because I heard from several graduates that the program is excellent. My research interest is to study factors affecting treatment adherence (specifically resilience, hope, spiritual connectedness) in individuals diagnosed with Schizophrenia.

Teofanes (John) Natavio, MSN, RN

Detroit, Michigan Track: Clinical Research Faculty Adviser: Dr. Nancy Wells

My legal first name is Teofanes but I like to be called John. I am currently a clinical instructor for Wayne State University College of Nursing. My interest stems from working with cancer-related fatigue patients and their under-management of cancer pain. I chose Vanderbilt because of the nursing program’s reputation for solid academic rigor and research funding. My research interest is pain with a peripheral focus on objective pain assessment of nonverbal patients.

Jennifer (Jenny) Werthman, MS, MBA, RN

Nashville, Tennessee Track: Health Services Research Faculty Adviser: Dr. Ann Minnick

My first name is Jennifer but I like to be called Jenny. I am a nurse manager at Vanderbilt Medical Center. I am motivated by hospital operations, care delivery and all of the challenges that surround our current healthcare structure. I have two incredible mentors, one in healthcare finance and the other a long time nurse that have consistently challenged me to rethink “how we have always done it” with regard to healthcare delivery. I chose Vanderbilt because it offers exceptional faculty who were performing research in my designated area of interest. I am interested in health policy, nursing workforce and care delivery models.

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Undergraduate Minor in Legal Studies

Gain substantive legal knowledge, build critical-thinking skills, and become a better-informed citizen through Vanderbilt Law’s rigorous and relevant minor for undergraduate students considering a legal career.

• Register on YES

Introduction

The Undergraduate Minor in Legal Studies, designed and taught by Vanderbilt Law faculty, offers a comprehensive introduction to law for Vanderbilt undergraduate students. Through five courses and supplemental programming, students will be able to make an informed judgment about pursuing law school and/or a legal career, gain knowledge and skills that will give them a leg up in law school or non-legal career paths, and graduate with a better understanding of how the law shapes our society. 

Students are required to take Introduction to American Law, which is offered each semester. They must also take four additional minor-specific Law School courses, of which at least one will be offered every semester. One of these four additional courses may be taken from an approved list of non-Law School Vanderbilt University courses. 

To view the Minor of Legal Studies courses available for registration, students should consult YES .

Course Descriptions

How do lower-income people navigate and experience the civil and criminal legal systems? This course will consider what “access to justice” means and requires, both for the structure of our legal systems and at a practical level. Students will be introduced to a range of topics that may include the right to counsel, the role of non-lawyers, the use of technology, legal design, and legal literacy.

Artificial Intelligence and law are closely linked. For example, discussions abound in the legal profession about the extent to which AI will replace lawyers with respect to some of the work they do. But the relationship between AI and law is far more complicated. This course will discuss the diverse ways in which AI, law and society influence one another, including questions of how law should regulate AI and which institutions should enforce any such regulation, as well as theoretical questions about personhood, agency, and autonomy. The course will explore these issues using the examples of military robots and self-driving cars.

Economic analysis of law has long influenced discussions of law, whether to explain how the law works or shape how it should work. Traditional principles of law and economics make certain assumptions about human behavior, positing that people function as rational actors in making decisions in the market. The role of law is to address the effects of such behavior on markets and participants. But human behavior is more complex, which has consequences for law. Behavioral law and economics concerns the psychological and cognitive biases that affect decision-making by consumers in markets as well as decision-making by lawyers, judges, and juries. This course will introduce traditional principles of law and economics to explore the importance of behavioral law and economics to law.

This course will offer an introduction to Constitutional Law. Students will study issues related to the structure of our federal government, including the powers of the three branches (Congress, the President, and the Courts) as well as the relationship among them and with the States. Students will also study the individual rights protected under the 14th Amendment, with a focus on equal protection of the law. [3]

A contract is an agreement between parties that creates a duty enforceable by law. Contract law, which consists of the legal principles that govern contracts, is among the most important to institutions and individuals alike. This course will cover various principles of Contract Law, including whether a contract exists, what makes it legally valid, how is it interpreted when questions arise, and what happens when a party breaks or “breaches” it?

This course will provide an introduction to Corporate Law. The course will focus on the core legal principles that govern the foundation of business entities. What is a “corporation”? What obligations or “fiduciary duties” do corporate directors and officers have to the corporation? What legal protections exist for shareholders of the corporation? In addition to covering the fundamental legal principles, this course will also consider theoretical issues such as whether corporations should prioritize maximizing economic value for shareholders over the interests of other stakeholders.

This course will consider the role of courts in our governmental system. Are they overstepping their boundaries when they take an active role in public policy formation and institutional management? Are they interfering with the proper functioning of other government institutions, such as Congress, the Presidency or state governments? Are they acting on the basis of law or merely expressing the political preferences of the judges? Are they upholding or violating the rule of law? Are they supporting or undermining democratic government? With the nation waiting in anticipation to see what the current Supreme Court will do, this is a crucial time for us, as a nation, to address these questions.

This course will acquaint students with the basic pillars of the criminal justice system: why we have criminal punishment, how we define crime, and the process we use to punish it. Criminal law subject matter will include the elements of crime, defenses (such as self-defense, the insanity defense, and defenses based on neuroscience), the death penalty and sentencing more generally, and whether we criminalize too much conduct. Criminal procedure subject matter will include an examination of police stop and frisk and surveillance practices, pretrial detention, how plea-bargaining works, and the operation of the jury. The course will also cover the system’s impact on people of color, the phenomenon known as mass incarceration, and the current movement to abolish aspects of the criminal legal system.

This course will address treaties, human rights, climate change and trade from the perspective of both domestic U.S. law and international law.

This course will study the rules, institutions, and legal theories that seek to protect basic liberties for all people in connection with the interrelated field of international humanitarian law. The course will emphasize (1) specific "hot button" subjects within human rights law (including the death penalty, hate speech, refugee rights, and gender rights); (2) judicial and legislative authorities that interpret and implement legal rules relating to these subjects; and (3) public and private actors who seek redress for those whose rights have been violated.

This course will introduce students to the study of American law. It is a required course designed to give students the knowledge and skills that will prepare them for the other courses that contribute to a Minor in Legal Studies, as well as applying to and succeeding in law school. What are the institutions (such as the legislature and the courts) and sources of law (such as statutes and judicial decisions) that comprise the American legal system? How do you read a judicial decision and understand how law develops over time? How do you “think like a lawyer”? This course may focus on a particular subject matter, such as administrative law or negotiations, to introduce the basic concepts.

Is the Constitution just? To what extent does the Constitution embody and protect justice to individuals and groups in our society? To answer these questions, this course examines the ways in which the Constitution advances and protects different aspects of justice, including procedural justice, retributive justice, distributive justice, libertarian justice, and racial and gender-based justice. The materials will include foundational philosophical work on these different aspects of justice and Supreme Court doctrines that bear on these issues. The overriding goal is to understand the Constitution’s account of justice.

This course will offer an introduction to “juvenile justice” systems in the United States. Juvenile justice refers to the legal mechanisms for responding to children who violate the criminal law—thefts, assaults, even homicides—or who break rules that apply only to children—such as running away, truancy, or possessing alcohol or firearms. Juvenile justice systems aspire to reflect the deep differences between children and adults, and to preserve children’s ability to grow into healthy, responsible adults. Those systems also frequently fall short, both reflecting and exacerbating racial disparities. Students will learn to understand and critique concepts such as the “school-to-prison pipeline,” as well as the societal choice to treat some children as legal adults subject to serious criminal sentences such as life without parole.

This course will invite student to explore the various ways in which law as a system reflects theories of human behavior, is driven by human behavior, and shapes human behavior. This underlying human element in how law is made, enforced, and experienced is often implicit, resting on folk theories that may be out of sync with the psychological sciences. Students will examine important concepts in criminal and civil law in light of scientific studies that bear on the behaviors at issue—such as what conditions actually cause a person to confess to a crime they didn’t commit. We will also explore the way that ordinary humans decide legal issues—for example, how judges’ emotions may affect their work. Students will gain valuable insight into law as a human enterprise.

This course will introduce students to the basics of legal research and writing. Students will learn how to find relevant caselaw and analyze legal issues. They will learn how to draft documents in diverse areas of the law and legal practice. Written assignments may include preparing a legal brief for a court, a memorandum to a senior law partner, a letter to a client, and a request from a public agency.

This course will provide a broad overview of U.S. patent law. The course will explore the structure and theory of the U.S. patent system, what types of inventions can be patented, the requirements for a valid patent, the patent application process, how to read a patent document, and the scope and enforcement of patent rights. Knowledge of patent law can be a tremendous advantage for scientists, engineers, doctors, entrepreneurs, and other professionals who regularly interact with technology and innovation.

Political philosophers have long posited that the powers of the state should be divided into different institutions. The course begins by surveying foundational theories of division of state authority, culminating in theories that inspired the framers of the U.S. Constitution. It then considers the extent to which contemporary constitutional doctrines of separation of powers reflect these theories. Finally, the course engages contemporary work in political science which describes the dynamics among the branches of government in practice. The course aims to provide an understanding of the goals of separating governmental powers and an appreciation of the ways in which our current doctrines and institutions do and do not achieve those goals.

Additional Programming

Students pursuing the Undergraduate Minor in Legal Studies will have access to specialized programming throughout the school year on a variety of Law School topics, including the admissions process, legal career paths, and the graduate student experience.

FutureVU: Sustainability

Vanderbilt creates Center for Sustainability, Energy and Climate

Posted by hamiltcl on Monday, April 1, 2024 in featured , FutureVU , GHG , Research .

Vanderbilt University will harness its global expertise in scientific discovery, technological innovation, public policy, law and education to launch the Vanderbilt Center for Sustainability, Energy and Climate (VSEC).

The multimillion-dollar investment follows a recommendation by an interdisciplinary working group to address the crucial societal challenge of ensuring a sustainable world. It is the latest center to be launched through  Discovery Vanderbilt , an initiative of the  Office of the Provost  and one of three pathways in the university’s  Dare to Grow  campaign to support and extend the resources underpinning Vanderbilt’s most innovative research and education.

Previously announced centers include the  Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research , the  Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator , and the  Vanderbilt Center for Research on Inequality and Health .

“One of the defining hallmarks of Vanderbilt is our spirit of ‘radical collaboration’ where researchers across a wide range of disciplines join together with local and global partners to tackle some the most urgent issues of our time,” Provost C. Cybele Raver. “VSEC exemplifies this spirit, where this group of brilliant faculty members are taking on and solving complex and pressing challenges for climate, energy, and sustainability. It makes me so proud to see Vanderbilt so powerfully positioned to make tremendous contributions in these areas.”

Raver added that the university is embarking on a global search for an accomplished researcher and administrative leader to direct the center.

VSEC’s primary mission will focus on advancing multidisciplinary research that includes partnerships with communities, government, industry, national laboratories and other research universities. The center will also engage Vanderbilt’s world-class engineering, science, law, policy and education expertise to investigate areas such as:

• Energy Integration
• Resource Sustainability
• Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation
• Systems Risk, Reliability, and Resilience

“Vanderbilt’s School of Engineering is the ideal setting for this forward-thinking cross-disciplinary center,” said  Hiba Baroud , who co-led the strategic planning committee that recommended the creation of VSEC and who is serving as its interim director, said the center is unique because it tackles complex challenges that require advances in basic science as well as broad interdisciplinary applied research.

“We are taking a holistic approach to achieve sustainable development by examining how different aspects of climate change mitigation and adaptation affect each other,” said Baroud, who is the A. James and Alice B. Clark Foundation Faculty Fellow and Associate Chair of the Department of Civil Engineering. “We envision the center doing this not just in terms of making advances in different focus areas, but by pairing scientific discoveries and transformative technologies with implementation and policy adoption.”

Jonathan Gilligan , who was vice chair of the strategic planning committee and is director of the Vanderbilt Climate and Society Grand Challenge Initiative, said it is imperative for VSEC to view sustainability solutions through a wide lens, engaging all the schools and disciplines of the university on equal footing, as well as connecting with community, industry, and government partners.

“VSEC’s success will be measured by how deeply it engages the expertise of the entire university, including engineering, natural and social sciences, humanities, and professional disciplines such as law, management, and healthcare,” said Gilligan, professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences whose work explores the intersection of the natural sciences, social sciences, engineering, and public policy. “Its success will not be measured solely by the number of academic papers published or the amount of grant money it attracts, but on its ability to draw upon Vanderbilt’s distinctive strengths in trans-institutional and trans-disciplinary collaboration in order to advance the frontiers of transdisciplinary research on sustainability, to provide students with a world-class holistic education on climate change and environmental sustainability, and to apply the results of its research to delivering tangible benefits to society.”

Already, the center’s strategic planning committee has identified opportunities to perform rigorous testing of novel concepts and technologies by leveraging existing testbeds at Vanderbilt and developing new ones that address sustainable transportation, materials science, microgrid energy development and biomanufacturing.

The university seeks to hire a permanent director. Interested candidates should contact  [email protected] .

Tags: climate change , featured , FutureVU , GHG , Research

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Health Spending Growth Has Slowed: Will the Curve Continue?

Department & Center Events

2024 Sam Shapiro Lecture featuring Joesph P. Newhouse, PhD, John D. MacArthur Research Professor of Health Policy and Management, Harvard University

Join the Center for Health Services and Outcomes Research for the 2024 Sam Shapiro Lecture "Health Care Spending Growth has Slowed: Will the Curve Continue?" The event will feature Joseph P. Newhouse, PhD, John D. MacArthur Research Professor of Health Policy and Management at Harvard University delivering the keynote address. 

Other panelists include Aditi Sen, PhD, MA, Chief of Health Policy Studies Unit, Congressional Budget Office; Matthew Eisenberg, PhD, Associate Professor of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; and Eva Dugoff, PhD, MPP, Senior Health Advisor, US Senate Committee on Finance. 

Albert Wu, MD, MPh, Fred and Juliet Soper Professor and Director, Center for Health Services and Outcomes Research, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, will moderate the event. 

Lunch will be provided and begins at 11:30 a.m., with the lecture and panel to follow at noon. 

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Apr 4, 2024, 1:17 PM

Dean Chris Guthrie has announced the creation of an Undergraduate Minor in Legal Studies at Vanderbilt, effective for the fall 2024 semester. Undergraduate students can register for classes in the minor during the April registration period.

“We are delighted to extend our tradition of rigorous, accessible instruction to the undergraduate student body,” Guthrie said. “The coursework in this minor will offer considerable exposure to the world of law and legal institutions.”

Led by inaugural director of undergraduate studies and Centennial Professor of Law Sean B. Seymore, the Undergraduate Minor in Legal Studies is designed to help students make an informed judgment about whether to pursue law school and/or a legal career, provide substantive legal knowledge and critical thinking skills, and allow them to become better-informed citizens. The minor consists of five classes: Introduction to American Law, along with any four approved electives ( course catalogue available to students through YES ). Courses will generally be offered at the Law School and taught by Vanderbilt Law School faculty. Coursework will be supplemented by programming on the law school admissions process, the student experience, legal career paths and other relevant topics for those considering a J.D. after graduation.

“The skills that students will learn through the minor are applicable not only in legal setting, but a variety of fields,” Seymore said. “Anyone interested in careers related to analytics, communications and strategy will benefit from this curriculum.”

Initial courses offered in the fall 2024 semester will include Introduction to American Law and Introduction to Criminal Law. Students interested in pursuing the minor or learning about the coursework can visit the minor’s website or YES .

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Vanderbilt Law School announces creation of AI Law Lab

Settling in: Undergraduate business, data science minors find new homes 

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