Plan B: Research and Policy (45-47 credits)

This option is available in the Research and Policy concentration. Students in the Plan B are also required to complete a Plan B project, and pass a final oral examination. More details are on the Graduate School's web site. Plan B MS students receive assistance seeking a paid internship that relates to the MS Program.

Research and Policy Concentration (Plan B)
for Students Admitted 2007-2008

Required Core Courses (36-38 credits)

Students may choose an interest area in research design and analysis, or analytic management in health care.

Year 1	Fall	Spring
	PubH 6450, Biostatistics I (4cr) PubH 6806, Principles of Public Health Research (2cr) PubH 6832, Economics of the Health Care System (3cr) PubH 6341, Epidemiological Methods I (3cr) **PUBH 6470 SAS Procedures and Data Analysis (3cr, fall, year 1 or 2) OR **PubH 6325 Data Processing w/PC-SAS (1 cr, fall or spring year 1)	PubH 6451, Biostatistics II (4cr) PubH 6835, Principles of Health Policy (2cr) PubH 6724, The Health Care System and Public Health (3 cr) (Web format)
	Total Core Credits: 13 or 15	Total Core Credits: 9
Year 2	Fall	Spring
	***PubH 6752, Public Health Management (3cr) (Fall or Spring) PubH 7894, Plan B Project (2cr) PubH 6802 Managing Electronic Health Information (3cr) ****PubH 6742, Ethics in Public Health: (1cr)(Fall, Spring or summer)	PubH 6855, Medical Sociology (3cr) PubH 7894, Plan B Project (2cr)
	Total Core Credits: 9	Total Core Credits: 5

Nine (9) elective credits are also required for the Plan B MS degree.

** Choose between PubH 6325 Data Processing w/PC-SAS (1 cr, fall or spring year 1 or2) OR
PUBH 6470 SAS Procedures and Data Analysis (3cr, fall, year 1 or 2)

***PubH 6752, Public Health Management (3cr) (can be taken Fall or Spring)

**** PubH 6742, Ethics in Public Health (1cr) is offered Fall, Spring and summer, and can be completed in any term.

The Plan B project is designed to demonstrate the student's familiarity with the tools of research and scholarship in the field, the ability to work independently, and the ability to present the results of a project effectively. The project should involve a total of 120 hours. This requirement may be satisfied in conjunction with, or independent of coursework in the student's program.

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Interest Areas

Nine (9) elective credits are required for the Plan B MS degree.

Elective credits may be fulfilled with courses from one of the interest areas in Research and Design Analysis or Analytic Management in Health Care, or students may design their own interest area.

Research and Design Analysis

This interest area builds on the foundation of quantitative and analytic courses required in the MS track, but allows students to pursue the courses that best meet their interest and desired area of competency. (Students may request consideration of other courses from MS Program Chair and their Advisor.)

Courses are offered in the terms indicated.

Select a minimum of 9 credits from the following list

Offered Fall Semester PubH 6343 Epidemiological Methods III (4) [prereq 6341 and 6342] PubH 6344 Epidemiological Methods IV (2) [prerequisite 6341, 6342 & 6343] PUBH 6800 Topics: Health Disparities Research: Measures, Methods & Data (2) PubH 6717 Decision Analysis for Health Care (2) PubH 8140 Validity Concepts in Epidemiologic Research (2) [prerequisite Epi I and II with B or better] PubH 6863 Understanding Health Care Quality (2)

Offered Spring Semester PubH 6862 Cost-Effectiveness Analysis in Health Care (3) PubH 6845 Using Demographic Data in Policy Analysis (3) PubH 6342 Epidemiological Methods II (3) [prerequisite 6341] PubH 6852 Program Evaluation in Health and Mental Health Settings (3) [prerequisite 6806] PubH 8142 Epidemiologic Uncertainty Analysis (2) [prerequisite PubH 8140] PubH 8141 Observational Inference (2) [prerequisite PubH 8140] NURS 8171 Qualitative Research Design and Methods (3-4) [prerequisite Nurs 8170 or equiv] PubH 6864 Conducting Health Outcomes Research (3) PubH 8813 Measurement of Health-Related Social Factors (3)* *The following measurement courses can be substituted if PubH 8813 is not offered: EdPsych or SAPH8840

Analytic Management in Health Care

This interest area builds on process improvement and systems engineering skills introduced in PubH 6752 Public Health Management, to develop industrial engineering, operations management, and quality improvement analytic skills. Introduction to Operations Research provides a foundation in operations research models and methods such as linear programming, integer programming, networks, forecasting, Markov chains, and queuing systems. PubH 6765 Continuous Quality Improvement provides a foundation in quality improvement and statistical process control in health care settings.

Courses are offered in the terms indicated.

Required Courses (6 credits) IE 5112 Introduction to Operations Research (3) Fall PubH 6765 Continuous Quality Improvement: Methods and Techniques (3) Fall

Select a minimum of 3 additional credits from the list below

Offered Fall Semester PubH 6560 Operations Research and Quality in Healthcare (2) PubH 6717 Decision Analysis for Health Care (2) Note: a course in Patient Safety is under development

Offered Spring Semester PubH 6723 Lean Management in Health Care (1)

*Required elective credits can be taken at anytime during the program.

Paid internship opportunities are available.  Internship placements are based on availability and compatibility between sponsor and student needs.

MS students are also required to attend a minimum of four Division seminars per academic year.  Seminar attendance and fulfillment of this requirement will be monitored.

Courses and course schedule subject to change

See also:

Course descriptions