Applications and Admissions

Application Deadline is February 1

We continue to review applications submitted after February 1 until the Fall class is complete. However, for best consideration applications should be completed before February 1. Completing applications before February 1 is especially important for applicants who want to be considered for assistantships, or for fellowship opportunities.

Applications to the HSR PhD program must be submitted through an online system which is available through the website of the Graduate School at UNC Charlotte or click here The website includes general admission requirements. All applications must be made on-line. Applicants should review the requirements thoroughly before applying.

In addition to the general requirements for admission to the graduate school, the following are required for admission to the PhD Program in Health Services Research:

  1. Master’s or doctoral degree from a regionally accredited university in a health related field, including, but not limited to public health, nursing, medicine, social work, kinesiology, health psychology, public administration, business administration, and nutrition.
  2. A graduate GPA of at least 3.5 on a four point scale.
  3. A minimum score of 153 on the verbal and 144 on the quantitative sections, and a minimum score of 4.0 on the analytical section of the Graduate Record Exam (GRE). If the GRE is taken more than once, the most recent score will be accepted.
  4. Completed at least 1 graduate level course in each of the following areas, with a grade of B or higher in each: Statistics or biostatistics, Health policy, Epidemiology

    Applicants will be considered for admission if they have not completed one or more of the above three prerequisite graduate courses. Admitted students who lack any of these courses will be admitted provisionally until the prerequisites are completed satisfactorily, and are required to have completed each of these courses before proceeding to the corresponding doctoral level course. Masters level courses in these areas that are taken to fulfill the prerequisite requirements are not counted toward the 57 credit total for the PhD.

  5. An essay addressing professional and academic experiences, motivation for pursuing the degree, specialty area of emphasis to pursue in the program, and how the program fits your career plans. The essay should also identify at least one member of the HSR PhD Program Faculty or Participating Faculty with whom the applicant would like to work, based on shared research interests. The applicant must include a statement indicating how his or her specific research interests align with those of at least one specific member of the HSR PhD Program Faculty or Participating Faculty.
  6. A current curriculum vitae.
  7. Applicants whose native language is not English must submit a satisfactory score on Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).
  8. Interviews may be scheduled with select applicants. Interviews are led by the Ph.D. Program Director and potential mentor(s) on the HSR Ph.D. faculty and are conducted either in person or by telephone. Before the interview, the applicant should provide the Program Director and potential mentor(s) with a current curriculum vitae and a record of completed degrees, including their grade point averages.
  9. Three letters of reference, at least one of which is from a graduate faculty member who taught the applicant, and one from a former supervisor.

Credit Transfer

  • To obtain approval to receive transfer credit, the student must submit an Application for Transfer of Credit into a Graduate Degree Program form (available in the Graduate School office), approved by the HSR PhD Program Director, to the Dean of the Graduate School. If the courses being transferred are from another institution, the student must include an official copy of the transcript along with the request. The University is not obligated to accept any courses for transfer credit.
  • No more than six semester hours of transfer credit will be considered for acceptance into the HSR PhD program.
  • Undergraduate courses are not transferable for graduate credit.
  • Graduate courses that appear in the undergraduate section of a transcript are only transferable if the Registrar of the institution where the credit was received can verify in writing that the graduate courses in question were not counted toward the student’s undergraduate degree requirements.
  • The grade in any course accepted for transferred credit must be “A” or “B” as defined by UNC Charlotte. Courses that have been graded on a Pass/No Credit or Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory basis will not be accepted for transfer. Although the credit for a course may transfer, the grade will not be used to calculate the graduate GPA at UNC Charlotte.
  • Courses accepted for transfer are subject to the same time limitation as courses taken in residence.
  • To be considered for transferred credit, the courses must have been undertaken at a regionally accredited institution.
  • Courses in which credit is accepted must be clearly relevant to the HSR PhD curriculum.

Contact

Larissa Huber, PhD
Professor, Director PhD in Health Services Research Program
Dept. of Public Health Sciences
Phone: 704-687-8719
lrhuber@uncc.edu