PhD in Health Care Management and Policy
- Head of PhD Programme
- Jane Hendy
- Programme length
- Full-time: 33-48 months , Part-time: 45-96 months
- Programme start date
- October, January, April, July
Our PhD programme is designed to allow you to pursue academically rigorous scholarly research which makes an original and significant contribution to scientific knowledge. Your research will be of a high standard in order to produce appropriate high-quality refereed publications.
Programme Overview
Our programme is a great spring board for a new career. Following their PhDs many of our students embark on or continue with academic careers, both in the UK and internationally. Our recent students work with policy makers and health ministries. Others occupy senior positions in health service management, the pharmaceutical industry and the military, or work for top level international agencies and consultancies.
As a Department of Health Care Management and Policy PhD student you will undertake a structured, supervised and supported programme of research into one of the health care management and policy fields in which we have interest and expertise.
You will find full links to our research interests and expertise of our academic staff from the Department of Health Care Management and Policy website.
As part of your studies you will undertake a tailored programme of formal research training in methods and methodology. The Department of Health Care Management and Policy is, along with other departments in the University, part of the prestigious ESRC funded South East Doctoral Training Centre. Alongside this and training provided by the University, we provide specific structured, and comprehensive training for our PhD students in our own schools.
In your first year you will take up to three modules of core research methods training. You will also be provided with advanced research training modules that will further support your specific research. These include a range of modules focused on developing the practical skills required for a range of subsequent careers. Our PhD researchers also very successfully organize and run their own annual research conference.
At the end of your time as a PhD researcher at Surrey you will be expected to submit an extended thesis for examination. This will demonstrate your ability to pursue scholarly research which makes an original and significant contribution to knowledge. Your research will also be of a high standard, appropriate for high-quality refereed publication.
You will also be expected to answer questions on your thesis and your research in a viva voce examination.
Entry Requirements
For a PhD, our expectation is that you hold a Masters degree at a minimum of a merit level in business and management or a relevant discipline from an approved university. If you do not hold such a degree, you may be admitted providing you hold an upper second (2.1) Bachelors degree from an approved university or a professional or other qualification deemed by the University to be appropriate.
English language requirements
IELTS minimum overall: 7.0
IELTS minimum by component:
- Reading: 6.5
- Writing: 6.5
- Speaking: 6.5
- Listening: 6.5
Fees and Funding
Fees
| Study mode | UK/EU fees | Overseas fees |
|---|---|---|
| Full-time | £3,900 | £11,550 |
| Part-time | £1,950 | Available soon |
Funding
Students may be considered for a postgraduate research studentship to cover Home (UK) and European Union fees and an annual stipend. Funding is available through the prestigious ESRC-funded South East DTC, which currently supports two students within the Faculty.
Surrey’s well-established postgraduate conference culture has brought with it a number of awards and prizes. The annual Faculty Postgraduate Research Conference awards a prize for Best Paper and, in similar fashion, the University’s Postgraduate Research Conference recognises Best Oral Presentation and Best Poster Presentation. In addition, the University makes an award of Postgraduate Research Student of the Year in each faculty.
Health Care Management and Policy at Surrey
The Department of Health Care Management and Policy offers opportunities to conduct applied organizational management and policy research. We are leaders in understanding the relationship between policy and transformational organizational change; internationally, nationally and locally. We also offer opportunities in innovation management, quality improvement and patient safety, informatics and health economics. Your research focus can include policy, strategic change, clinical practice and organization theory, applied within a health care context. Our cross-cutting interests include chronic disease management, innovation, service evaluation and implementation, organizational development, medical informatics and patient experience.
We provide a dynamic environment, where management theory and practical applications meet. We are working on ground-breaking research at the same time as producing the academics and health leaders of tomorrow. Entering Surrey you will find a lively research environment in which doctoral students play a vital role. Our academic staff have internationally leading reputations and are committed to research that shapes both national and international agendas of policy, practice and scholarship. We support an internationally diverse community of doctoral students who are important collaborators in this venture. We are committed to providing our doctoral students with a sound grounding in research methods and methodology, and professional training which will equip them with a suite of transferable skills for building outstanding careers moving forward.
As a doctoral student you can expect to be challenged by new ideas and to be critical in your research. Students start working on their own thesis research as soon as they enter the programme and have to meet formal deliverables and deadlines throughout the course in order to ensure their thesis work progresses smoothly and to time. You will participate in seminars and conferences and be part of a vibrant international community of over 100 doctoral researchers, many of whom are women, and over two thirds of whom are researching full time within our faculty.
This is an exciting time to be in health care management, and an exciting time to be part of the University of Surrey.
Research
The Department has five main areas of research interest:
- Policy, innovation and large scale transformational change
- Health economics
- Patient safety and quality improvement
- The evolving role of the modern healthcare manager
- Health informatics
Research environment
Research students are provided with office space, PCs, access to major business databases and a wide range of online research tools and resources. Research students are normally members of a subject/research group and participate with academic staff in its activities. Research students also run their own conference, presenting their work to the wider Faculty.
Contact us
For general enquiries
0800 980 3200 or +44 (0)1483 681 681
For admissions enquiries
+44 (0)1483 686 300