Research Requirement in Detail
Details on the four options for fulfilling the research requirement are provided below. You can download a list of health policy senior theses and research papers written by alumni from 2001-2009.
1. Senior Thesis Pertaining to Health Policy
The student will write a senior thesis within the guidelines of his/her concentration. The thesis will be submitted to and evaluated by the concentration. The Interfaculty Initiative in Health Policy has no formal role in the thesis process, as far as the concentration itself is concerned. However, the Faculty Chair of the Undergraduate Program must certify the thesis topic as relevant to health policy in order to fulfill our research requirement. To obtain the necessary certification for a thesis topic, students submit a two-page précis of their senior thesis proposal to Debbie Whitney, Director, Interfaculty Initiative in Health Policy (deborah_whitney@harvard.edu or 496.5506). This should be done no later than October 15 of the senior year.
Note: An electronic copy of the thesis must be submitted to the Interfaculty Initiative on the same day it is submitted to the concentration.
2. Adding a Thesis Chapter on the Health Policy Implications of a Science Thesis
The student will complete a science thesis related to human health, or to some organism, chemical reaction, or scientific process that relates to human health. As a part of the science thesis, or in addition to it, the student will complete a chapter explaining the health policy ramifications of his/her work. This chapter should be 3,000-8,000 words long (approximately 15-40 pages, double spaced). If not already included in the scientific segment of the thesis, the chapter should outline how the technology or experiment relates to humans (though hopefully the overlap will be obvious).
The primary purpose of the additional chapter is for the student to address how his/her work relates to public policy. The student is encouraged to think independently and to find an issue that interests him/her. Questions that may be addressed include (but are not limited to): What policies currently govern the use of the technology and are they effective? Who should have access to the technology and how can policies be used to ensure this access? What kinds of ethical considerations must be taken into account with this technology, and how can we use policies to regulate its use? How does the technology fit into the current U.S. health system? What kinds of issues will be raised as the technology goes through U.S. regulatory agencies? How might the technology be used in an international setting, and does this raise any ethical issues (if so, how can these issues be addressed through policy)? What kinds of political response do you expect as a result of your technology? How does your technology relate to different ethnic groups or non-traditional clinical settings?
Before writing the thesis, the student must submit a proposal for the extra chapter to Debbie Whitney, Director, Interfaculty Initiative in Health Policy (deborah_whitney@harvard.edu or 496.5506), briefly outlining the issue he/she wishes to address. The proposal is due by October 15 of the senior year. The student is encouraged (though not required) to seek out an advisor in health policy to oversee the analysis in that chapter. For help in finding such an advisor, contact the Undergraduate Program Office.
Note: An electronic copy of the thesis must be submitted to the Interfaculty Initiative on the same day it is submitted to the concentration. The health policy chapter will be reviewed on a pass/fail basis by the Faculty Chair of the Undergraduate Program in Health Policy.
3. Government 1597: Advanced Topics in Health Policy
In some circumstances, students may not be able to write a senior thesis in their concentration that fulfills the requirements of the Undergraduate Program in Health Policy, or they may decide not to write a senior thesis at all. These students may instead take Gov 1597, offered in the spring semester, or a Supervised Reading and Research course (described in option 4 below), culminating in a research paper dealing with a health policy issue. The research paper must receive an honors grade in order to count for the undergraduate program in health policy.
Gov 1597 has been well received by students, and for students not writing a health policy thesis or thesis chapter, it is the preferred means of meeting the research requirement. The course explores current issues in national and global health care policy. Topics have included: the politics of health care reform, the politics of special interests, pharmaceutical policy, comparative health systems, cost containment, global health, racial and ethnic disparities in care, quality measurement and improvement, income inequality and health, and organizational influences on care quality. The prerequisite for this course is "Introduction to Health Care Policy" (Extra-Departmental Courses 186, formerly General Education 186).
Note: An electronic copy of the Gov 1597 paper must be submitted to the Interfaculty Initiative on the same day it is submitted to the instructor of the course.
4. Supervised Reading and Research Course (91r or 910r course)
As in the case of Gov 1597, this course must culminate in a research paper dealing with a health policy issue. Supervised Reading and Research courses are offered by many departments and committees. Ordinarily, students wishing to enroll must petition the department's/committee's Director of Undergraduate Studies for approval, stating the proposed project, and must have the consent of the proposed instructor (who, ordinarily, would be a faculty member or affiliate of the department/committee).
As with the senior thesis, the topic of the research paper written in a Supervised Reading and Research course must be certified as health-policy relevant by the Faculty Chair of the Undergraduate Program. To obtain the necessary certification, students submit a one-page description of their research proposal to Debbie Whitney, Director, Interfaculty Initiative in Health Policy (deborah_whitney@harvard.edu or 496.5506). This should be done no later than the third Monday of the term in which the student plans to take the Supervised Reading and Research course.
Note: The research paper must receive an honors grade in order to count for the undergraduate program in health policy, and an electronic copy of the paper must be submitted to the Interfaculty Initiative on the same day it is submitted to the instructor of the Supervised Reading and Research Course.
Support for the Research Paper/Thesis provided by the Interfaculty Initiative in Health Policy:
• Each spring the Interfaculty Initiative in Health Policy awards Cordeiro Health Policy Summer Research Grants to qualified Health Policy students during the summer prior to their senior year to enable them to get a head start on their research.
• Graduate students in the PhD Program in Health Policy may be available to serve as thesis advisors or first readers (secondary advisors) in departments where this is permitted. Please email Debbie Whitney (deborah_whitney@harvard.edu) for suggestions.
• The IFI in Health Policy may offer sessions for seniors writing theses in different concentrations. Participation, though optional, would offer the opportunity to discuss thesis projects with undergraduates in other concentrations who share interests in the health care system. Participation in such sessions does not substitute for enrollment in any concentration’s senior tutorial, however.