College of Pharmacy
  1. UH Home
  2. College of Pharmacy
  3. Degrees & Programs
  4. Graduate Programs
  5. Pharmaceutical Health Outcomes and Policy

Degrees & Programs

Pharmaceutical Health Outcomes and Policy

collage of PHOP students

Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Health Outcomes and Policy (PHOP) Concentration

As a research area, Pharmaceutical Health Outcomes and Policy (PHOP) evaluates the cost, access, and quality of pharmaceutical care from clinical, sociobehavioral, economic, organizational, and technological perspectives. Traditional and innovative areas of pharmaceutical health outcomes research include pharmacoepidemiology, pharmacoeconomics, comparative effectiveness research, patient-centered outcomes research and translational research.

The graduate program offers structured learning and experiences in health care systems, sociobehavioral sciences, health care quality, biostatistics, advanced regression analyses, research methods and design, pharmacoepidemiology, and pharmacoeconomics. Elective courses such as patient-reported outcomes and risk adjustment provide advanced learning experiences, along with the opportunities to participate in grant proposal writing as well as teaching and research practicums.

The mission of this program is to develop outstanding graduates to assume leadership positions in the field of health outcomes research for careers in academia, government, and industry-related healthcare organizations.
Graduates of this program will be prepared to become scientists, directors and professors with a philosophy based on excellence in teaching, research and service in the areas of Health Economics and Outcomes Research (HEOR).
  • Yearly enrollment on a competitive basis
  • Financial assistance for qualified applicants based on availability
  • Collaboration with Texas Medical Center health care institutions
  • Collaboration with the pharmaceutical industry

The University of Houston (UH) is an urban teaching and research institution that sets standards of excellence in education, research and service. The UH College of Pharmacy has trained pharmacists and researchers to work in health care for over 75 years. The Texas Medical Center (TMC) is the world’s largest medical and health center, with 42 member institutions specializing in every aspect of health care.

This graduate program is enhanced through its interaction and collaboration with the world-renowned institutions at the TMC, such as the University of Texas Health Science Center (UTHealth) and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and other UH colleges and departments, including the C.T. Bauer College of Business Administration's MBA program (fully accredited by the prestigious American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business), and the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences' Department of Economics.

There is considerable evidence regarding a severe lack of qualified professional and scientific personnel nationally in the area of HEOR. Graduates will have numerous opportunities in the industry, consulting and research organizations and academia. Welcoming its first students in 2009, UHCOP's PHOP doctoral program — now offered as a concentration of the Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences — boasts a 100 percent job placement rate among its graduates.