Master of Science in Healthcare Research

Use research to change health care

The Dartmouth Institute’s Master of Science in Healthcare Research program trains students to be leaders and researchers in health services delivery and quality improvement. Designed to set you on a pathway toward publishing research work or pursuing a PhD program, the MS program will help you build your skills in qualitative and quantitative research methods, survey design and research analysis.

Through challenging coursework and research projects, you will develop expertise in the quantitative techniques to assess the outcomes of medical care. Along the way, you will be guided and mentored by our world-renowned faculty who are the innovators behind many of the most disruptive ideas in health care today. The MS program is often sought out by experienced researchers, aspiring academics, and physicians looking to enhance their research skills as clinician investigators.

Here’s how the program works

Students start in July and take classes four to five days per week, often with Dartmouth’s MPH students. The academic year is divided into four, 10-week terms culminating with graduation the following June. The first half of the year covers core coursework such as research methods and critical issues in the health care system. In the second half of the year, students shape their interests through electives and work to address health care challenges locally and nationally through capstone projects. 

Student Spotlight

Jesse Columbo, MD, a current student from Belchertown, MA, is focusing on improving the quality of life for patients with vascular disease. He is conducting research under the mentorship of Philip Goodney, MD, MS, a vascular surgeon and health services researcher at The Dartmouth Institute. Columbo recently had a systematic review he co-authored based on his course work published in the Annals of Surgery, the top ranking surgical journal in print.