Penn PCRTP fellows must obtain one of the following advanced research degrees:
Master of Science in Health Policy Research (MSHP)
The MSHP was founded in 2005 as a collaboration between Penn's School of Medicine, the Wharton School, LDI, Annenberg School for Communication, the School of Social Policy and Practice, and the School of Nursing. The MSHP program was specifically developed to increase the focus on health policy research through its curriculum focusing on core competencies for health services research.
Master of Science in Clinical Epidemiology (MSCE)
The MSCE, first awarded in 1985, is housed in the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics (CCEB) School of Medicine. Penn's MSCE provides training for fellows pursuing a clinical research career, providing in-depth knowledge of epidemiologic and biostatistical research techniques.
The MSHP and MSCE offer trainees opportunities to work with leading primary care mentors and to conduct research on primary care patient populations. Trainees start their Masters training program in their first summer and start individualized weekly meetings with appropriate content and methodological mentors at that time. The Penn PCRTP Directors meet at least bi-weekly with new trainees to help them develop an area of interest and a focus of their research in primary care. While trainees do join existing projects, we focus on trainees developing their own research agendas.
All MSHP or MSCE graduates obtain key research skills including:
- Specifying a precise research question within the context of a larger research agenda
- Evaluating existing research literature
- Specifying a rigorous, tractable conceptual model compatible with hypotheses testing
- Developing a wide range of empirical skills in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data, including biostatistics and research design, including randomized clinical trials, cohort and case-control studies, surveys, and quasi-experiments
- Describing and displaying results clearly and cogently in presentations and publications