Doctoral Training/Alcohol-Related Health Services Research

The Doctoral Training Program in Alcohol-Related Health Services Research at the Heller School at Brandeis University prepares students to become scholars in alcohol-related health services research for teaching and research careers in universities, government agencies, research organizations and major service delivery systems. It has been an integral part of the Ph.D. in Social Policy program at the Heller School since its beginning in 1994. We focus on how organization, management, financing and payment make a difference in the effective delivery of prevention, treatment and recovery services for alcohol problems. We specifically focus on how these factors intersect with provision of these services. In this competitive renewal, which requests nine predoctoral training slots for the next five-year cycle, the successful leadership and program structure and content of the current multi-disciplinary training program is maintained. Typically, three new students enter the program each year and are supported for three years. The educational goals of the training program function across three domains: theory, applied research, and policy. A rigorous multi-disciplinary education that includes several alcohol courses in the behavioral health concentration, intensive discipline-based mentoring to guide trainees as they develop and conduct dissertations that incorporate alcohol topics, and hands-on alcohol-related research experience combine to provide these trainees with the skills and knowledge needed to be successful alcohol-related health services researchers. The doctoral program at the Heller School constitutes the foundation of the educational program of the alcohol-related services research training program, which is housed in the behavioral health concentration. It adds the specialization in services research and policy analysis in the field of alcohol use and alcohol use disorders. It is sequenced to provide broad substantive knowledge regarding the evolution of and current issues in major policy areas relevant to alcohol use disorders, advanced training in the principles of research design and statistical reasoning, experience in the conduct of applied research, and directed study through the dissertation on a topic related to alcohol services. Collaborations with local research organizations and universities expand research opportunities. We are committed to recruiting a pool of trainees who have real-world experience in a variety of settings, who bring a depth and breadth of knowledge to the Heller School experience and to research and social policy analysis, and who are able to link their research foundation with real-world service delivery. The progress and commitment of the current and former trainees of the Heller Doctoral Training Program in Alcohol-Related Health Services Research provide evidence for success.