Before or after completion of the summer program, qualified students may apply to a degree-granting program at the Harvard School of Public Health. Students who are accepted can apply their summer credits to either a Master of Science degree or a Master of Public Health degree

Participants

In the twenty years of its existence, more than 1,700 physicians from a variety of clinical fields have enrolled in and completed the summer curriculum of the Program in Clinical Effectiveness. Many completed the requirements for a Master's degree at the Harvard School of Public Health, and nearly all have received academic appointments at research-oriented institutions. A description of this program and some of its participants can be found in Research Training in Clinical Effectiveness: Replacing "In My Experience ..." with Rigorous Clinical Investigation (Clinical Research 1990;38:686-693), Making Medicine More Scientific (Nature 1994;371:100), and The Harvard Clinical Effectiveness Training Programme (In: Peckham M, Smith R (eds), Scientific Basis of Health Services, BMJ Publishing Group 1996;7:65-71).

Faculty and Administration

Drs. David W. Bates, E. Francis Cook, and Arnold M. Epstein are Co-Directors of the Program in Clinical Effectiveness. The other principal faculty in the core and elective courses in recent years include Drs. Jerome Avorn, John Ayanian, Maureen Bisognano, Carlos Camargo, Gary Curhan, Roger Davis, Jonathan Einbinder, Karen Emmons, Garrett Fitzmaurice, Michael Gaziano, Richard Gelber, Donald Goldmann, Patricia Hibberd, Albert Hofman, Myriam Hunink, Jeffrey Katz, Anthony Komaroff, Thomas Lee, Matthew Liang, Tracy Lieu, Edward Marcantonio, Ellen McCarthy, Michelle Mello, Blackford Middleton, E. John Orav, Russell Phillips, George Reed, Sebastian Schneeweiss, Daniel Singer, Kenneth Stanley, David Studdert, Molin Wang, Jane Weeks, Milton Weinstein and Joel Weissman.

Program Evaluation

As of October 2006, 1,709 individuals have been trained in the Program. The summer curriculum of the Program in Clinical Effectiveness has received very positive evaluations. About 97% of prior enrollees have stated that they were satisfied or very satisfied with the curriculum, and have indicated that they would take the curriculum if they had to make the decision again. 

The faculty for the summer curriculum was chosen both for their strong research backgrounds and for their skills as teachers. All instructors received superior ratings for the quality of their lectures and for the overall value for each course.

Admission Procedures

Admission to the Program in Clinical Effectiveness requires acceptance by an admissions committee from the faculty of the Program. All applicants must submit an application form, a CV, a statement of intention, and three letters of recommendation from individuals familiar with their research potential. Local applicants must have a guaranteed position in a clinical department in a Boston teaching hospital. Applicants from outside of Boston must be sponsored by their medical school or teaching hospital. One letter must be from the applicant's department or division head, and it must indicate support for the applicant, including a guarantee for all tuition charges. The application deadline for the Program in Clinical Effectiveness is February 1, 2007. Later applications will be considered based on available space. 

Fellows who wish to meet the requirements for a degree from the Harvard School of Public Health also must complete the usual application process required of all applicants to the School. Catalogues and application forms can be obtained from the Admissions Office, Harvard School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Ave., Boston MA 02115 or by calling (617)-432-1031. Completed Master's degree (SM and MPH) applications received on or before December 15, 2006, will be considered. December 15 is the final deadline for the SM applications. Applications to the MPH Program will be considered in a second admission cycle if completed by February 15, 2007. Departments and programs may reach enrollment capacity and financial assistance may be depleted with the first admissions cycle. However, students who begin the Program in Clinical Effectiveness as non-degree candidates may apply to the School by December 15, 2007, at which time they may petition to have all credits (up to a total of 20) and tuition charges (for 20 credits) counted towards the requirements for a degree.

Minority Applicants

The program encourages applications from individuals from minority groups. Harvard University is an equal opportunity employer.

Charges

Since the 15 academic credits granted by the Harvard School of Public Health represent 3/8 of the total needed for a master's degree, the tuition charge for the summer program is about 3/8 of the total tuition for a full-time student. Last summer, the charges for tuition and registration fees totaled $12,050. Historically, tuition charges have increased between 4.5% and 6% each year, and a similar increase can be expected for this summer. Most participants have the tuition paid by their sponsoring institution. Some make personal payment. The exact per credit rate tuition charge will be known by February 2007.