USC PhD in Population, Health and Place 2027: Fully Funded Doctoral Program in Public Health, Demography and Spatial Sciences

Overview

The University of Southern California Dornsife Population, Health and Place PhD program is an interdisciplinary doctoral training opportunity designed for researchers interested in how population, place, environment, human behaviour, and health interact. The program combines expertise from fields such as sociology, demography, public health, epidemiology, preventive medicine, geography, spatial sciences, environmental health, health behaviour, global health, spatial computing, Geographic Information Systems, remote sensing, spatial modelling, and quantitative research. Students receive advanced training in research methods, spatial analysis, demographic methods, epidemiology, and public health while working with faculty across multiple disciplines.

What you get

The program provides a five-year competitive funding package that includes tuition support, a stipend, and health insurance. This funding structure includes two years of fellowship support without work requirements. For the remaining three years, students work as graduate teaching assistants or research assistants. The program also encourages students to seek external funding and provides support in preparing competitive applications for opportunities such as the American Association of Geographers, American Association of University Women International Fellowship, Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship, Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad, Haynes Lindley Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship, National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program, Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans, Society of Women Geographers, and The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi Dissertation Fellowships.

Key dates

Applications for the Fall 2027 intake are scheduled to open in October 2026, with the application deadline expected in December 2026.