2025-26 AY PT Research Fellowship: Vietnam’s Mixed Healthcare System
The Stanford King Center on Global Development’s Academic Year Part-Time Research Fellowship Program connects King Center faculty affiliates and affiliated researchers with undergraduate students committed to providing research support during autumn, winter, and spring quarters.
Students have the opportunity to engage in world-class research that has real-world impact. Undergraduate student research fellows are paid $19/hour*. Students must be enrolled full-time to participate and must be able to commit to research 8-10 hours per week.
*Students must attend orientation and submit an I-9 form to verify employment and receive payment. Students who cannot accept pay may be allowed to receive academic credit for this research.
Research Project Description:
The fellow will support research examining the evolving role of private healthcare providers in the mixed healthcare systems of low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) and their contribution to achieving Universal Health Coverage, with a specific focus on Vietnam. The student will support data analysis of the latest wave of national survey data for Vietnam as well the policymaker interviews, literature review, and comparative analysis with other LMIC, working with Eggleston and her co-author, Dr Mai Phuong Nguyen (MD, MSc, PhD). Dr. Nguyen, Postdoctoral fellow with the Asia Health Policy Program at Stanford University, is a former official of the Vietnam Ministry of Health with over 15 years’ experience in health policy, health systems research, and public–private integration projects in Vietnam and Southeast Asia. The resulting book will be the first comprehensive, mixed-methods analysis of Vietnam’s private health sector, combining national household survey data, in-depth interviews with policymakers and providers, and policy document analysis.
An advanced and proactive student may also have opportunity to do research (and potentially coauthor one of the resulting academic articles) for related projects about universal health coverage in Cambodia and use of AI for medical student on-line classes in Myanmar.
Primary Research Mentor: Karen Eggleston, Senior Fellow, DoR - Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI)
Stanford undergraduate students in good academic standing and enrolled full-time are eligible to apply. Co-term students must have undergraduate student status; if co-terms are in graduate billing status (after 12 quarters) they are ineligible to participate.
All majors are welcome!
Students Responsibilities:
The research fellow will have responsibility for assisting with multiple aspects of the book project, including:
- data visualization and analysis
- policymaker interviews
- literature review; and writing.
The student will support data analysis of the latest wave of national survey data for Vietnam. An excellent research fellow who contributes substantively to the analysis or interpretation of the comparative analyses will also have opportunity to coauthor one of the resulting papers.
Students qualifications:
- Background in applied microeconomics and/or health policy
- Data analytic skills; econometrics background and experience in R or Stata preferred.
- Understanding of Southeast Asian context would be helpful.
Time Commitment:
The time commitment is 8-10 hours per week (equivalent to a 3-unit course) each academic quarter. The expectation is that students will work the full academic year with their mentor (Autumn, Winter, and Spring quarters). Students planning on studying abroad are not eligible.
To Apply:
Along with the application, applicants are asked to submit:
- a cover letter
- resume or CV
- unofficial Stanford transcript (first quarter frosh do not need to submit transcripts for autumn quarter applications)
