General Epidemiology

Master of Public Health (M.P.H.)

The major components of M.P.H. degree in General Epidemiology Program include: the design of studies; the collection and analysis of data; the interpretation of empirical findings; the development and maintenance of surveillance systems. The program emphasizes training in basic principles and methods of epidemiology and biostatistics and their application to the study of health and disease in human populations.

The M.P.H. in General Epidemiology is given in 42-hour and 60-hour sequences. Both programs are intended to train students in the diverse skills required in the practice of epidemiology. Applicants to the 60 credit hour program should hold a bachelor's degree with a major in biology or a related area such as premedical or predental studies, nursing, zoology, or microbiology. Those with a major in social sciences such as psychology, sociology, or anthropology will also be considered. The 60 credit hour program is typically finished after 4 terms. The 42 credit hour program is intended for students already holding a doctoral degree (M.D., D.D.S., D.V.M., Ph.D.). It can be completed with 3 terms of coursework.

There are four major areas in the General Epidemiology MPH curriculum:

• School-wide requirements, including basic epidemiology and an introductory biostatistics course
• "Breadth-requirements" which are fulfilled by taking courses outside the specific focus of epidemiology and
• Departmental requirements including pathology, genetics, methods, infectious disease, chronic disease, computers for epidemiologists, and 3 advanced biostatistics courses
• A capstone project which includes doing an internship between the first and second year, presenting a scientific poster at a departmental poster session and completing a data analysis project in the final term. For information regarding internship travel funds, please contact the department chair.

In addition to the core courses listed above, students in the Department may choose from a wide range of electives including courses within the Epidemiology Department or elsewhere in the School and University. Examples include courses in cancer epidemiology, social epidemiology, nutrition, reproductive health and molecular epidemiology.

Graduation requirements for all M.P.H. programs can be viewed by visiting the M.P.H. Graduation Requirements page.

Doctoral Degree (Ph.D.)

The doctoral degree available in the Department of Epidemiology is the Doctor of Philosophy degree. If you are interested in more information regarding doctoral degrees in Epidemiology please follow the link to the Doctoral Program in Epidemiology page.