Courses

The listing of a course description here does not guarantee a course’s being offered in a particular term. Please refer to the published schedule of classes on the MyBU Student Portal for confirmation a class is actually being taught and for specific course meeting dates and times.

• SPH EH 872: Environmental Data and Exposure Modeling
  Graduate Prerequisites: (SPH EH 730 or SPH EH 731 AND SPH BS 723 or SPH BS 730) or consent from instructor - Suppose you need to analyze the potential risks of a proposed point source or a possible replacement chemical in a consumer product. To do this, you need to know exposures to a pollutant, but you can't measure them for everyone. What do you do? Estimation of exposure is an essential skill for building a sustainable economy, evaluating regulatory compliance or permits, risk assessment, environmental epidemiology, examining environmental justice, and other purposes. Students will learn how to use publicly available data and models to estimate exposure. This hands-on course develops skills in the assumptions behind and the use of equilibrium models, compartmental models, and dispersion models--all widely used in the field. Sample problems include estimation of exposure from eating contaminated fish using sediment PCB concentrations, exposure to flame retardants or PFAS from biomonitoring (blood, urine) data, and inhalation of air pollutants emitted by an industrial facility. This course is suitable for PhD students as well as MPH or MS students who meet the prerequisites.
• SPH EH 961: Directed Studies in Environmental Health
  Directed Studies in Environmental Health provide the opportunity for students to explore a special topic of interest under the direction of a full-time SPH faculty member. Students may register for 1, 2, 3, or 4 credits. The directed study can be an exploration of a particular aspect of environmental health, a practice experience, or an applied project aligned with the work of a faculty member. Directed studies with a non-SPH faculty member or an adjunct faculty member must be approved by and assigned to the department chair. To register, students must submit a paper registration form and signed directed study proposal form. Students are placed in a section by the Registrar’s Office according to the faculty member with whom they are working. Students may take no more than eight credits of directed study, directed research, or practica courses during their MPH education. Approval is needed if credits are sought to replace required Certificate courses.
• SPH EH 962: Directed Research in Environmental Health
  Directed Research in Environmental Health provides the opportunity for students to conduct research on a topic of mutual interest under the direction of a full-time SPH faculty member. Students may register for 1, 2, 3, or 4 credits. To register, students must submit a paper registration form and signed directed research proposal form. Students are placed in a section by the Registrar’s Office according to the faculty member with whom they are working. Students may take no more than eight credits of directed study, directed research, or practica courses during their MPH education.
• SPH EH 980: Continuing Study in Environmental Health
  Graduate Prerequisites: Must be doctoral student working on dissertation. - Doctoral students who have completed all academic course requirements, must register for Continuing Study every Fall and Spring semester until they have successfully defended their dissertation and applied to graduate from SPH. Students are charged the equivalent of two credits of tuition, student health insurance, and all relevant fees, and are certified as full time. EH980 is a non-graded, no academic credit status. All students registered for continuing study will attend EH Doctoral Seminars scheduled by the Director of Doctoral Education for EH.
• SPH EP 714: Introduction to Epidemiology
  Graduate Prerequisites: Can't be taken together with SPH PH 717 for credit - Epidemiology is the study of population differences in health. It aims to understand why some groups experience better health than others with the goal of using these insights to improve health and reduce health inequities. The goals of this course are to: (1) introduce the foundational principles and methods of epidemiology; (2) illustrate their relevance to public health and research; and (3) equip students with essential skills needed to interpret and critically evaluate literature relevant to public health professionals. Topics include measures of disease frequency and association, epidemiologic study designs, bias, confounding, random error, screening and causation. The course also features three journal clubs and several in-class exercises to promote active student participation.
• SPH EP 722: Data Collection Methods for Epidemiologic Research
  This interactive and team-oriented course will introduce students to common and uncommon data collection sources and methods used currently in epidemiological research. Existing medical, insurance, and vital records data sources will be discussed, along with traditional self, telephone, and in-person survey research methods. More novel approaches that include spatial data, internet-based surveys, social media, and spatial data linkages, will be covered as well. For all methods, issues associated with data quality control, availability, validity and reliability will be covered. Students will practice developing their own surveys in REDCap and will evaluate data collection methods published within the scientific literature. Students will also learn how to select the best data source for a specific research question, develop an appropriate data analysis plan using these data, and write up their methods in the style of a peer-reviewed manuscript or the entire data collection methods section of a NIH or similar grant proposal.
• SPH EP 730: Epidemiology of Vaccine Preventable Diseases
  Graduate Prerequisites: SPH EP 714 or SPH PH 717 - This course provides students with a fundamental understanding of the epidemiology and control of vaccine-preventable diseases. This will be accomplished by focusing on a different vaccine-preventable disease each week, and using that disease to illustrate epidemiologic principles and methods to measure vaccine safety, efficacy, and impact; and to understand current issues around public acceptability. Vaccines examined in depth include those for Measles, Rubella, Pneumococcus, COVID, Chicken Pox and Rotavirus. Emphasis is placed on study design, sources of bias, and current controversies. The majority of class time is focused on in-class discussions where students take turns presenting to their peers. The course gives students experience in the critical review of epidemiologic studies in this area.
• SPH EP 740S: Introduction to the Epidemiology of Aging
  Graduate Prerequisites: SPH EP 714 or SPH PH 717. - This 2-credit course introduces public health students to major research topics regarding age-related diseases, disorders, and disabilities, as well as the special considerations in the design and execution of epidemiologic studies in this field. The main objectives of each session are to 1) use web-based or public-use data on the incidence, prevalence, risk factors, and health consequences of the disease or condition to describe why it is important to study in elderly adults; 2) critically review 1-2 articles to understand the current state of knowledge on the topic; and 3) examine the special methodological issues that conducting studies of the topic in an elderly study population pose. These objectives will be met by brief student presentations each week of the epidemiology of the disease/condition, lectures by researchers who are performing studies on that condition, and journal club discussions of relevant articles that students will critique. Students will synthesize this information in a short (8-10 page) grant proposal for a study on the prevention or treatment of a disease/condition that affects elderly adults.
• SPH EP 748: Drug Epidemiology (formerly EP830)
  Graduate Prerequisites: (SPHEP770 OR SPHEP813) SPH EP 714 or SPH PH 717; concurrent enrollment in EP 770 or EP 813 strongly recommended. Taught by practicing researchers in pharmacoepidemiology, this course addresses a range of study designs and analytic techniques for observational studies on the safety, effectiveness, and utilization of pharmaceuticals. Students will develop an understanding of how to plan, implement, analyze and critique pharmacoepidemiology studies with particular emphasis on studies conducted in electronic health data sources. Lectures will emphasize robust methods to address issues unique to the epidemiologic study of medications including confounding by indication and time varying covariates.
• SPH EP 749: Applications to Introductory Epidemiology
  Graduate Prerequisites: (SPHEP714) SPH EP714 (prior or concurrent enrollment) or equivalent or permission of instructor. - This course is designed for students who want to gain practical experience articulating epidemiologic research questions, analyzing data, and reporting results. This course is closely synchronized with EP714 (Introduction of Epidemiology) and applies knowledge of introductory epidemiologic principles to the analysis of observational data. The goals of this course are to (1) conceptualize research questions and develop testable hypotheses; (2) access and utilize data to calculate, interpret, and present disease measures; (3) apply introductory concepts of study design to evaluate peer-reviewed research; and (4) practice synthesizing and summarizing data through class assignments and projects, and critiquing and editing the work of peers.
• SPH EP 752: Cancer Epidemiology
  Graduate Prerequisites: (SPHPH717 OR SPHEP714) or equivalent - This intermediate-level course focuses on the patterns and determinants of cancer in populations. It explores descriptive data on cancer incidence, mortality, and risk factors in the U.S. and globally from a multi-level perspective (e.g., genetic, behavioral, environmental, and societal). This course also examines methodologic issues related to the design, conduct, and analysis of epidemiologic studies of cancer. Journal clubs use peer-reviewed papers to build skills in critically evaluating and translating study findings for cancer prevention, research, or policy.
• SPH EP 755: Infectious Disease Epidemiology
  Graduate Prerequisites: (SPHPH717 OR SPHEP714) - This course introduces students to the biology, epidemiologic methods, and mathematical models needed to study infectious diseases in populations. In addition to lecture presentations on biologic and clinical aspects of infectious diseases, their distribution within populations, and their control, the course also covers study design issues specific to infectious diseases and simple infectious disease modeling. The course includes analysis of actual infectious disease outbreaks and studies through workshops, guest lectures, blogs, and article reviews.
• SPH EP 758: Nutritional Epidemiology
  Graduate Prerequisites: SPH PH 717 or SPH EP 714. - The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the discipline of nutritional epidemiology. In the class, we will focus on methodological issues relating to design, dietary assessment, and data analysis of studies on diet and disease. We will also review some of the literature relating nutrition to certain disease states, including coronary heart disease and cancer, in which we highlight methodological issues and interpretation of findings in nutritional epidemiologic research. Topics such as precision nutrition, novel multi-omic biomarkers of nutrition quality, and the role of nutrition in infectious disease prevalence will also be introduced. Students completing this course will understand the basic principles of nutritional epidemiology and will be able to apply them in reading the literature and participating in nutrition research projects.
• SPH EP 759: Reproductive Epidemiology
  Graduate Prerequisites: (SPHPH717 OR SPHEP714) – This course provides an overview of epidemiologic methods for the study of reproductive health across the lifespan. Topics vary from year to year but may include puberty, contraception, sexually transmitted infections, abortion care in the post-Dobbs era, infertility and sub-fertility, pregnancy loss, adverse perinatal outcomes, benign and malignant reproductive neoplasms, and reproductive senescence (menopause). Measurement of these outcomes, problems of study design and data analysis, and sources of biases will be discussed. This course is intended for students with a basic understanding of epidemiologic methods who wish to gain experience in the critical review of reproductive epidemiology studies as well as experience conducting a literature review, writing a grant proposal and public speaking.
• SPH EP 764: The Epidemiology of HIV/AIDS in the Developed and Developing World
  Graduate Prerequisites: (SPHPH717 OR SPHEP714) - This course is designed to introduce students to an important global public health field - the epidemiology and control of HIV and AIDS. It is designed for those students who have a keen interest in HIV/AIDS in both the developed and developing world. This course will survey state-of-the art knowledge of the epidemiology of HIV and will emphasize epidemiologic principles and methods including: estimating the incidence of HIV infection and AIDS, study design, and sources of bias. The use of epidemiologic data to construct and implement treatment and prevention of HIV will also be highlighted. In addition, the course will give the student experience in the critical review of epidemiologic studies in this area. Guest lectures performing research or in the program management of HIV/AIDS, both domestically and globally, will come speak to students.
• SPH EP 770: Concepts and Methods in Epidemiology
  Graduate Prerequisites: (SPHPH717 OR SPHEP714) Can’t be taken together with SPH EP 813 for credit - This intermediate-level course further develops the comprehension and application of epidemiologic concepts and methods introduced in the MPH Quantitative Core (PH717). It addresses measures of outcome frequency, measures of association and their relationships to key epidemiologic study designs. Approaches to analysis of epidemiologic data, the elements of measurement, casual inference, and biases in epidemiologic research, including issues related to confounding, effect measure modification, and stratified analysis are discussed. This course emphasizes technical knowledge and focuses on developing skills in critically evaluating and communicating epidemiologic data. Workshops use data from epidemiologic studies to reinforce concepts and build critiquing skills.
• SPH EP 775: Social Epidemiology
  Graduate Prerequisites: SPH PH 717 or SPH EP 714. - The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the major social variables that affect population health, including socio-economic status, race and ethnicity, gender, discrimination, neighborhood environment, corporate practices, religion, political ideology, and the criminal justice system. This course will cover the theoretical underpinnings of each construct and is intended to guide students in in-depth discussions of the empirical evidence and methods linking social determinants to population health. This course will include readings from the popular literature, didactic lectures, scientific journal club, and culminate in a group project.
• SPH EP 784: The Epidemiology of Tuberculosis in the Developed and Developing World
  Graduate Prerequisites: (SPHPH717 OR SPHEP714) - This course is designed for those students who have an interest in the epidemiology and control of tuberculosis, the single largest cause of global infectious disease mortality. The course will survey state of the art knowledge of tuberculosis, including molecular epidemiologic techniques, and will emphasize epidemiologic principles and methods underlying TB control strategies. The course focuses on study design, selection and information bias, and confounding. The course will also give the student experience in the critical review of epidemiologic studies in this area. Guest lectures performing research or in the program management of tuberculosis control, both domestically and globally, will come speak to students.
• SPH EP 790: Mental Health Epidemiology
  Graduate Prerequisites: (SPHPH717) or SPH EP 714 - Mental Health Epidemiology is the study of the distribution and determinants of mental health disorders among populations. This course begins with an overview of the history and development of the field, also referred to as psychiatric epidemiology, using several classic studies. We will examine mental health and mental illness across the life span: child, adolescent, adult and older adult. Students will learn about the major risk factors for and etiologic models of mental disorders. This will include examination of social factors, biological factors, genetic factors and their interactions. Special attention will be paid to the unique methodological and analytical issues highlighted by mental health epidemiologic research, and recent changes to clinical and research classifications (e.g., DSM-V, RDoc). Based on the research covered in this course, students will be asked to consider the implications for public health programs and interventions.
• SPH EP 797: Concepts in the Measurement of Psychosocial Constructs
  Prerequisites: SPHPH 717 OR 714. - Many psychological, cognitive, behavioral, and social constructs are defined in ways that are not directly observable (cf. biological measurements such as white blood cell count, tumor size). As a result, there are challenges associated with measurement. Significant psychometric efforts are devoted to developing and disseminating reliable and valid measures of psychosocial constructs. As mental health and stress are now recognized as critical domains of public health, psychiatric epidemiology and other subdisciplines (e.g., social epidemiology) grapple with complex measurement problems and decisions. The goal of this course is to present an overview of psychometrics and concepts surrounding the measurement and of psychosocial constructs in epidemiology. Students will learn about gold-standard and novel assessment methods (self-report, interview, EMA), measurement theory, reliability (internal, inter-rater, test-retest), validity (e.g., structural, concurrent, criterion, predictive), and diagnostic classification procedures (e.g., ROC, clustering). Special attention will be paid to psychometric evaluation and measurement models using latent variable methods (e.g., exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis). Based on the material and research covered in this course, students will be asked to consider the implications for epidemiology and public health (e.g., best measurement practices).