MPH Functional Certificate: Epidemiology and Biostatistics

Epidemiology and biostatistics are the quantitative sciences of public health, investigating causes and prevention of disease and injury, and assessing patterns of health in populations around the globe. This certificate provides training in design, statistical programming, data analysis, and valid interpretation of experimental (e.g., clinical) trials and observational studies. Students will gain knowledge and skills in the methods required to conduct and communicate public health research.

Upon graduation, students will be able to:

  • Calculate and apply appropriate epidemiologic and statistical measures to draw valid inferences and summaries from public health data.
  • Evaluate the strengths and limitations of epidemiologic and statistical reports from public health studies.
  • Analyze key sources of public health data, reflecting comprehension of the basic ethical and legal principles pertaining to the collection, maintenance, analysis, and dissemination of epidemiologic and public health information.
  • Communicate the results of epidemiologic and statistical analyses using written and oral presentations for both public health professionals and external audiences.
  • Describe the role of epidemiology and biostatistics for informing etiologic research, planning and evaluation of interventions, public health surveillance and health policy, with demonstration of performance in one of these areas.

Course Requirements

  • BS 723 Introduction to Statistical Computing (4 cr) or BS 730 Introduction to R: Software for Statistical Computing (4 cr)
  • EP 770 Concepts and Methods of Epidemiology (4 cr)
  • One of the following study criticism courses:
    • EP 748 Drug Epidemiology (4 cr)
    • EP 751 Cardiovascular Epidemiology (4 cr)
    • EP 755 Infectious Disease Epidemiology (4 cr)
    • EP 758 Nutritional Epidemiology (4 cr)
    • EP 759 Reproductive Epidemiology (4 cr)
    • EP 850 Applications of Intermediate Epidemiology (4 cr)
    • EP 857 Design and Conduct of Cohort Studies (2 cr)*
    • EP 858 Design and Conduct of Case-Control Studies (2 cr)*
      *Must enroll in EP 857 and EP 858 together
  • One of the following data analysis courses:
    • BS 805 Intermediate Statistical Computing and Applied Regression Analysis (4 cr)
    • BS 851 Applied Statistics in Clinical Trials I (4 cr)
    • BS 852 Statistical Methods in Epidemiology (4 cr)

Integrative Learning Experience

Students in the Epidemiology and Biostatistics certificate will have the option to complete a data analysis or produce a problem-based research paper.