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 EP 800: Microbes and Methods: Selected Topics in Outbreak Investigation
  Graduate Prerequisites: BS723 or BS730 completed or concurrent. - This course provides an overview of the important concepts fundamental to the understanding, design, and conduct of infectious disease outbreak investigations. The course will cover 1. The epidemiology and pathophysiology of selected infectious diseases. 2. Methodological issues related to investigating different types of outbreak. 3. Practical aspects of outbreak investigations (environmental analyses and communicating risk to the public). The course will primarily address common causes of outbreaks in this country (such as foodborne, respiratory, and hospital-based) but will touch on issues pertinent to outbreak investigations in the developing world.
• SPH EP 813: Intermediate Epidemiology
  Graduate Prerequisites: (SPHPH717 & SPHEP714) Can't be taken together with SPH EP 770 for credit - The purpose of this course is to further develop student's understanding of the methodologic concepts underlying the science of epidemiology. The material covered is intended to broaden and extend the student's knowledge regarding study design, bias, and inference in epidemiologic research. The primary aims of the course are to build on the concepts covered in introductory epidemiology courses, and further, to introduce students to concepts that are covered in more advanced study of epidemiologic methods. The course consists of lectures and workshop sessions. The workshop sessions are designed to reinforce the concepts covered in the lectures.
• SPH EP 816: A Guided Epidemiologic Study
  Graduate Prerequisites: (SPHEP714 & SPHBS723) or SPH BS 730 or SPH PH 760 or SPH BS 805 or SPH BS 835; AND consent o f the instructor. - This course prepares students to conduct original epidemiologic studies and write scholarly articles to disseminate their findings. It also equips students with skills for broader scientific communication and for reading published articles more efficiently and critically. Through lectures, discussions, written assignments, and oral presentations, students develop etiologic research questions, conduct literature reviews, perform data analyses using a real-world dataset. They will learn how to structure and write each section of a scientific manuscript and apply principles for concise and clear writing. The final project involves integrating all sections into a complete paper for journal submission. This seminar spans from the second half of the Fall Semester (EP816) to the first half of the Spring Semester (PH880).
• SPH EP 850: Applications of Intermediate Epidemiology
  Graduate Prerequisites: (SPHEP813 OR SPHEP770) and BS 723; or equivalent - This course is designed for students interested in applying their knowledge of intermediate epidemiologic methods to the statistical analysis of observational data. Topics include conceptualizing a data analysis proposal by defining a novel and addressable research question, utilizing directed acyclic graphs (DAGs) for confounder selection, choosing appropriate exposure and outcome measurements, performing statistical analysis, and interpreting the results with respect to strengths, limitations, and biases. This hands-on course will put the concepts of intermediate epidemiology into application as the students perform a research data analysis project from start to finish. Data analysis will be performed using R and/or SAS. Statistical theory will not be a focus of this course.
• SPH EP 854: Advanced Epidemiology
  Graduate Prerequisites: SPH EP 770 or SPH 813; AND SPH BS 723 or SPH BS 730. - This course covers the theory and application of key principles and methods of epidemiologic research in depth. The topics include causal models, confounding, randomization, selection bias, information bias, interaction, mediation, statistical analysis and inference, and causal inference. Guidance is offered for determining objectives and strategies in study design and analysis, including for case-control research. Methods are presented for the assessment and control of confounding, misclassification bias, and selection bias. Special emphasis is given to the limitations of standard methods for dealing with various sources of bias and novel methods for reducing bias are detailed. In addition, there is a focus on the meaning and interpretation of p-values, confidence intervals, and likelihoods.
• SPH EP 855: Advanced Epidemiology Seminar: Issues in Study Design
  Graduate Prerequisites: Primarily for epidemiology doctoral students. MPH, MS, and other doctoral students must have completed EP854 and have consent of the instructor. - At its essence, epidemiology comprises a set of tools for answering questions in public health. This seminar-style course, based on a guided discussion of historical and recent papers, is intended to deepen students’ knowledge of study design so that they can better recognize and hopefully either avoid or reduce the influence of common, but at times under-appreciated, sources of biases in research question formulation, measurement, effect estimation, and interpretation. We ground the course in revisiting the mission of epidemiology and surveying the theoretical frameworks that underpin research questions in public health, e.g., what gets asked, who is enrolled, what gets measured, what adjustments are made. Example topics include study efficiency, measures of effect, random error, misclassification, casual diagrams, direct and indirect effects, and collider bias. Each topic entails reading and student-led discussions of methodological papers. Students also develop skills in writing and speaking through classroom discussion, writing assignments, and a written exam.
• SPH EP 857: Design and Conduct of Cohort Studies
  Graduate Prerequisites: (SPHBS723 & SPHBS730) AND SPH EP 770 or SPH EP 813 or SPH EP 854. - This is a third-level epidemiologic methods course intended for advanced Masters and Doctoral students who desire to build depth and nuance in their understanding of cohort study design and conduct, including how to develop novel questions in existing cohort studies. This course defines cohort broadly, covering well-established cohort studies and novel cohort data sources. For each topic, methodologic readings will be linked back to concrete examples of cohort study design, with special emphasis on practicality.
• SPH EP 858: Design and Conduct of Case-Control Studies
  Graduate Prerequisites: (SPHEP770 OR SPHEP813 OR SPHEP854) AND SPHBS723 or SPHBS730 - This is a third-level epidemiologic methods course intended for advanced Masters and Doctoral students who desire to build depth in their understanding of case-control studies. This course will develop knowledge of their design, analytic issues, challenges, and strengths, from a practical standpoint and associated theoretical framework, including identification of a study base, selection of cases and controls, collection of exposure information, consideration of sources of bias, and approaches to control for confounding. Students design their own case-control study, step-by-step in parallel with the course material. Published papers will be used to illustrate design, bias, and analytic issues through reading and discussion. Each class includes a lecture and discussion of assigned articles.
• SPH EP 859: Advanced Methods in Reproductive, Perinatal, and Pediatric Epidemiology
  This course will expand on the foundational concepts of epidemiology, epidemiologic data analysis, and introductory content in reproductive, perinatal, and pediatric (RPP) epidemiology. Students will delve into the intricacies of study design, exposure and outcome assessment, and analytic methods that deal with the unique challenges to reproductive, perinatal, and pediatric epidemiology. Most notably, the challenges that arise when dealing with two units of observation (e.g. pregnant person and fetus). Advanced methods to address bias quantitatively, including inverse probability weighting and bias analyses, will also be explored. Special considerations regarding recruitment and conduct of research among protected populations will be discussed. This course will utilize existing datasets housed with the Department of Epidemiology, including a prospective cohort of pregnancy planners, electronic medical record data of pregnant and postpartum patients, and a case-control study of risk factors for stillbirth and birth defects, to provide students with a hands-on application of epidemiologic methods. The course will culminate with a project in which students will apply advanced methods to a research question in RPP epidemiology and draft components of a manuscript in accordance with peer-reviewed publication guidelines. SAS or R proficiency is required.
• SPH EP 860: Novel Analytical Methods for Epidemiology
  Graduate Prerequisites: Doctoral level standing; must have completed EP854 and have SAS programming skills equivalent to BS805 or above. - This course is intended to introduce doctoral students to several advanced methods in data analysis, with the aim of providing students with the ability to recognize situations in which the use of such methods may be beneficial, knowledge of the basic methods needed to conduct analyses, and an understanding of the strengths and limitations of each method. The course covers approximately five to six analytic methods in a series of 2- or 3-session modules. Topics may vary slightly in different semesters; examples of the types of methods covered include propensity scores, marginal structural models, simulation methods, quantitative bias analysis, instrumental variables, machine learning and Bayesian analysis. Hands-on sessions in the classroom, homework assignments, and a final data analysis project provide students with practice in the conduct of analyses using these methods.
• SPH EP 861: Quantitative Bias Analysis Methods for Epidemiologic Research
  Graduate Prerequisites: SPH EP854 and SAS at the level of SPH BS805 - This course covers a novel approach to dealing with systematic error in epidemiologic research called quantitative bias analysis. Quantitative bias analysis allows users account for sources of systematic error analytically rather than through speculation on the impact. Quantitative bias analysis allows users to make adjustments to measures of effect for confounding, information bias and selection bias by making assumptions (informed by data typically using validation studies) about the nature of the bias to bias-adjusted point estimates and create uncertainty intervals that account for total study error. The course will cover three types of bias analysis: simple, multidimensional and probabilistic. Exercises in Excel and SAS/R will allow students to practice the methods, adapt them to problems they face and present the results clearly.
• SPH EP 862: Simulated Problems for Learning Epidemiology (SimPLE)
  Graduate Prerequisites: Successful completion of EP854 (or permission of instructor for PhD students not in the department of epidemiology). Competency in SAS as demonstrated by successful completion of EP815, EP817, BS805, - This course will challenge students to think more deeply about the epidemiologic concepts they have learned in their methods courses and provide them with the skills to conduct simulation studies to be able to further their understanding of these concepts. Students will learn to simulate datasets from a directed acyclic graph (DAG) describing the problem or phenomenon of interest and learn how to vary the parameters of the simulation to gain a deeper insight into the problem. Students will also learn to derive the answers to questions about epidemiologic methods in cases where they do not know how to solve the problem analytically. This is a hands-on course where we spend most of the time programming simulations and discussing what we learn from them and many of the questions we seek to answer are ones posed by students in class.
• SPH EP 911: Directed Studies in Epidemiology
  Directed Studies provide the opportunity for students to explore a special topic of interest under the direction of a SPH faculty member. Students may register for a 1, 2, 3, or 4-credit directed study. Arrangements are made directly with a full time SPH faculty member. Studies to be completed with an adjunct faculty member must be approved by and assigned to the Department chairperson. Students must complete a paper registration form and have a directed study proposal form signed by the faculty member with whom they are working. Section numbers are assigned by the SPH Registrar's Office. Students are limited to eight (8) credits of directed study, directed research or practicum during their MPH education.
• SPH EP 912: Directed Research in Epidemiology
  Directed Research 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. 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 EP 980: Continuing Study
  Graduate Prerequisites: MS or doctoral candidates in Epidemiology who have completed all academic course requirements for degree and are completing their thesis or dissertation. - PhD in Epidemiology students who have completed all academic course requirements, must register for Continuing Study every Fall and Spring semester until they have successfully defended their theses/dissertations and have graduated 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.
• SPH GH 701: Global Health Storytelling
  Global Health Storytelling is an interdisciplinary class for journalism and public health students who have a passionate interest in crafting rich, nuanced, compelling narratives about global health for a broad audience. This is a class for public health students who want to create multi-media narratives about public health science, practice, and policies in a style and format that will appeal to all readers. Likewise, it is a class for journalism or other communication-focused students interested in strengthening their understanding of public health. Students will develop visual and narrative storytelling skills and practice through a multi-draft writing process while also learning to use still and video cameras and editing techniques. Students will learn from public health and journalism professors, guest speakers, and each other as they work on team reporting projects.
  BU Hub Learn More

  • Creativity/Innovation
  • Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
  • Oral and/or Signed Communication
• SPH GH 722: Supply Chain Management for Improved Health System Performance
  Supply chain logistics is an important aspect of public health programs. While often overlooked, efficient supply chains and their management determine whether life-saving medicines and vaccines reach the people who need them most. Global COVID-19 vaccine supply and distribution has posed one of the greatest logistical public health challenges of our time. This course provides a practical introduction to the core tenets of health commodity supply chain management (SCM), with a primary focus on global health while integrating domestic considerations. Students will explore system design, assessment, quantification, procurement, inventory management, and logistics management information systems. Using the "Access Framework," students will gain foundational knowledge, including analytical skills, and apply that knowledge in hands-on exercises, class discussions, and real-life case studies. This course incorporates a strong experiential component to enhance learning including simulations and interviewing subject area experts about current supply chain management innovations and challenges.
• SPH GH 743: Implementing Health Programs in Developing Countries: Making Programs Work
  Graduate Prerequisites: For advanced MPH students (>16 credits completed). Recommend completion of GH744 prior to taking GH743, but not required. As professionals working in different settings, we often end up running programs we did not design, which are under-financed and face enormous implementation challenges. In this practice-based course, students will work with a specifically identified health program that is currently being implemented. They will conduct systems analyses, undertake problem solving exercises, and propose solutions to real implementation challenges in the field. Ultimately, they will be able to prioritize the interventions necessary to effectively run a complex health program in such diverse situations as urban slums and dispersed rural areas in a variety of settings and be prepared to plan the actions to effectively run those programs. This course is directed towards students in the health management emphasis area and is not suitable for students in their first semester of studies. Students who will particularly benefit from this course are both U.S. and international students who plan to manage programs in different settings, including in low-and middle-income countries.
• SPH GH 744S: Program Design for Global Health
  Students cannot take both GH744 and GH887. Developing a structured approach to program design is an important skill for public health professionals. GH744 is a practice-based course that provides an opportunity to learn and apply the key steps of program design. The course invites students to work with an international or national non-governmental organization to design a public health program. The non-governmental organization will orient student consultant teams with a scope of work that will contain guidelines for developing a program for the organization and identifying prospective donors for funding. To complete the scope of work, each team will identify and describe a relevant public health problem and apply evidenced based solutions to address the problem(s). Course work will also sharpen the knowledge and the skills required for working effectively in a team and students will learn to reflect on individual and team performance. Students will also document their knowledge and skills in program design. Strongly recommend students take GH745: Monitoring and Evaluation of Global Health Programs to obtain critical monitoring and evaluation skills that will be used in this course. Class Notes: Can't also take GH887 ; GH744 requires a significant out of class commitment. Students should not register for other courses that meet in the same weeks.
• SPH GH 745: Monitoring and Evaluation of Global Health Programs
  Graduate Prerequisites: (SPHPH717) or instructor permission. - here is consensus within the public health community that inadequate project monitoring and evaluation (M&E) represents a major constraint in programmatic efforts to address the problems we face. The absence of sound M&E processes in large numbers of public health projects, despite continued evidence of their value in assessing and improving project performance, suggests that many project planners and managers may not yet have the necessary skills or understanding to develop and operate such systems. This course is designed to help address this need. This course provides a detailed analysis of program monitoring and evaluation with an emphasis on public health and nutrition-related projects. By reading relevant literature and using case studies, students will gain an understanding of the language and tools of program evaluation. The course will focus both on theory and practical application, and will consist of presentations, discussions, and applied exercises involving the preparation and critiquing of monitoring and evaluation plans. The course has a required, non-credit lab that is scheduled in a different time slot than the class.