Degree Requirements
Introduction
PhD students majoring in Biostatistics must take any required Master of Science courses whose equivalent they have not taken previously. Students with a master’s degree in public health or a related area may receive up to 32 semester hours of credit towards the 96 semester hour total.
PhD Student Handbook
School-Wide Core Requirements
- EPID 403 – Introduction to Epidemiology: Principles and Methods (3 semester hours)
- IPHS450 – Foundations and Determinants of Public Health (3 semester hours)
- Master of Science comprehensive examination
Required Non-Credit Training
- Title IX Training – Sexual Harassment
- IPHS 421 – SPH Success
- SPH & UIC Policies Module
- Human Subjects Research
- SPH Academic Integrity Tutorial
Divisional Core Requirements (22 semester hours)
- BSTT 560 – Large Sample Theory (2 semester hours)
- BSTT 561 – Advanced Statistical Inference (3 semester hours)
- BSTT 562 – Linear Models (4 semester hours)
- BSTT 565 – Computational Statistics (every Fall) (4 semester hours)
- BSTT 595 – Seminar (1 semester hour)
Selectives – select at least two of the following (minimum 8 semester hours):
- BSTT 563 – Generalized Linear Models (spring semester of even number years) (4 semester hours)
- BSTT 564 – Missing Data (spring semester of odd number years) (4 semester hours)
- BSTT 566 – Bayesian Methods (fall semester of odd number years) (4 semester hours)
- BSTT 567 – Advanced Survival Analysis (spring semester of odd number years) (4 semester hours)
Electives (4 semester hours)
Electives can be any graduate level course of the students choosing. BSTT 400, BSTT 401, BSTT 505, BSTT 523, BSTT 524, and BSTT 525 are not suitable electives.
Dissertation (minimum 32 semester hours)
Dissertation Proposal : Required.
Dissertation: Required. Students must register for IPHS 599 for at least 32 semester hours.
Other Requirements
Each PhD student is required to obtain experience in classroom teaching. The teaching experience for doctoral candidates should at minimum consist of planning, leading and evaluating a minimum of two classroom sessions, which may be online or in-class sessions. If students are clear that they will be pursuing a career in academe, they should be encouraged by their advisors to go beyond this minimum. All PhD students’ efforts should be supervised and evaluated by appropriate faculty. Documentation should accompany this evaluation so that PhD students are clearly rated on their efforts at planning, teaching, and evaluating the students in their classes. Efforts of students who are laboratory or teaching assistants should be considered vital teaching experiences as long as there is appropriate evaluation of such efforts by faculty and students. It is the responsibility of the student and his or her faculty advisor to make sure the student’s instructional experience is properly evaluated.
Preliminary Exam: The written exam includes both in-class and take-home portions. The in-class portion is scheduled for four hours, while students have one week to complete the take-home portion. Material for the exam is based primarily on the 500-level biostatistics courses as well as the required statistics courses. The oral examination follows the written examination (within one month) and may re-examine students based on the answers to the written portion or include additional material based on required coursework.