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Degree Requirements

The PhD in Epidemiology program requires a minimum of 96 semester hours. This program includes the following course requirements:

PhD Student Handbook

School-Wide Core Requirements (14 semester hours)

  • BSTT 400 – Biostatistics I (4 semester hours)*
  • BSTT 401 – Biostatistics II (4 semester hours)*
  • EPID 403 – Introduction to Epidemiology: Principles and Methods (3 semester hours)
  • IPHS 450 – Foundations and Determinants of Public Health (3 semester hours)*

*If not previously taken at the master’s level

Required Non-Credit Training

Divisional Core Requirements (28 semester hours)

  • BSTT 505 – Logistic Regression and Survival Analysis (2 semester hours)
  • BSTT 506 – Design of Clinical Trials (3 semester hours)
  • EPID 404 – Intermediate Epidemiologic Methods (4 semester hours)
  • EPID 406 – Epidemiologic Computing (3 semester hours)
  • EPID 410 – Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases (2 semester hours)
  • EPID 411 – Epidemiology of Chronic Disease (3 semester hours)
  • EPID 500 – Advanced Applied Epidemiologic Methods II (4 semester hours)
  • EPID 501 – Advanced Quantitative Methods in Epidemiology (4 semester hours)
  • EPID 591 – Current Epidemiologic Literature (2 semester hours)
  • EPID 595 – Epidemiology Research Seminar (1 semester hour)

Note: Students in the PhD program in Maternal and Child Health Epidemiology need to discuss these requirements with their advisor.

Electives (minimum of 27 semester hours)

  • Two 500-level substantive Epidemiology classes, in different areas, to prepare for substantive sections of preliminary examination (e.g. Cardiovascular, Cancer, Aging, Infectious, Pediatrics, Genetics) (4-6 semester hours).
  • At least one biological science class relevant to student’s research area is required if no prior biological sciences background (4 semester hours). Note: Students may enroll in an undergraduate biological sciences course; however these hours will not count towards graduation credits for the PhD.
  • Additional coursework in relevant area outside of Epidemiology and approved by your advisor (e.g. Biostatistics, Nutrition, Maternal and Child Health, Environmental Sciences, Sociology) (6 semester hours)
  • Remaining electives(13 – 15 semester hours) Note: Students with a master’s degree in public health or a related area may receive up to 32 hours of credit towards the 96-hour total.

Dissertation (minimum 32 semester hours)

Dissertation Proposal : Required.
Dissertation: Required. Students must register for IPHS 599 – PhD Dissertation Research 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.

Optional Concentrations