The Master of Public Health program, with a Concentration in Biostatistics, provides the skills to design, analyze, and interpret the results of public health studies. Through courses covering basic biostatistical methods, advanced regression analysis, and statistical computing, students gain skills in the statistical applications important to research, including, but not limited to, study design, data management, and statistical analysis. Graduates are prepared for further study or for careers in research and project management in academia, government, or the private sector.
Competencies
In addition to the cross-cutting competencies that all MPH students master, upon completing the requirements for the MPH in Biostatistics graduates are able to:
- Analyze data from observational studies, clinical trials, epidemiological studies, medical surveys and evaluations of health care programs using statistical programming software;
- Identify potential sources of bias and confounding in study design, and develop analytic and design strategies to minimize these effects; and
- Interpret and communicate the results and limitations of statistical analyses of public health data in both technical and non-technical terms.
Summary of Biostatistics (BS) Concentration Requirements
|
Course |
Credits |
Total Credits |
| Core Courses |
Biostatistics (BS704)
|
3 |
18-22 |
Epidemiology (EP713)
|
3 |
| Enviromental Health (EH717 or EH765) |
3 or 4 |
| Health Law (LW719 or LW751)* |
3 or 4 |
| Health policy and Management (PM702 or IH704)* |
3 or 4 |
| Social and Behavioral Sciences (SB721 or IH720)* |
3 or 4 |
| Biostatistics Required Courses |
Introduction to Statistical Computing (BS723) |
4 |
16 |
| Intermediate Statistical Computing and Applied Regression Analysis (BS805) |
4 |
| Statistical Methods for Epidemiology (BS852) |
4 |
One of the following courses: Design Conduct of Clinical Trials
(BS722), Logistic Regression and Survival Analysis (BS820), Catagorical Data Analysis (BS821), Applied Statistics in Clinical Trials (BS851), or Statistical Genetics (BS858) |
4 |
| SPH Electives |
Elective Courses from any department |
4 |
12-16 |
| Required Practicum |
Practicum |
varies |
varies |
| Required Culminating Experience |
Participation at Biostatistics in Public Health Day |
0 |
|
| Total Credits: 48 |
*BS Concentrators who are neither US citizens nor permanent residents are exempted from the Health Law requirement and may substitute IH720 for SB721 and IH704 for PM702
Emphasis Areas
Students who wish to delve deeper into a specific area of Biostatistics can use concentration and school-wide electives to focus their studies in one of 4 emphasis areas:
Your advisor can help you decide if an emphasis is right for you and suggest which courses to take within that emphasis. For detailed course listings visit the Biostatistics Concentrator’s Guide.
Prospective students should contact the Department of Biostatistics staff at
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for additional information.
Clinical Trials Emphasis
The Biostatistics Clinical Trials emphasis focuses on the design and conduct of clinical trials, the principal study design for the development of new drugs, devices and behavioral treatments. Courses prepare students to design trials and to conduct appropriate statistical analysis of clinical trials. This emphasis prepares students to work in the biotechnology or pharmaceutical industry as project directors, statistical programmers, and data managers.
Observational Studies Emphasis
The Biostatistics Observational Studies emphasis focuses on statistical techniques for observational and epidemiological studies such as the Framingham Heart Study, the principal study design for investigating associations between environmental and behavioral risk factors and health outcomes. Courses prepare students to develop and implement appropriate statistical analysis plans and to appropriately interpret results. This emphasis prepares students to work in medical research, academia or government as project directors, statistical programmers and data managers.
Statistical Genetics Emphasis
The Biostatistics Statistical Genetics emphasis focuses on statistical techniques for the analysis of genetic data. Genetics play an important role in many diseases and conditions, and specialized techniques are required to analyze these data appropriately. Courses prepare students to develop and implement appropriate statistical analysis plans for genetics data, generated with cutting-edge techniques and technologies. This emphasis prepares students to work in the biotechnology or pharmaceutical industry in addition to academia or government in a number of positions including statistical programmers and data managers.
Statistical Computing Emphasis
The Biostatistics Statistical Computing emphasis focuses on statistical techniques for the analysis of medical and public health data. Statisticians play an important role in research and project teams and appropriate techniques to analyze complex datasets are critical. Courses prepare students to develop and implement appropriate statistical analysis plans, using cutting-edge techniques and applications. Various statistical computing packages are emphasized preparing students to work effectively in a variety of settings as statistical programmers, data managers or project directors.
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