Program Overview

PhD Program in Epidemiology and Biostatistics – Mission Statement

The Doctoral Program in Epidemiology and Biostatistics within the Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences (PQHS) aims to prepare students for meaningful, lifelong careers in academia, healthcare, industry, and beyond—all in service of improving human health.

Our program equips students to tackle pressing research challenges through a rigorous, multidisciplinary approach that draws from a broad spectrum of population and quantitative health sciences. These include biostatistics, epidemiology, global and community health, health behavior and prevention, genomic epidemiology, bioinformatics, and computational biology.

Through a blend of comprehensive classroom instruction and hands-on research, students gain the analytical tools and collaborative experience needed to investigate critical questions in human and population health. PhD candidates are trained to identify unmet needs, develop innovative research strategies, and drive impactful solutions on local, national, and global scales.

Ultimately, the program is dedicated to fostering the skills and mindset essential for lifelong learning, recognizing this as a cornerstone of enduring professional success in a rapidly evolving field.

PhD Policies

For PhD policies and procedures, please review the School of Graduate Studies section of the General Bulletin.

Program Requirements

The Doctor of Philosophy degree in Epidemiology and Biostatistics in the Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences comprises 42 credit hours from the following components:

• Required Curriculum (24 credit hours)
• Electives (18 credit hours)

In addition, students must fulfill the following requirements:

• Department Research Seminar (8 semesters)
• Pass the Qualifying Exam
• Dissertation Research (18 credit hours)

The required curriculum is designed to provide PhD students with a strong foundation in epidemiology and biostatistics and related areas - the fields that comprise population and quantitative health sciences - and the methodological and analytic training to conduct rigorous, high quality research in the student’s selected specialization or concentration.

Required Courses

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The SOM requires that PhD students who are 4 years beyond their initial RCR training in IBMS 500, register for IBMS 501.

Electives

Electives are chosen in consultation with the student’s mentor and mentoring committee.

Seminars

Attending research seminars is integral to our graduate program and student’s professional development. Students are required to attend weekly research seminars. These seminars provide a forum for students to develop skills in scientific presentation, thought and communication, and balance general and concentration-specific speakers and topics. Meeting locations may vary from week to week depending upon the speaker. Each student is required to attend in person eight semesters of seminars. All students are required to present once a year during research seminars after their first year in the program.

Qualifying Exam

Following the completion of the core required courses at the end of their second year; students will take an oral exam based on required coursework that involves analyses of a novel data set. This will include a description of the results, their interpretation and a short proposal on alternative or future research directions based on these findings. Students will be given two attempts to pass this examination. A second failure will result in dismissal from the program.

Dissertation

After passing the qualifying examination and completing second-year course work, students will select a dissertation committee and develop a thesis proposal, based on anticipated research for their dissertation. This will be presented to the student’s Dissertation committee that will evaluate the written document and an oral defense of the document. This will be completed no later than the end of the fall semester of the third year. Successful completion of this exam will move the student to candidacy. Each student will be allowed two attempts to pass the oral defense of the proposal.

Students are required to complete 18 credits of dissertation (PQHS 701) prior to graduation.