Doctor of Philosophy in Epidemiology
Overview
The Doctor of Philosophy in Epidemiology is designed to produce an epidemiologist with in-depth knowledge of methodology and analytic skills.
The program provides preparation in methodologic and applied epidemiology, emphasizing the use of advanced design and analytic techniques to problems of etiology, human biology, public health and evidence-based medicine. Applications are encouraged from those with strong quantitative skills who have completed an undergraduate or graduate degree in the biological sciences, public health, medicine, allied health, or related fields.
As a condition of admission, students must hold a Master’s degree in a related discipline (e.g., mathematics, statistics, epidemiology, public health) and have completed a Master’s thesis. Students entering the program with a relevant Master’s degree that does not require a thesis (e.g. Master of Public Health) will be assigned an administrative or research mentor upon entering the program who will evaluate their quantitative and writing skills before the student takes the screening exam.
Curriculum
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Fourteen units of core course work are required in year 1 as preparation for the screening exam (assuming students have completed PM 510L and PM 512 or comparable classes from MS training). Additional units of track-specific course work are required in year 2 or after.
A total of 60 units are required for completion, which may be fulfilled by any approved electives, plus dissertation research units.
After passing the screening exam, all students must enroll in at least two semesters of PM 610: Graduate Seminar in Biostatistics. The first semester of PM 610 is typically taken before the Qualifying Examination and the second semester of PM 610 before the final dissertation defense.
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Screening Exam Core Courses| 14 Units
- PM 511aL Data Analysis | 4 Units*
- PM 517a Research Methods in Epidemiology | 4 Units
- PM 517b Research Methods in Epidemiology | 4 Units
- PM 518a Statistical Methods for Epidemiological Studies I, II | 4 Units
- *PM 511b is recommended for Screening Exam
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Students choose one track: Cancer Epidemiology, Genetic Epidemiology, Environmental Epidemiology, Clinical Trials, or General Epidemiology and Methods.
Cancer Epidemiology
- INTD 504 Molecular Biology of Cancer | 4 Units
- PM 559 Cancer Epidemiology | 4 Units
- PM 570 Statistical Methods in Human Genetics | 4 Units or
- PM 579 Statistical Analysis of High-Dimensional Data | 4 Units
Genetic Epidemiology
- PM 533 Genetic and Molecular Epidemiology | 3 Units
- PM 570 Statistical Methods in Human Genetics | 4 Units
- INTD 531 Cell Biology | 4 Units or
- PM 549 Human Molecular Genetics and Genomics | 4 Units
Environmental Epidemiology
- PM 558 Environmental Epidemiology: Concepts, Methods, and Practice | 4 Units
- PM 553 Human Exposure Assessment for Public Health | 4 Units or
- PM 554 Health Effects of Environmental Contaminants | 4 Units or
- PM 555 Environmental Health, Policy and Practice | 4 Units
- PM 569 Spatial Statistics | 3 Units or
- PM 570 Statistical Methods in Human Genetics | 4 Units or
- PM 579 Statistical Analysis of High-Dimensional Data | 4 Units
Clinical Trials
- MPTX 517 Structure and Management of Clinical Trials | 4 Units
- PM 523 Design of Clinical Studies | 3 Units
- PM 511cL Data Analysis | 4 Unitsor
- PM 515 Multivariate Statistics in Health Behavior Research | 4 Units
General Epidemiology and Methods
Includes students who choose to design specific class electives with their adviser, tailored to their unique research interests.
- PM 588 The Practice of Epidemiology | 4 Units
- PM 605 Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis | 4 Units
- PM 523 Design of Clinical Studies | 3 Units or
- PM 559 Cancer Epidemiology | 4 Units or
- PM 569 Spatial Statistics | 3 Units or
- PM 579 Statistical Analysis of High-Dimensional Data | 4 Units or
- PM 607 Nutrition and Health: Myths, Controversies and Science | 4 Units
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In addition to the required courses, the remaining required units may be selected from any of the courses below.
Electives will be determined by the student’s needs and interests. When appropriate, courses not listed below may be chosen from the University course offerings with approval from the student’s adviser and Program Director. Sufficient familiarity in computer languages to operate major software packages for data management and analysis is required.
- GERO 520 Life Span Developmental Psychology | 2 or 4 Units
- INTD 504 Molecular Biology of Cancer | 4 Units
- INTD 531 Cell Biology | 4 Units
- INTD 561 Molecular Biology | 4 Units
- INTD 571 Biochemistry | 4 Units
- MICB 551 Prokaryotic Molecular Genetics | 4 Units
- MPTX 511 Introduction to Medical Product Regulation | 3 Units
- MPTX 512 Regulation of Pharmaceutical and Biological Products | 3 Units
- MPTX 513 Regulation of Medical Devices and Diagnostics | 3 Units
- PHBI 550 Seminar in Advanced Cellular, Molecular and Systemic Physiology | 1 Unit
- PM 512 Principles of Epidemiology | 4 Units
- PM 515 Multivariate Statistics in Health Behavior Research | 4 Units
- PM 516a Statistical Problem Solving | 1 Unit
- PM 516b Statistical Problem Solving | 1 Unit
- PM 517a Research Methods in Epidemiology | 4 Units
- PM 517b Research Methods in Epidemiology | 3 Units
- PM 518a Statistical Methods for Epidemiological Studies I, II | 3 Units
- PM 518b Statistical Methods for Epidemiological Studies I, II | 3 Units
- PM 522a Introduction to the Theory of Statistics | 3 Units
- PM 523 Design of Clinical Studies | 3 Units
- PM 527 Epidemiology of Infectious Disease | 4 Units
- PM 529 Environmental Health: An Epidemiological Approach | 4 Units
- PM 530 Biological Basis of Disease | 4 Units, 2 years
- PM 533 Genetic and Molecular Epidemiology | 3 Units
- PM 534 Statistical Genetics | 3 Units
- PM 538 Introduction to Biomedical Informatics | 3 Units
- PM 544L Multivariate Analysis | 3 Units
- PM 549 Human Molecular Genetics and Genomics | 4 Units
- PM 552 Statistical Methods in Clinical Trials | 3 Units
- PM 553 Human Exposure Assessment for Public Health | 4 Units
- PM 554 Health Effects of Environmental Contaminants | 4 Units
- PM 555 Environmental Health, Policy and Practice | 4 Units
- PM 558 Environmental Epidemiology: Concepts, Methods, and Practice | 4 Units
- PM 559 Cancer Epidemiology | 4 Units
- PM 569 Spatial Statistics | 3 Units
- PM 570 Statistical Methods in Human Genetics | 4 Units
- PM 571 Applied Logistic Regression | 3 Units
- PM 575 Statistical Methods in Environmental Epidemiology | 3 Units
- PM 579 Statistical Analysis of High-Dimensional Data | 4 Units
- PM 588 The Practice of Epidemiology | 4 Units
- PM 591 Machine Learning for the Health Sciences | 4 Units
- PM 603 Structural Equation Modeling | 4 Units, 2 years
- PM 605 Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis | 4 Units
- PM 607 Nutrition and Health: Myths, Controversies and Science | 4 Units
- PM 610 Seminar in Biostatistics and Epidemiology | 1 Unit
- PM 611 Advanced Topics in Epidemiology | 3 Units
- PM 790 Research | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 Units
- PM 794a Doctoral Dissertation Units: 2
- PM 794b Doctoral Dissertation Units: 2
- PSCI 665 Drug Transport and Delivery | 4 Units
- PSYC 514 Psychopathology | 4 Units
- PSYC 524 Research Design in Developmental Psychology | 4 Units
- RSCI 531 Industrial Approaches to Drug Discovery | 4 Units
- RSCI 532 Early Stage Drug Development | 3 Units
- RSCI 533 Safety Evaluation during Drug Development | 3 Units
- SSCI 581 Concepts for Spatial Thinking | 4 Units
- SSCI 582 Spatial Databases | 4 Units
- SSCI 583 Spatial Analysis and Modeling | 4 Units
- SSCI 585 Geospatial Technology Project Management | 4 Units
- SSCI 586 GIS Programming and Customization | 4 Units
- SSCI 587 Spatial Data Acquisition | 4 Units
- SSCI 588 Remote Sensing for GIS | 4 Units
- SSCI 589 Cartography and Visualization | 4 Units
- SSCI 591 Web and Mobile GIS | 4 Units
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The Screening Examination will be taken at the end of the first or second year after students have completed their core classes and covers material learned in these classes and the core knowledge of epidemiologic theory and applications. Prior to the screening examnation a mentor who will serve on the qualifying exam committee must be identified. The screening examination will consist of an applied and theory component and will be conducted in class over two to three days. The written component will be drawn from the core courses. A student failing the screening examination may be given a second opportunity to retake either one or both portions. Students failing the examination for the second time will terminate with the MS degree upon satisfactory completion of 37 units and an acceptable master’s thesis.
PhD Characteristics
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Program Director
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