Graduate Certificate in Biostatistics and Epidemiology

Program Overview

The Graduate Certificate in Biostatistics and Epidemiology equips students with advanced knowledge and skills in data analysis, epidemiology, and biostatistics. It emphasizes the application of these methods in public health research, including outbreak investigation, disease prevention, and program evaluation. The program prepares graduates for careers in public health, healthcare, and research.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

Overview:

The Graduate Certificate in Biostatistics and Epidemiology encompasses 15 credit hours. The program emphasizes the acquisition of qualitative and quantitative knowledge and skills crucial for the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of data pertaining to epidemiological investigations, health surveys, injury and illness recognition, and human exposure assessment. This Certificate provides learners with a more extensive scope and depth of quantitative knowledge and skills compared to the Certificate in Epidemiology. Notably, NOCPH MPH students are not permitted to pursue this certificate concurrently with the MPH program.

Objectives:

Upon completion of the Graduate Certificate in Biostatistics and Epidemiology, students are expected to attain the following objectives:

• Effectively select and apply suitable biostatistical and epidemiological methods, enabling them to interpret data from basic and applied research studies.
• Define and calculate measures of disease frequency and measures of association between risk factors and disease.
• Describe the major epidemiologic research study designs, along with their advantages and limitations.
• Define the fundamental terms and apply methods commonly used in outbreak investigation, infectious disease epidemiology, chronic disease epidemiology, disease prevention trials, and the evaluation of screening tests.
• Review scientific literature with competence, synthesize findings across studies, and formulate appropriate public health recommendations based on current knowledge.
• Design an epidemiologic study to address a specific question of interest.
• Clearly describe the rationale, methods, results, and interpretation of an epidemiologic investigation.
• Apply epidemiologic skills effectively in clinical or public health settings, particularly in the development or implementation of health-related programs or policies.

Outline:

Course Schedule:

The Graduate Certificate in Biostatistics and Epidemiology consists of the following courses:

• PUBH 6000/8000: Quantitative and Qualitative Data Analysis in Public Health (3 credit hours)
• PUBH 6010/8010: Public Health Epidemiology (3 credit hours)
• PUBH 6030/8030: Advanced Epidemiology (3 credit hours)
• PUBH 6060/8060: Advanced Biostatistics (3 credit hours)
• PUBH 6110/8110: Categorical Data Analysis (3 credit hours)

Individual Modules with Descriptions:

PUBH 6000/8000: Quantitative and Qualitative Data Analysis in Public Health:

This module introduces students to the fundamental principles and methods of quantitative and qualitative data analysis in public health research. Topics covered include:

• Descriptive statistics
• Inferential statistics
• Hypothesis testing
• Data visualization
• Qualitative data analysis techniques

PUBH 6010/8010: Public Health Epidemiology:

This module provides a comprehensive overview of the principles and methods of public health epidemiology. Topics covered include:

• Epidemiologic concepts and measures
• Epidemiologic study designs
• Data sources and collection methods
• Outbreak investigation and control
• Infectious disease epidemiology
• Chronic disease epidemiology

PUBH 6030/8030: Advanced Epidemiology:

This module explores advanced epidemiologic methods and their applications in public health research. Topics covered include:

• Bias and confounding
• Causal inference
• Meta-analysis
• Systematic reviews
• Program evaluation

PUBH 6060/8060: Advanced Biostatistics:

This module covers advanced biostatistical methods and their applications in public health research. Topics covered include:

• Regression analysis
• Logistic regression
• Survival analysis
• Analysis of variance (ANOVA)
• Non-parametric statistics

PUBH 6110/8110: Categorical Data Analysis:

This module focuses on the analysis of categorical data, which is commonly encountered in public health research. Topics covered include:

• Chi-square tests
• Fisher's exact test
• Logistic regression
• Multinomial regression