Biostatistics Concentration (Residential)

Teaching & the Graduate Program

The Department of Public Health Sciences (DPHS) offers MPH, MS, and Ph.D. degrees in biostatistics that prepare our students to have a solid foundation in both statistical theory and methodology. Through rigorous course work, these programs provide innovative interdisciplinary training in analytical and mathematical sciences germane to biology, medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing, health care, and environmental sciences. In collaboration with other departments, our programs offer a wealth of opportunities for students to acquire experience and expertise in the application of biostatistical methodology and theory to biomedical, clinical, and public health problems.

Master of Public Health (MPH): Biostatistics Track

Our MPH program emphasizes the application of statistical principles and methods to problems in public health. This is an 18 to 24-month program with a capstone project. Graduates of the MPH Biostatistics track will work in a public health setting in the design of studies, collect data and perform database management, produce working tables and statistical summaries, analyze data, and interpret study results. The program offers many opportunities for students to develop these skills in a public health setting.

Career Opportunities

Biostatistics is one of the primary skills needed for the development and practice of public health. Biostatisticians partner with researchers in medical and public health fields to advance scientific discovery through involvement in designing studies, improving data collection methods, analyzing data, interpreting results, and collaborating in writing research reports and papers to disseminate research findings. Our programs prepare students to become outstanding biostatisticians in each of these areas. Our graduates are in high demand and have a wide array of career opportunities in academia, government, and industry.

Faculty

Faculty members in the Biostatistics division have expertise in areas such as categorical, longitudinal, multivariate, survival, recurrent events, multiple outcomes, and Bayesian biostatistical methods. They assume leading and collaborative roles in various clinical trials and health-related studies. They develop innovative methods to improve statistical inference and data analyses by incorporating relevant scientific knowledge from biological and clinical fields. Our faculty works closely with basic scientists, clinicians, and health services researchers to optimally design clinical and public health studies, efficiently collect and archive data, oversee data analyses, and report and interpret study results. Their clinical areas of interest include cancer prevention and control, Parkinson’s disease, cardiovascular disease, AIDS, aging and Alzheimer’s disease, oral health, genetic epidemiology, mental health, neurology, and neuroimaging.