Biostatistics and Epidemiology

Competencies for the Master of Public Health (MPH) in Epidemiology (45 credits)

Each Concentration identifies competencies for each degree offered. These competencies reflect the full range of knowledge, skills, and other attributes that a student will acquire as a result of completing the requirements for a particular degree.

Upon graduation, a student completing the MPH curriculum in Epidemiology will be able to:

• Critique epidemiologic literature, assess its strengths and weaknesses, and determine if conclusion(s) are supported
• Use epidemiologic techniques to quantitatively assess patterns and changes in disease occurrence
• Formulate a specific hypothesis and determine an appropriate study design and analysis plan
• Design, implement, and assess ordinary data collection systems for public health research
• Design and implement basic quality control methods during data entry and analysis
• Appropriately analyze and interpret epidemiologic data, including large national and state level datasets
• Communicate and present study findings to professional audiences

Curriculum for the Master of Public Health (MPH) in Epidemiology (45 credits)

Students seeking the MPH in Epidemiology degree must complete 45 credits of academic work with a minimum GPA of least 3.0; earn no more than nine (9) credits bearing grades less than “B,” and complete the degree requirements within six years. Courses are three credit hours unless otherwise noted and semester when each course is typically offered is noted parentheses. Students should review the Forward Schedule for long-term course planning and the Course Schedule for each semester to determine when, where, and how a course is offered.

• CORE COURSES (15-18 credits)
  • PHCO 0501 - Health Systems and Policy
  • PHCO 0502 - Principles and Methods of Epidemiology
  • PHCO 0503 - Introduction to Environmental Health
  • PHCO 0504 - Introduction to Biostatistics (Prerequisite: Quantitative Skills Assessment)
  • PHCO 0505 - Social and Behavioral Health Sciences in Public Health
  • PHCO 0513 - Leadership and Management Essentials for Public Health (required for students enrolled Fall 2018 and after)
• FIELDWORK (6 credits) -- For Students Enrolled Prior to Fall 2016
  • FDWC 0600 - Fieldwork I (1 credit)
  • FDWC 0601 - Fieldwork II (5 credits)
• PRACTICUM (6 credits) -- For Students Enrolled Fall 2016 through Spring 2018
  • PRAC 0705 - Practicum I (1 credit)
  • PRAC 0707 - Practicum IIA (2 credits)
  • PRAC 0709 - Practicum IIB (3 credits)
• PRACTICUM (3 credits) -- For Students Enrolled Fall 2018 and After
  Note: Students should review the Practice Experience webpage for information about Practicum.
  • PRAC 0715 - Applied Practice Experience (0 credits) [Prerequisite: APE Learning Agreement and select PHCO and concentration courses]
  • PRAC 0716 - Practicum Capstone (3 credits) [Prerequisite: Completion of the APE and Practicum Capstone Learning Agreement]
    Current students (enrolled prior to Summer 2022) who have not yet completed PRAC 0716 should complete PRAC 0717 (completed twice); if these students complete PRAC 0716 with special permission, they are still expected to complete their Practicum Capstone over two semesters, unless they have special permission.
  • PRAC 0717 - Practicum Capstone-Two Semester (1.5 credits; required 2 times) [Prerequisite: Completion of the APE and Practicum Capstone Learning Agreement]
    Students who enrolled prior to Summer 2022 are encouraged to complete PRAC 0717 (completed twice); PRAC 0717 (completed twice) is required for students who enroll Summer 2022 and after.
  • Review the School’s Registration Calendar for important MPH Practice Experience Registration dates specific to PRAC 0715, PRAC 0716 and PRAC 0717.
• REQUIRED COURSES (15 credits) Note: Students should review the Course Descriptions in the School Catalog for specific information about prerequisites required for required courses and recommended electives. Semesters when the required courses will be offered are noted for your course planning.
  • EPID 0656 - Intermediate Epidemiologic Research Methods (Fall/Spring)
  • EPID 0657 - Applied Methods in Epidemiologic Research (Fall/Spring)
  • BIST 0535 - Biostatistical Computing (formerly Biometrics Computing) (Fall/Spring)
  • BIST 0551 - Applied Regression Analysis for Public Health Studies (Fall/Spring)
-also-
• Choose one of the following six (these classes may also be used as electives):
  • EPID 0563 - Introduction to Outcomes Research (Fall) -or-
  • EPID 0601 - Cancer Epidemiology (Spring) -or-
  • EPID 0621 - Survey Research in Epidemiology (Fall) -or-
  • EPID 0650 - Environmental and Occupational Epidemiology (Spring) -or-
  • EPID 0652 - Epidemiology of Chronic Disease (Fall) -or-
  • EPID 0673 - Social Epidemiology (Spring)
• OTHER REQUIREMENTS (0 credits) -- For Students Enrolled Fall 2018 and After
  • PRAC 0621 - Interprofessional Education (0 credits) [Fall/Spring]
    Students are required to register for and complete an Interprofessional Education activity prior to graduation.
• RECOMMENDED ELECTIVE COURSES (9 credits)
  • BIST 0615 - Categorical Data Analysis (Fall)
  • BIST 0627 - Applied Survival Data Analysis (Fall)
  • BIST 0650 - Applied Longitudinal Data Analysis (Spring)
  • BIST 0660 - Clinical Trials: Design and Analysis of Medical Experiments (Spring)
  • BIST 0688 - Statistical Methods in Genetics (Spring)
  • EPID 0552 - Infectious Disease Epidemiology (Fall)
  • EPID 0591 - Topics in Comparative Effectiveness Research in Health Care
  • EPID 0607 - Reproductive and Perinatal Epidemiology (Fall)
  • EPID 0641 - GIS in Public Health (Spring)
  • EPID 0653 - Advanced Epidemiology Research Methods
  • EPID 0672 - Pharmacoepidemiology and Therapeutic Risk Management (Spring)
  • EPID 0677 - Molecular Epidemiology: Integration of Biomarkers in Population-Based Research

Curriculum for the Master of Public Health (MPH) in Epidemiology (45 credits)

Students seeking the MPH in Epidemiology degree must complete 45 credits of academic work with a minimum GPA of least 3.0; earn no more than nine (9) credits bearing grades less than “B,” and complete the degree requirements within six years. Courses are three credit hours unless otherwise noted and semester when each course is typically offered is noted parentheses. Students should review the Forward Schedule for long-term course planning and the Course Schedule for each semester to determine when, where, and how a course is offered.

• CORE COURSES (18 credits)
  • PHCO 0501 - Health Systems and Policy
  • PHCO 0502 - Principles and Methods of Epidemiology
  • PHCO 0503 - Introduction to Environmental Health
  • PHCO 0504 - Introduction to Biostatistics (Prerequisite: Quantitative Skills Assessment)
  • PHCO 0505 - Social and Behavioral Health Sciences in Public Health
  • PHCO 0513 - Leadership and Management Essentials for Public Health
• PRACTICUM (3 credits)
  Note: Students should review the Practice Experience webpage for information about Practicum.
  • PRAC 0715 - Applied Practice Experience (0 credits) [Prerequisite: APE Learning Agreement and select PHCO and concentration courses]
  • PRAC 0716 - Practicum Capstone (3 credits) [Prerequisite: Completion of the APE and Practicum Capstone Learning Agreement]
    Current students (enrolled prior to Summer 2022) who have not yet completed PRAC 0716 should complete PRAC 0717 (completed twice); if these students complete PRAC 0716 with special permission, they are still expected to complete their Practicum Capstone over two semesters, unless they have special permission.
  • PRAC 0717 - Practicum Capstone-Two Semester (1.5 credits; required 2 times) [Prerequisite: Completion of the APE and Practicum Capstone Learning Agreement]
    Students who enrolled prior to Summer 2022 are encouraged to complete PRAC 0717 (completed twice); PRAC 0717 (completed twice) is required for students who enroll Summer 2022 and after.
  • Review the School’s Registration Calendar for important MPH Practice Experience Registration dates specific to PRAC 0715, PRAC 0716 and PRAC 0717.
• REQUIRED METHODS COURSES (12 credits) Note: Students should review the Course Descriptions in the School Catalog for specific information about prerequisites required for required courses and recommended electives. Semesters when the required courses will be offered are noted for your course planning.
  • EPID 0656 - Intermediate Epidemiologic Research Methods (Fall/Spring)
  • EPID 0657 - Applied Methods in Epidemiologic Research (Fall/Spring)
  • BIST 0535 - Biostatistical Computing(Fall/Spring)
  • BIST 0551 - Applied Regression Analysis for Public Health Studies (Fall/Spring)
-also-
• REQUIRED METHODS-FOCUSED SELECTIVE (3 credits) -- Choose one of the following ten (these classes may also be used as electives):
  • EPID 0653 - Advanced Epidemiology Research Methods -or-
  • EPID 0621 - Survey Research in Epidemiology (Fall) -or-
  • BIST 0615 - Categorical Data Analysis (Fall) -or-
  • BIST 0627 - Applied Survival Data Analysis (Fall) -or-
  • EPID 0641 - GIS in Public Health (Spring) -or-
  • BIST 0650 - Applied Longitudinal Data Analysis (Spring) -or-
  • BIST 0660 - Clinical Trials: Design and Analysis of Medical Experiments (Spring) -or-
  • BIST 0663 - Statistical Learning in Biomedical Studies (Fall) -or-
  • HBSP 0726 - Intermediate Survey Methods (Summer) Note: Doctoral-level course requires special permission from the instructor.
-also-
• REQUIRED CONTENT-FOCUSED SELECTIVE (3 credits) -- Choose one of the following nine (these classes may also be used as electives):
  • EPID 0552 - Infectious Disease Epidemiology (Fall)
  • EPID 0563 - Introduction to Outcomes Research (Fall) -or-
  • EPID 0601 - Cancer Epidemiology (Spring) -or-
  • EPID 0607 - Reproductive and Perinatal Epidemiology (Fall)
  • EPID 0650 - Environmental and Occupational Epidemiology (Spring) -or-
  • EPID 0652 - Epidemiology of Chronic Disease (Fall) -or-
  • EPID 0672 - Pharmacoepidemiology and Therapeutic Risk Management (Spring) -or-
  • EPID 0673 - Social Epidemiology (Spring) -or-
  • EPID 0676 - Intermediate Pharmacoepidemiology (Fall) -or-
  • EPID 0677 - Molecular Epidemiology: Integration of Biomarkers in Population-Based Research
• OTHER REQUIREMENTS (0 credits)
  • PRAC 0621 - Interprofessional Education (0 credits) [Fall/Spring]
    Students are required to register for and complete an Interprofessional Education activity prior to graduation.
  • RECOMMENDED ELECTIVE COURSES (6 credits)
    • Electives may be chosen from the above selective lists or, with approval of the academic advisor, from courses offered by other concentrations in the School of Public Health. An Independent Study may be done for up to 3-credits of electives, with approval of the academic advisor.

• MD/MPH with Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
• DMD/MPH with Rutgers School of Dental Medicine
• JD/MPH with Rutgers School of Law
• PharmD/MPH with Rutgers Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy
• Master of Biomedical Sciences/MPH with Rutgers Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (Rutgers Health Sciences at Newark Campus)