To be eligible for admission the applicant must hold the baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution, preferably with a major in biology or mathematics. Students with other health science or professional degrees are encouraged. Academic transcripts, GRE scores, three letters of recommendation and a statement of career goals must be submitted with the completed application form. Students are admitted only for the fall semester, although exceptions may be made for advanced students.
For further details contact, Dr. Lipton , Director of Admissions, (312) 413 0301
MPH students are required to complete the school's core course including biostatistics, epidemiology, administration, behavioral science, environmental science and public health concepts and practice. In addition, epidemiology majors are expected to complete coursework in epidemiology methods (theoretical and applied), infectious and chronic disease epidemiology and the critical evaluation of epidemiologic literature. MS students are required to complete coursework more focused in epidemiology and to complete a thesis in conjunction with a faculty member which will demonstrate an ability to interpret current literature and conduct epidemiologic analysis.
PhD students are required to complete advanced substantive and quantitative methods classes and to choose a substantive area of specialization. Electives may be selected from cancer, cardiovascular disease, infectious disease, social or occupational epidemiology. Thesis research is expected to make a scientific contribution to the elected substantive area of specialization and incorporate the steps of epidemiologic research for hypotheses generation to manuscript writing.
Financial aid is available for a limited number of students. At present, PhD students in epidemiology are supported by teaching or research assistantships, traineeships or university fellowships. Opportunities are available for Masters and Doctoral level students to assist in ongoing epidemiologic studies (for example an aids prevention program, cancer control project and Alzheimer Disease registry are currently ongoing in the program with longterm funding).
Employment opportunities are excellent for graduates in epidemiology, primarily in governmental agencies and educational institutions. Masters level graduates play an important role in the management of ongoing disease registries, and assisting in large population studies. Doctoral level graduates are attractive to institutions with ongoing or developing research programs.