Academics

The department offers M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Epidemiology and, through the Fielding School of Public Health, the M.P.H. and Dr.P.H. with a specialization in epidemiology. Students are required to take a core curriculum designed to provide them with the basic methodological tools and analytic skills common to the field. After that students may select a general curriculum that focuses on quantitative methods and a broad range of health conditions in populations or emphasize selected areas such as genetics or infectious and tropical diseases.

The M.S. and Ph.D. programs are generally for students interested in careers in teaching and/or research in universities or research organizations, Students follow a more intensive curriculum in the area of methodology and biomedical sciences and usually minor in a mathematical, biologic, or social science. The M.P.H. and Dr.P.H. programs generally prepare students for careers in the practice of epidemiology in local, state, national, and international health agencies. These students obtain broad training in public health as well as in epidemiology. The M.P.H. and Dr.P.H. curriculums include courses in environmental health, behavioral sciences, biostatistics, and health services. Dissertations deal with problem-solving research of a more practical nature.

For more information, please contact Joy Miller, Academic Affairs Officer for the Department at jdmiller@ph.ucla.edu.