Biostatistics - Program Learning Objectives

The MPH Program

The MPH program emphasizes statistical applications to health-related areas. MPH graduates should be able to:

• function as collaborators on public health projects, often assuming leadership of them;
• provide expert advice to fellow investigators on design and data analysis for studies in the health sciences;
• serve as the data coordinators and managers for projects involving analysis of large data bases such as those arising from multi-center clinical trials, government surveys, and the decennial census; and
• demonstrate a broad knowledge of statistical techniques as applied to problems in the health sciences.

The MS Program

The MS program is designed for students who desire an emphasis on the mathematical foundations of inference, with an emphasis on the basics of statistical methodology. The MS graduate is prepared both for employment in health related research and for providing expertise in data management, study design, and statistical inference, as a member of a multidisciplinary research team. MS graduates should be able to:

• demonstrate proficiency in mathematical statistics and the application of statistics to problems in the health sciences;
• function as collaborators on research teams;
• be effective planners and take leadership roles in the design of studies;
• demonstrate awareness of the problems involved in data collection and management; and
• participate actively in the drawing of conclusions from data and in the presentation and writing of research reports and papers.

The DrPH Program

The DrPH program is suited to those individuals who wish to apply various statistical methods to the solution of problems in the health sciences. This program provides substantial public health training, in addition to training in a large number of statistical methods that are of particular use in studying problems in public health. The nature of the DrPH dissertation is applied problem solving, and must demonstrate the ability for independent investigation. DrPH graduates should be able to:

• conduct multidisciplinary research in the health sciences;
• communicate effectively with other workers;
• abstract a practical problem into a statistical formulation; and
• demonstrate the ability to communicate the implications of models and the limitations of inferences that can be made.

The PhD Program

The PhD program is designed to train biostatisticians who can apply statistical methods to solve problems in the health sciences and who can carry out theoretical research in statistical methodology. The program requires proficiency in three areas of knowledge: biostatistics, mathematical statistics, and a field of application in the life or health sciences. The PhD dissertation must develop statistical methodology in an important area of health research and usually involves a demonstration, using recent data, of how the methods developed actually work in practice. PhD graduates should be able to:

• develop careers as faculty members;
• assume positions of leadership in government research organizations;
• develop new statistical methods;
• serve as collaborators and consultants and publish results of their research;
• demonstrate proficiency in study design, data management, and analysis and interpretation of results; and
• be proficient in both the oral and written presentation of results.