Twin Cities campus

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Twin Cities Campus

Epidemiology M.S.

School of Public Health - Adm
School of Public Health
Link to a list of faculty for this program.
Contact Information
School of Public Health, MMC 819, A395 Mayo Memorial Building, 420 Delaware Street, Minneapolis, MN 55455 (612-626-3500 OR 1-800-774-8636).
Email: sph-ask@umn.edu
Website: http://www.sph.umn.edu
  • Program Type: Master's
  • Requirements for this program are current for Fall 2021
  • Length of program in credits: 38
  • This program does not require summer semesters for timely completion.
  • Degree: Master of Science
Along with the program-specific requirements listed below, please read the General Information section of this website for requirements that apply to all major fields.
Note: Students are not admitted directly into the MS Epidemiology program; it is available only by special arrangement. Students interested in a master's degree in epidemiology should apply for the master of public health (MPH) degree through the School of Public Health.
Program Delivery
  • via classroom (the majority of instruction is face-to-face)
Prerequisites for Admission
The preferred undergraduate GPA for admittance to the program is 3.00.
Other requirements to be completed before admission:
Please visit www.sph.umn.edu for admission requirements.
Special Application Requirements:
Students are not admitted directly into the MS program.
International applicants must submit score(s) from one of the following tests:
  • TOEFL
    • Internet Based - Total Score: 100
    • Paper Based - Total Score: 600
  • IELTS
    • Total Score: 7.0
  • MELAB
    • Final score: 80
Key to test abbreviations (TOEFL, IELTS, MELAB).
For an online application or for more information about graduate education admissions, see the General Information section of this website.
Program Requirements
Plan B: Plan B requires 38 major credits and 0 credits outside the major. The final exam is oral. A capstone project is required.
Capstone Project:A master's project is required, equivalent to approximately 4 semester credits.
This program may be completed with a minor.
Use of 4xxx courses towards program requirements is not permitted.
A minimum GPA of 3.00 is required for students to remain in good standing.
At least 1 semesters must be completed before filing a Degree Program Form.
These requirements apply only to students admitted by special arrangement with the program; students are not admitted directly into the Epidemiology MS program. Courses must be taken A/F, unless offered only S/N. The minimum grade required for each A/F-graded course is B-.
Required Coursework (13 credits)
Complete the following:
PUBH 6348 - Writing Research Grants (2.0 cr)
PUBH 6742 - Ethics in Public Health: Research and Policy (1.0 cr)
PUBH 7401 - Fundamentals of Biostatistical Inference (4.0 cr)
PUBH 8341 - Advanced Epidemiologic Methods: Concepts (3.0 cr)
PUBH 8342 - Advanced Epidemiologic Methods: Applications (3.0 cr)
Electives (25 credits)
Select elective courses from the following list, or other electives to meet the 38-credit minimum. All courses must be selected in consultation with the advisor.
PUBH 6074 - Mass Communication and Public Health (3.0 cr)
PUBH 6078 - Public Health Policy as a Prevention Strategy (2.0 cr)
PUBH 6094 - Interventions to Address Weight-Related Health and Eating Disorders (2.0 cr)
PUBH 6140 - Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology (2.0 cr)
PUBH 6333 - Principles of Human Behavior I (2.0 cr)
PUBH 6334 - Human Behavior II (2.0 cr)
PUBH 6355 - Pathophysiology of Human Disease (4.0 cr)
PUBH 6370 - Social Epidemiology (2.0 cr)
PUBH 6381 - Genetics in Public Health in the Age of Precision Medicine (2.0 cr)
PUBH 6385 - Epidemiology and Control of Infectious Diseases (2.0 cr)
PUBH 6386 - Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention (2.0 cr)
PUBH 6387 - Cancer Epidemiology (2.0 cr)
PUBH 6389 - Nutritional Epidemiology (2.0 cr)
PUBH 6915 - Nutrition Assessment (2.0 cr)
PUBH 7391 - Independent Study: Epidemiology (1.0-4.0 cr)
PUBH 7392 - Readings in Epidemiology (1.0-4.0 cr)
PUBH 7402 - Biostatistics Modeling and Methods (4.0 cr)
PUBH 7405 - Biostatistical Inference I (4.0 cr)
PUBH 7406 - Biostatistical Inference II (3.0 cr)
PUBH 7420 - Clinical Trials: Design, Implementation, and Analysis (3.0 cr)
PUBH 7430 - Statistical Methods for Correlated Data (3.0 cr)
PUBH 7445 - Statistics for Human Genetics and Molecular Biology (3.0 cr)
PUBH 7450 - Survival Analysis (3.0 cr)
PUBH 8300 - Topics: Epidemiology (1.0-4.0 cr)
PUBH 8343 - Synthesis and Application of Methods in Epidemiologic Research (3.0 cr)
PUBH 8804 - Advanced Quantitative Methods Seminar (3.0 cr)
VMED 5180 - Ecology of Infectious Disease (3.0 cr)
VMED 8090 - Epidemiology of Zoonoses and Diseases Common to Animals and Humans (3.0 cr)
 
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· School of Public Health

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· Fall 2022

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PUBH 6348 - Writing Research Grants
Credits: 2.0 [max 2.0]
Grading Basis: A-F or Aud
Typically offered: Every Fall
Focuses on NIH research grants. Mechanisms of grant writing: specific aims, hypotheses, innovation, background, approaches, evaluation analyses, principles of informed consent, budget development, and grant-review process.
PUBH 6742 - Ethics in Public Health: Research and Policy
Credits: 1.0 [max 1.0]
Grading Basis: A-F only
Typically offered: Every Fall, Spring & Summer
Introduction to ethical issues in public health research/policy. Ethical analysis. Recognizing/analyzing moral issues.
PUBH 7401 - Fundamentals of Biostatistical Inference
Credits: 4.0 [max 4.0]
Typically offered: Every Fall
Part of two-course sequence intended for PhD students in School of Public Health who need rigorous approach to probability/statistics/statistical inference with applications to research in public health. prereq: Background in calculus; intended for PhD students in public hlth and other hlth sci who need rigorous approach to probability/statistics and statistical inference with applications to research in public hlth
PUBH 8341 - Advanced Epidemiologic Methods: Concepts
Credits: 3.0 [max 3.0]
Typically offered: Every Fall
Conceptual foundations of fundamental issues in epidemiologic methodology. How/why a given method, design, or approach might help explain population health. Strengths, limits, and potential alternatives for a given approach.
PUBH 8342 - Advanced Epidemiologic Methods: Applications
Credits: 3.0 [max 3.0]
Typically offered: Every Spring
Applied methodology course designed for students in the Epi PhD program. Examples and readings are aimed at clinical/biological and social/behavioral track students.
PUBH 6074 - Mass Communication and Public Health
Credits: 3.0 [max 3.0]
Course Equivalencies: Jour 5541/PubH 6074
Typically offered: Every Fall
This course provides an overview of theory and research that lies at the intersection of mass communication and public health. We examine the potential for media exposure to influence public health outcomes, both as a product of people's everyday interactions with media and the strategic use of media messages to accomplish public health goals. To this end, we will explore large-scale public health campaigns in the context of tobacco, obesity, and cancer screening. We also will explore news media coverage of controversial health issues, such as the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, and health information in entertainment media, such as smoking in movies. This course seeks to understand whether media messages have had intended and/or unintended effects on public attitudes and behavior. Although our focus is on mass media, interpersonal, medical, and digital media sources will be considered as well.
PUBH 6078 - Public Health Policy as a Prevention Strategy
Credits: 2.0 [max 2.0]
Typically offered: Every Fall
Philosophical, ethical, economic, political, efficacy rationale for policy approach to prevention. Historical/current application of prevention policy to public health problems. prereq: 2nd yr MPH or public health MS student or [Epi, Biostats, Env Hlth, HSRPconcurrent registration is required (or allowed) in A PhD student] or instr consent
PUBH 6094 - Interventions to Address Weight-Related Health and Eating Disorders
Credits: 2.0 [max 2.0]
Typically offered: Every Spring
Examine obesity epidemic, eating disorders, prevention and treatment approaches at multiple levels (individual, social, environmental, policy), links between obesity and eating disorders.
PUBH 6140 - Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology
Credits: 2.0 [max 2.0]
Typically offered: Every Spring
Principles/concepts in identifying health effects in workplace. Strategies for identifying excess risk, evaluating strengths/weaknesses of research techniques, assessing bias/confounding. prereq: Coursework in epidemiology, biostatistics
PUBH 6333 - Principles of Human Behavior I
Credits: 2.0 [max 2.0]
Grading Basis: A-F or Aud
Typically offered: Fall Even Year
Theoretical perspective on etiology/modification of health behavior in individuals/communities. prereq: Epi PhD student or instr consent
PUBH 6334 - Human Behavior II
Credits: 2.0 [max 2.0]
Grading Basis: A-F or Aud
Typically offered: Spring Odd Year
Critical evaluation of major behavioral public health intervention research. Experience in research designs/methods in health behavior intervention. prereq: [6333, Epidemiology grad student in behavioral track] or instr consent
PUBH 6355 - Pathophysiology of Human Disease
Credits: 4.0 [max 4.0]
Typically offered: Every Fall
Compendium of human diseases relevant to public health professionals. Focuses on cardiovascular disease, cancer, and infectious disease. Presented from epidemiologic perspective. Significance of diseases in terms of prevalence, incidence, morbidity, and mortality. Risk factors, prevention strategies. prereq: Epidemiology major or public health nutrition major or Environmental Health major or instr consent
PUBH 6370 - Social Epidemiology
Credits: 2.0 [max 2.0]
Typically offered: Spring Even Year
How a society's social interactions, past and present, yield differential exposures and differences in health outcomes between persons who make up populations. New disease-specific risk factors. How well-known exposures emerge and are maintained by social system.
PUBH 6381 - Genetics in Public Health in the Age of Precision Medicine
Credits: 2.0 [max 2.0]
Typically offered: Every Fall
Our understanding of human genomic variation and its relationship to health is expanding rapidly. This knowledge is now being translated primarily through the field of ?precision medicine? (finding the right drug for the right person at the right time). Public health, in contrast, seeks to abate the social and environmental factors that lead to disease and health disparities. This course will provide an introduction to the field of public health genomics at this interesting point in its history. Approximately one-half of the course is devoted to Genetic Epidemiology, or the science of detecting genetic risk factors for human disease. The other half of the course will cover public health genomics, including ?precision public health?, genetic screening programs, and the possibilities and pitfalls of direct to consumer marketing of genetic tests. How genomics relates to health equity will be a recurring theme of this course. This is a graduate course designed primarily for Epidemiology MPH and PhD students, and fulfills the ?Epi Of? requirement for the MPH in Epidemiology. Graduate students from other programs are very welcome.
PUBH 6385 - Epidemiology and Control of Infectious Diseases
Credits: 2.0 [max 2.0]
Typically offered: Every Spring
Principles and/ methods. Strategies for disease control and prevention, including immunization. Relevance of modes of transmission of specific agents for disease spread and prevention. Public health consequences of infectious diseases at local, national, and international levels.
PUBH 6386 - Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention
Credits: 2.0 [max 2.0]
Typically offered: Every Spring
The course will provide an introduction to cardiovascular disease (CVD) epidemiology. It is intended to provide a detailed perspective on the well-established risk factors for CVD, as well as an introduction to emerging risk factors. Both observational studies and clinical trials will be discussed. The class will include a main focus on prevention of cardiovascular disease, and national recommendations for treatment and prevention. Several classes will incorporate discussions of new directions and current controversies in CVD. Additionally, the class will introduce students to the CVD research in the Division of Epidemiology and Community Health.
PUBH 6387 - Cancer Epidemiology
Credits: 2.0 [max 2.0]
Typically offered: Fall Odd Year
Epidemiologic aspects of cancer. Theories of carcinogenesis, patterns of incidence and mortality, site-specific risk factors. Issues of cancer control and prevention.
PUBH 6389 - Nutritional Epidemiology
Credits: 2.0 [max 2.0]
Typically offered: Fall Even Year
Nutrition/disease relationships through application of epidemiologic methods. Characterization of various exposures to food/nutrient intakes, biological basis for nutrition/disease relationships. Studies of specific chronic diseases and nutritional intake. Design/interpretation of studies using nutritional measures. prereq: [[6320 or 6330 or 6341], [Epidemiology MPH or Public Health Nutrition MPH or Epidemiology PhD student]] or instr consent
PUBH 6915 - Nutrition Assessment
Credits: 2.0 [max 2.0]
Prerequisites: Public health nutrition major or #
Typically offered: Every Fall
Common nutritional assessment using dietary, biochemical, and anthropometric approaches. Applications of methods, interpretation of results. Hands-on experience, training in common anthropometric methods. prereq: Public health nutrition major or instr consent
PUBH 7391 - Independent Study: Epidemiology
Credits: 1.0 -4.0 [max 4.0]
Typically offered: Every Fall, Spring & Summer
Independent study supervised by epidemiology faculty member. prereq: [EPI major or grad student], instr consent
PUBH 7392 - Readings in Epidemiology
Credits: 1.0 -4.0 [max 4.0]
Typically offered: Every Fall, Spring & Summer
Current readings in epidemiology. prereq: Epidemiology major, instr consent
PUBH 7402 - Biostatistics Modeling and Methods
Credits: 4.0 [max 4.0]
Typically offered: Every Spring
Second of two-course sequence. Rigorous approach to probability/statistics, statistical inference. Applications to research in public health. prereq: 7401; intended for PhD students in health sciences
PUBH 7405 - Biostatistical Inference I
Credits: 4.0 [max 4.0]
Typically offered: Every Fall
T-tests, confidence intervals, power, type I/II errors. Exploratory data analysis. Simple linear regression, regression in matrix notation, multiple regression, diagnostics. Ordinary least squares, violations, generalized least squares, nonlinear least squares regression. Introduction to General linear Model. SAS and S-Plus used. prereq: [[Stat 5101 or concurrent registration is required (or allowed) in Stat 5101], biostatistics major] or instr consent
PUBH 7406 - Biostatistical Inference II
Credits: 3.0 [max 4.0]
Typically offered: Every Spring
This course introduces students to a variety of concepts, tools, and techniques that are relevant to the rigorous design and analysis of complex biomedical studies. Topics include ANOVA, sample-size calculations, multiple testing, missing data, prediction, diagnostic testing, smoothing, variable selection, the bootstrap, and nonparametric tests. R software will be used. Biostatistics students are strongly encouraged to typeset their work using LaTeX or in R markdown. prereq: [7405, [STAT 5102 or concurrent registration is required (or allowed) in STAT 5102], biostatistics major] or instr consent
PUBH 7420 - Clinical Trials: Design, Implementation, and Analysis
Credits: 3.0 [max 3.0]
Typically offered: Every Spring
Introduction to and methodology of randomized clinical trials. Design issues, sample size, operational details, interim monitoring, data analysis issues, overviews. prereq: 6451 or concurrent registration is required (or allowed) in 6451 or 7406 or instr consent
PUBH 7430 - Statistical Methods for Correlated Data
Credits: 3.0 [max 3.0]
Typically offered: Every Fall
Correlated data arise in many situations, particularly when observations are made over time and space or on individuals who share certain underlying characteristics. This course covers techniques for exploring and describing correlated data, along with statistical methods for estimating population parameters (mostly means) from these data. The focus will be primarily on generalized linear models (both with and without random effects) for normally and non-normally distributed data. Wherever possible, techniques will be illustrated using real-world examples. Computing will be done using R and SAS. prereq: Regression at the level of PubH 6451 or PubH 7405 or Stat 5302. Familiarity with basic matrix notation and operations (multiplication, inverse, transpose). Working knowledge of SAS or R (PubH 6420).
PUBH 7445 - Statistics for Human Genetics and Molecular Biology
Credits: 3.0 [max 3.0]
Typically offered: Every Spring
Introduction to statistical problems arising in molecular biology. Problems in physical mapping (radiation hybrid mapping, DDP), genetic mapping (pedigree analysis, lod scores, TDT), biopolymer sequence analysis (alignment, motif recognition), and micro array analysis. prereq: [6450, [6451 or equiv]] or instr consent; background in molecular biology recommended
PUBH 7450 - Survival Analysis
Credits: 3.0 [max 3.0]
Typically offered: Every Spring
Statistical methodologies in analysis of survival data. Kaplan-Meier estimator, Cox's proportional hazards multiple regression model, time-dependent covariates, analysis of residuals, multiple failure outcomes. Typical biomedical applications, including clinical trials and person-years data. prereq: 7405, [STAT 5101 or STAT 8101]
PUBH 8300 - Topics: Epidemiology
Credits: 1.0 -4.0 [max 80.0]
Typically offered: Periodic Fall, Spring & Summer
New course offerings or topics of interest in epidemiology.
PUBH 8343 - Synthesis and Application of Methods in Epidemiologic Research
Credits: 3.0 [max 4.0]
Typically offered: Every Fall
Focuses on the extension, synthesis, and integration of research methods taught in the advanced epidemiology methods sequence (PubH 8341 and PubH 8342) and the application of these methods. Discussion of novel methods such as causal inferences related to the g-formula and penalized regression. Fosters a deeper understanding of current epidemiologic methods and how they are actually implemented in research.
PUBH 8804 - Advanced Quantitative Methods Seminar
Credits: 3.0 [max 6.0]
Typically offered: Spring Even Year
Understand/competently use advanced quantitative methods in applied social science, policy, demographic research. Methods considered largely within or related to framework of regression analysis. Effort will be made to reflect interests of class. prereq: This is an advanced, doctoral-level course. Students are expected to have completed a full year of doctoral-level introductory statistical and/or econometric classes in their respective field prior to enrolling in this course (e.g., PubH 7401-2, ApEc8211-2, SOC 8801-8811). Exceptions may be granted with instr consent.
VMED 5180 - Ecology of Infectious Disease
Credits: 3.0 [max 3.0]
Course Equivalencies: CMB 5180/PubH 6180/PubH 6380
Typically offered: Every Fall
How host, agent, environmental interactions influence transmission of infectious agents. Environmental dissemination, eradication/control, evolution of virulence. Use of analytical/molecular tools.
VMED 8090 - Epidemiology of Zoonoses and Diseases Common to Animals and Humans
Credits: 3.0 [max 3.0]
Grading Basis: A-F or Aud
Typically offered: Every Fall & Spring
Major human zoonotic diseases, methods of transmission, diagnosis, control, and prevention. prereq: Epidemiology and infectious disease course or instr consent