Degrees in Epidemiology

The Department of Work Environment (DWE) offers a master's and a doctoral degree in Epidemiology. Credit requirements for all Master of Science Programs is now 36 credits (down from 45). The Department also offers a related graduate certificate in Environmental Risk Assessment.

Epidemiology is the study of the distribution and determinants of disease in human populations. Today's occupational epidemiologist is called upon to identify previously unsuspected diseases caused by exposure to hazards in the work environment, to assess the health risks of new technologies, to recommend a scientific basis for the setting of occupational standards to protect worker health, and to evaluate the ability of control technologies to limit health risks. Epidemiology is a highly interdisciplinary and rapidly evolving discipline that uses increasingly sophisticated statistical methods to quantify the risks of low level, long term exposures to hazardous physical and chemical agents. Similar issues pertain to the study of environmental exposures through air, water, and other routes.

To meet the need for epidemiologists in industry, government and academia, the student in the epidemiology concentration will be trained in the full spectrum of epidemiologic methods and will acquire the necessary background in the related fields of biostatistics, physiology, industrial hygiene, and ergonomics.

Degrees

Master's Degree in Epidemiology
All Epidemiology students must take the Work Environment Core (15 credits) as well as the following twelve credits of concentration courses. There are nine credits of electives.

Doctoral Degree in Epidemiology
Required courses include: a graduate course in mathematical statistics (19.686), one in pathophysiology, Epidemiologic Theory (19.725) and additional advanced courses in epidemiology and biostatistics. Examples of areas of research in which doctoral work is encouraged include: respiratory epidemiology, injury epidemiology, exposure modeling for epidemiology, occupational disease surveillance, epidemiology of musculoskeletal disorders, and occupational cancer epidemiology.

Faculty

David Kriebel, Laura Punnett, Don Milton, Susan Sama, David Wegman