Curriculum

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Public Health Curriculum - Epidemiology (72 credits)

Students seeking the Ph.D. in public health-epidemiology degree must complete a minimum of 72 credits of academic work with a minimum GPA of at least 3.2 overall and a 3.2 in the set of required courses specified by the concentration; earn no more than 9 credits bearing grades less than B; and complete the degree requirements within seven years. Courses are 3 credits unless otherwise noted.

PREREQUISITES

Prerequisites do not count toward the 72-credit Ph.D. curriculum. MPH from an accredited school or program meets prerequisite PHCO coursework requirements (not BIST 0535). PHCO 0502 and PHCO 0504 must be completed before Year 1, fall semester (e.g., online summer before) if student does not have graduate-level coursework in these two areas.

• PHCO 0502 - Principles and Methods of Epidemiology (or equivalent)
• PHCO 0504 - Introduction to Biostatistics [Prerequisite: Quantitative Skills Assessment] (or equivalent)
• BIST 0535 - Biostatistical Computing (or equivalent)

PH.D. IN PUBLIC HEALTH CORE COURSES (9 credits)

• PHCO 0512 - Public Health Foundations (If a student holds an M.P.H. from a CEPH-accredited school or program of public health, course is waived, but not the credits.)
• ENOH 0701 - Public Health Research Ethics
• HBSP 0700 - Advances in Public Health Theories

REQUIRED CONCENTRATION COURSES (30 credits)
Note: Students should review the Course Descriptions in the School Catalog for specific information about prerequisites required for required courses and recommended electives.

Biology of Disease (3 credits)

• ENOH 0560 - Public Health Biology and Physiology -OR- ENOH 0594 - Environmental and Occupational Toxicology can be waived by the Academic Advisor for students with a biology or clinical background, but not the credits
  

Methods (27 credits)

• EPID 0656 - Intermediate Epidemiologic Research Methods
• EPID 0657 - Applied Methods in Epidemiologic Research
• EPID 0702 - Epidemiology Journal Club-PhD (0.5 credit; required 6 times). If a student took EPID 0700, this former course is accepted but the student should also discuss with their Academic Advisor
  
• EPID 0753 - Advanced Epidemiologic Research Methods with Applications
• BIST 0551 - Applied Regression Analysis for Public Health -OR- BIST 0610 - Advanced Regression Methods for Public Health Studies
• BIST 0615 - Categorical Data Analysis
• BIST 0627 - Applied Survival Data Analysis -OR- BIST 0727 - Survival Analysis
• BIST 0650 - Applied Longitudinal Data Analysis -OR- BIST 0750 - Longitudinal Data Analysis
• HBSP 0726 - Intermediate Survey Research Methods

RECOMMENDED ELECTIVES COURSES (9 credits; 6 credits must be doctoral level)

• EPID 0552 - Infectious Disease Epidemiology
• EPID 0563 - Introduction to Outcomes Research
• EPID 0569 - GIS for Public Health and Epidemiology
• EPID 0591 - Topics in Comparative Effectiveness Research in Health Care
• EPID 0601 - Cancer Epidemiology
• EPID 0607 - Reproductive and Perinatal Epidemiology
• EPID 0650 - Environmental and Occupational Epidemiology
• EPID 0672 - Pharmacoepidemiology and Therapeutic Risk Management
• EPID 0673 - Social Epidemiology
• EPID 0676 - Intermediate Pharmacoepidemiology
• EPID 0752 - Epidemiology of Chronic Diseases
• EPID 0770 - Advanced Seminar in Epidemiology I
• EPID 0771 - Advanced Seminar in Epidemiology II
• BIST 0655 - Biocomputing II
• BIST 0660 - Clinical Trials: Design and Analysis of Medical Experiments
• BIST 0688 - Statistical Methods in Genetics
• BIST 9688 - Data Mining
• BIST 9655 - Nonparametric Statistics
• ENOH 9627 - Advanced Multivariate Methods for Environmental Health Issues
• HSAP 0617 - Health Services Research and Evaluation
• UGPH 0605 - Qualitative Research Methods
• UGPH 0744 - Methods for Research among Hidden Populations

REQUIRED RESEARCH (24 credits)

• RESH 0701 - Doctoral Colloquium I (0 credits) Taken in fall and spring in Year 1
  
• RESH 0702 - Doctoral Colloquium II (0 credits) Taken in fall and spring in Year 2
  
• RESH 0760 - Doctoral Research (20 credits)
• RESH 0761 - Doctoral Research: Dissertation Proposal Seminar (3 credits) Taken in Spring in Year 2
• 1611-5556 - Ethical Scientific Conduct (1 credit) [Offered through School of Graduate Studies] Taken in spring in Year 1
  

OTHER REQUIREMENTS (0 credits)

• Pass Qualifying Exam (written and oral) Typically completed at the end of Year 2
  
• RESH 0730 - Ph.D. Seminar (0 credits) Attend Ph.D. seminar once per month for fall and spring semesters, every year
• Earn a Teaching Certificate from Rutgers Teaching Assistant Program (TAP) (0 credits) or complete HBSP 0725 - Effectively Teaching and Training Adults (3 credits)
• Complete Ethical Scientific Conduct Refresher (0 credit) Taken in Year 5
• Complete Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) online training on Human Subject Research Protections (For Student Enrolled Fall 2024 and After)
  

All PhD students are expected to engage in research activities with their Faculty Advisor.