Program Curriculum
Foundational Courses Required
- Causal Inference (3)
- Epidemiologic Theory and Methods I, II and III (4 credits each, 12 total)
- Principles of Biostatistics I (4)
- Current Topics in Epidemiology (1)
- Modern Regression Analysis (4)
- Scientific Writing I – Manuscripts, Abstracts, and Posters (1)
- Research Ethics (1)
- Scientific Writing II – Proposal Development in Epidemiology (2)
- Epidemiologic Methods: Design and Analysis with Time-to-Event Data (4)
- Advanced Methods for Epidemiology (measurement error, missing data, intermediate variables, complex study design, meta-analysis, splines, propensity scores, simulation) (3)
- Non-Candidate Research Hours (0-4)
- Dissertation Hours (0-4)
Optional Courses
Human Genetics
Recommended Human Genetics course sequence for Epidemiology Ph.D. students:
- HGEN 8330 (Special Topics in Human Genetics)
- HGEN 8340 (Human Genetics I)
- MPB 8341 (Human Genetics II), requires permission from instructor and received an A in HGEN 8330 or has passed HGEN 8340
- EPI 8333 (Analytical Techniques for Genetic Epidemiology)
- HGEN 8390 (Genetic Epidemiology)
Other Elective Courses
- Clinical Trials
- Decision Analysis and Cost Effectiveness
- Molecular Techniques for Public Health Research
- Biostatistics (e.g. Methods for Accommodating Missing Data)
- Biomedical Informatics
- Content Area Course/Seminar (e.g. genetics, global health, healthcare, infectious disease, pharmacoepidemiology) (2)
- Event surveillance and mathematical modeling of dispersion (3)
- Advanced Predictive Modeling and Simulation (4)
- Biostatistics (e.g. Advanced Probabilistic Concepts)
- Health Policy
Example of Distribution of Course Credits of Candidate Completing in Four Years
This table shows an example of a typical student’s course completion.
First Semester | Second Semester | Total Credits |
First Year | ||
Causal Inference (3) Epidemiologic Theory & Methods I (4) Principles of Biostatistics (4) Current Topics in Research (1) |
Epidemiologic Theory & Methods II (4) Modern Regression Analysis (4) Scientific Writing I (2) Content Area Elective (2) |
|
Credits: 12 | Credits: 12 | Year: 24 |
Second Year | ||
Epidemiologic Theory & Methods III (4) Content Area Elective (4-6) |
Epidemiologic Methods: Design and Analysis with Time-to-Event Data (4) Content Area Elective (4) Scientific Writing II (2) [Comprehensive Examination] |
|
Credits: 10 | Credits: 10 | Year: 20 |
Third Year | ||
Advanced Methods Elective Modules: splines, propensity score methods, advanced techniques for model fit assessment (1) – up to 3 total Non-Candidate Research (0-4) [Dissertation Proposal Defense] |
Advanced Methods Elective Modules: clustered data, repeated measures growth models, advanced methods for missing data (1) – up to 3 total Methods Elective (3) Dissertation Research (0-3) |
|
Credits: 6 | Credits: 9 | Year: 15 |
Fourth Year | ||
Dissertation Research (0-3) Methods Electives(2) |
Dissertation Research (0-4) [Dissertation Defense] |
|
Credits: 5 | Credits: 4 | Year: 9 |
Transfer Credits*: 4 | ||
Program Total: 72 | ||
*Advanced quantitative coursework credits likely to transfer from Master’s studies subject to approval. |
Feel free to contact epi.phd@vanderbilt.edu with any questions.