Public Health

Masters Of Science In Epidemiology

INTRODUCTION

The conduct of epidemiologic research involves the study of the distribution of disease and injury in human populations. The Masters of Science (MS) in Epidemiology degree at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA is designed specifically for students interested in an in-depth training and knowledge of the research techniques appropriate to conduct epidemiologic studies in a particular concentration of health research. Masters level epidemiologists may work in applied settings conducting disease surveillance and outbreak investigations, or in research settings developing and evaluating research hypotheses generated to understanding the effects of biological, environmental, social and behavioral factors on human health. Since epidemiology is the principal science underlying disease prevention and control programs, this training is also a basic component for other degree and training programs in public health and preventive medicine.

The MS in Epidemiology degree is housed in the Department of Public Health at Temple University and designed to provide training in the two main arms of Epidemiology:

• Descriptive Epidemiology: surveillance and monitoring of disease outbreaks, including case identification, description of populations affected (prevalence), and rates of occurrence (incidence). The knowledge obtained from these descriptive studies may form the basis for disease prevention and control programs or lead to subsequent analytical, hypothesis-driven studies.
• Analytic Epidemiology: development and evaluation of research hypotheses concerning the effects of risk factors (hereditary, behavioral, environmental, and health care) on human health. Analytic studies are the basis for our understanding of health risks and this knowledge contributes to many research and prevention programs.

Upon successful completion of the MS in Epidemiology degree, students will be able to:
• Define and calculate disease frequency and measures of association between risk factors and disease.
• Describe the major research study designs along with their advantages and disadvantages.
• Describe major sources of bias in epidemiologic research.
• Demonstrate competence in methods used in outbreak investigations, infectious disease and chronic disease epidemiology, community and clinical trials and evaluation of screening programs and other preventive health services.
• Critically evaluate the scientific literature.
• Generate a research hypothesis and design an epidemiologic study to address a research question of interest.
• Write a clear, comprehensive description of an epidemiologic investigation, including rationale or background, methods, results and interpretation of findings.
• Demonstrate proficiency with statistical software packages (SPSS, SAS, Epi-Info) and conduct appropriate data analysis to answer the research hypothesis of interest.
• Demonstrate ability to discern ethical and policy issues in the collection, analysis, and application of epidemiological research.

The program may be completed on a full time or part time schedule and is designed to accommodate working professionals. For more information regarding specific course sequence and scheduling, please contact Deborah B. Nelson, PhD Program Director at dnelson@temple.edu