Master of Public Health

MPH: Epidemiology

The Columbia MPH program in Epidemiology prepares students for careers in public health by providing the skills needed to conduct research into the causes, prevention, and control of human disease. The curriculum emphasizes mastery of methods of epidemiological research and is enriched by courses on important disease outcomes, such as AIDS, tuberculosis, and cancer, and factors important in disease causation, such as genetics, nutrition, and the environment.

Competencies

Upon graduation, MPH students in Epidemiology are able to demonstrate the following competencies:

  • Appraise epidemiological literature critically in a defined problem area using advanced bibliographic and informatics resources for purposes of evaluation, summary, and translation.
  • Analyze public health problems in terms of magnitude; person, time, and place; the distribution and determinants of both chronic and infectious diseases; and principles of disease prevention in different populations.
  • Select among common epidemiologic study designs (including ecologic, cross-sectional, cohort, and case-control) and explain their uses for solving epidemiological problems based on study goals and key sources of available data.
  • Apply appropriate epidemiologic and statistical measures to generate, calculate, and draw valid inferences from public health data.
  • Apply the foundational ethical or legal principles pertaining to the collection, maintenance, analysis, and dissemination of epidemiologic and public health information when analyzing public health data and community-based measures of health. 

 

For detailed information about the components about the Epidemiology MPH degree, including coursework, advising, certificates, practicum, and thesis, consult the Department of Epidemiology Master's Guidelines.