The Master of Science (M.S.) degree program in Public Health (PH) is designed with an emphasis on mastering the skills in individual specialty areas within public health. Programs are currently offered in Biostatistics, Chronic Disease Epidemiology, and Health Informatics. The length of study leading to the M.S. degree is two years full-time for the Biostatistics and Health Informatics tracks and one year full-time for the Chronic Disease Epidemiology track. Part-time students (Biostatistics and Chronic Disease Epidemiology tracks only) must complete the degree within five years of matriculation.
The M.S. in PH is offered through the School’s affiliation with the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. The Graduate Studies Executive Committee (GSEC) and the director of graduate studies (DGS) are responsible for overseeing the progress of M.S. students.
Biostatistics Track (BIS)
The M.S. in Biostatistics is a two-year program. It is designed to train students to meet the growing need in managed care organizations, medical research, and the pharmaceutical industry for graduates with technical skills in data analysis. In contrast to the more general M.P.H. degree, the M.S. degree emphasizes the mastery of biostatistical skills from the beginning of the plan of study. While graduates of this program may apply to the Ph.D. degree program, the M.S. degree is itself quite marketable as a terminal degree.
Degree Requirements
The Biostatistics track requires the completion of fifteen required and elective courses (excluding EPH 600a; the Seminar, BIS 525a and b; and the Summer Internship, BIS 695c). Students demonstrating a mastery of topics covered by the required courses may replace them with more advanced courses but must receive written permission from the DGS prior to enrolling in the substitute courses.
Curriculum
Required Courses
| Course number | Course title | Course units |
|---|---|---|
| †BIS 525a and b | Seminar in Biostatistics and Journal Club | n/a |
| BIS 540a | Fundamentals of Clinical Trials | 1 |
| BIS 623a | Applied Regression Analysis | 1 |
| BIS 625b | Categorical Data Analysis | 1 |
| BIS 628b | Longitudinal and Multilevel Data Analysis | 1 |
| BIS 630b | Applied Survival Analysis | 1 |
| BIS 678a | Statistical Practice I | 1 |
| BIS 679a | Advanced Statistical Programming in SAS and R | 1 |
| BIS 681b | Statistical Practice II | 1 |
| †BIS 695c | Summer Internship in Biostatistical Research | n/a |
| ‡EPH 508a | Foundations of Epidemiology and Public Health | 1 |
| †EPH 600a | Research Ethics and Responsibility | n/a |
| *S&DS 541a | Probability Theory | 1 |
| *S&DS 542b | Theory of Statistics | 1 |
*These courses are offered in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.
†These courses do not count toward the fifteen required courses.
‡Students entering the program with an M.P.H. or relevant graduate degree may be exempt.
In addition, students must complete two Biostatistics elective courses chosen from the list below and two Statistics and Data Science electives at the 600 level. Students will also be required to take a Professional Skills Seminar (dates and times announced during the fall term).
Biostatistics electives are to be selected from these courses: BIS 557a, Computational Statistics; BIS 567a, Bayesian Statistics; BIS 643b, Theory of Survival Analysis; BIS 646b, Nonparametric Statistical Methods and Their Applications; BIS 651b, Spatial Statistics in Public Health; and BIS 691b, Theory of Generalized Linear Models.
Students wishing to complete a thesis may enroll in BIS 650b in the second year. This would be an additional requirement and cannot replace any of the required courses noted above. All students who complete a thesis will be required to present their research during a public seminar to the Biostatistics faculty and students in order to graduate.
Competencies
Upon receiving an M.S. in the Biostatistics track of Public Health, the student will be able to:
- Describe advanced concepts of probability, random variation, and commonly used statistical probability distributions.
- Develop an efficient design for collecting, recording, and storing data collected in the conduct of public health and medical research.
- Develop sample size and statistical power calculations for basic study designs including those utilized in clinical trials.
- Design efficient computer programs for study management, statistical analysis, as well as presentation using SAS and other programming languages.
- Produce edited data sets suitable for statistical analyses.
- Apply advanced informatics techniques with vital statistics and public health records in the description of public health characteristics and in public health research and evaluation.
- Perform analyses of stated hypotheses using a variety of analytical tools including analysis of variance, multiple regression, nonparametric statistics, logistic regression, multivariate analyses, and methods for analyzing rates and failure-time data.
- Interpret results of advanced statistical analyses and use these results to make relevant inferences from data.
- Produce working tables and statistical summaries describing research in health science.
- Develop written presentations based on intermediate to advanced statistical analyses for both public health professionals and educated lay audiences.
- Develop oral presentations based on intermediate to advanced statistical analyses for both public health professionals and educated lay audiences.
Chronic Disease Epidemiology Track (CDE)
There is a high demand for well-trained graduates in chronic disease epidemiology. This track provides intensive training in epidemiology and research methods for medical and health care professionals, or others seeking the skills necessary to conduct epidemiological research in their professional practice.
Applicants should have a basic understanding of quantitative science and statistics. It is recommended that candidates have strong science backgrounds and demonstrated competency in statistical analysis and logical thinking. Applicants from rigorous programs in the biological or social sciences will be given preference. At a minimum, applicants should have one year of course work in statistics or the equivalent prior to enrolling in this program. Summer courses are available to fulfill this requirement. Full-time applicants are preferred.
Degree Requirements
The CDE track consists of required and elective course work and satisfactory completion of the Capstone experience. A total of ten courses is required (excluding EPH 600a and the Seminar, CDE 525a and b). It is expected that this program will be completed during a single academic year. Students with an M.P.H. or relevant graduate degree may be eligible to substitute advanced courses for some of the required courses. Written permission of the DGS is required prior to enrolling in substitute courses.
Curriculum
Required Courses
| Course number | Course title | Course units |
|---|---|---|
| BIS 623a | Applied Regression Analysis | 1 |
| BIS 625b | Categorical Data Analysis | 1 |
| BIS 630b | Applied Survival Analysis | 1 |
| CDE 516b | Principles of Epidemiology II | 1 |
| †CDE 525a,b | Seminar in Chronic Disease Epidemiology | n/a |
| *CDE 617b | Developing a Research Proposal | 1 |
| EPH 508a | Foundations of Epidemiology and Public Health | 1 |
| †EPH 600a | Research Ethics and Responsibility | n/a |
Suggested electives (three courses are required):
| Course number | Course title | Course units |
|---|---|---|
| BIS 540a | Fundamentals of Clinical Trials | 1 |
| BIS 561b | Advanced Topics and Case Studies in Multicenter Clinical Trials | 1 |
| BIS 621a | Regression Models for Public Health | 1 |
| BIS 643b | Theory of Survival Analysis | 1 |
| BIS 645b | Statistical Methods in Human Genetics | 1 |
| CDE 520b | Case-Based Learning for Genetic and Environmental Diseases | 1 |
| CDE 532b | Epidemiology of Cancer | 1 |
| CDE 533b | Topics in Perinatal Epidemiology | 1 |
| CDE 535b | Epidemiology of Heart Disease and Stroke | 1 |
| CDE 545a | Health Disparities by Race and Social Class: Application to Chronic Disease Epidemiology | 1 |
| CDE 551b | Global Noncommunicable Disease | 1 |
| CDE 562b | Nutrition and Chronic Disease | 1 |
| CDE 572a | Obesity Prevention and Lifestyle Interventions | 1 |
| CDE 597a | Genetic Concepts in Public Health | 1 |
| *CDE 600a or b | Directed Readings | 1 |
| CDE 650a | Introduction to Evidence-Based Medicine and Health Care | 1 |
| SBS 531a | Health and Aging | 1 |
*In the capstone course CDE 617b, the student is required to develop a grant application that is deemed reasonably competitive by the instructor. An alternative to this capstone course is an individualized tutorial (CDE 600a or b), in which the student completes a manuscript that is suitable for submission for publication in a relevant journal.
†These courses do not count toward the ten required courses.
Competencies
Upon receiving an M.S. in the Chronic Disease Epidemiology track of Public Health, the student will be able to:
- Explain and apply the terminology and definitions of epidemiology.
- Evaluate the scientific merit and feasibility of epidemiologic study designs.
- Describe the epidemiology of common chronic diseases.
- Synthesize information from a variety of epidemiologic and related studies.
- Design epidemiologic studies at an intermediate level.
- Analyze data and draw appropriate inferences from epidemiologic studies at an intermediate to advanced level, using a variety of analytical tools including multivariate logistic regression, Poisson regression, linear regression, and survival analysis.
- Write an epidemiologic research proposal or a publishable epidemiologic article.
- Identify, interpret, and use routinely collected data on disease occurrence.
- Review, critique, and evaluate epidemiologic reports and research articles at an intermediate level.
Health Informatics Track (HI)
This two-year M.S. provides a well-rounded training in health informatics, with a balance of core courses from such areas as information sciences, clinical informatics, clinical research informatics, consumer health and population health informatics, and data science, and more broadly health policy, social and behavioral science, biostatistics, and epidemiology. First-year courses survey the field; the typical second-years courses are more technical and put greater emphasis on mastering the skills in health informatics.
Applicants should typically have an undergraduate degree with a focus in health, computer science, and mathematics/statistics. Applicants must submit scores from either the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) or the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) General Test. Students whose native language is not English must take the TOEFL examination. Part-time enrollment is not permitted.
Degree Requirements
The M.S. in Health Informatics consists of a total of fourteen courses (not including EPH 600, Research Ethics and Responsibility): eight required courses, four electives, and satisfactory completion and presentation of a yearlong capstone project. Students demonstrating a mastery of topics covered by the required courses may replace them with more advanced courses but must receive written permission from the DGS and their adviser prior to enrolling in the substitute courses.
Curriculum
Required Courses
| Course number | Course title | Course units |
|---|---|---|
| *CB&B 740a | Clinical Translation Informatics | 1 |
| *CB&B 750b | Core Topics in Bioinformatics | 1 |
| EPH 505a | Biostatistics in Public Health | 1 |
| EPH 600a | Research Ethics and Responsibility | n/a |
| *S&DS 565b | Data Mining and Machine Learning | 1 |
| TBA (a and b) | Capstone Project | 2 |
Suggested electives (four courses are required):
| Course number | Course title | Course units |
|---|---|---|
| BIS 540a | Fundamentals of Clinical Trials | 1 |
| BIS 557a | Computational Statistics | 1 |
| BIS 623a | Applied Regression Analysis | 1 |
| BIS 625b | Categorical Data Analysis | 1 |
| BIS 643b | Theory of Survival Analysis | 1 |
| BIS 651b | Spatial Statistics in Public Health | 1 |
| BIS 679a | Advanced Statistical Programming in SAS and R | 1 |
| BIS 692b | Statistical Methods in Computational Biology | 1 |
| *CB&B 760a | Population Health Informatics | 1 |
| **CPSC 477b | Natural Language Processing | 1 |
| EMD 533a | Implementation Science | 1 |
| EPH 510a | Health Policy and Health Care Systems | 1 |
| HPM 560b | Health Economics and U.S. Health Policy | 1 |
| HPM 570a | Cost-Effectiveness Analysis and Decision-Making | 1 |
| *IMED 625a | Principles of Clinical Research | 1 |
| †MGT 534b | Personal Leadership: Leading the Self Before Others | 1 |
| †MGT 656a | Management of Software Development | 1 |
| ‡NURS 922b | Introduction to Clinical Research Informatics | 1 |
*These courses are offered in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.
**This course is offered in Yale College.
†These courses are offered in the School of Management.
‡This course is offered in the School of Nursing.
In addition, in the second year of the program, students are required to complete an independent capstone project under the direction of a faculty member. This project may fall into one of the main areas: clinical informatics—clinical informatics; clinical research informatics; population health informatics; and implementation of new methods and technology—and may include elements from several of these areas. Students are required to prepare a carefully written report and make an oral presentation of the work to the faculty and students. A capstone committee consisting of two faculty members and one outside reader will provide guidance to the candidate as to the suitability of the project and will monitor its progress.
Competencies
Upon receiving an M.S. in the Health Informatics track of Public Health, the student will be able to:
- Select informatics methods appropriate for a given public health context.
- Compare the health information system structure and function across regional, national, and international settings.
- Assess population informatics needs, assets, and capacities that affect communities’ health.
- Propose strategies to identify stakeholders and build coalitions and partnerships for influencing public health informatics.
- Communicate audience-appropriate public health content, both in writing and through oral presentation.
- Apply systems thinking tools to a public health informatics issue.