The Epidemiology and Biostatistics Track is part
of an inter-institutional program, the Oregon MPH Program, with
a common core at OHSU, Oregon State University, and Portland State
University. The epidemiology and biostatistics track provides
an opportunity for training of health professionals in the population
perspective toward health care and disease prevention. Courses
in the track emphasize the use of quantitative methodology for
analyzing and addressing health problems to support basic and
applied research in public health and health care.
The core curriculum offered to all students in the MPH program
is intended to provide an understanding of the statistical, epidemiological,
political, behavioral, environmental science, and organizational
basis of public health and of the health care system in general.
The epidemiology and biostatistics concentration focuses on providing
students with epidemiological and statistical reasoning skills
and competency in studying the distribution and dynamics of disease
in populations, in evaluating health care programs, and in conducting
clinical, behavioral, and health services research.
Click here
to download the 2008-2009 Student Handbook for the Epidemiology
and Biostatistics Track.
The Council on
Education in Public Health accredits the Oregon MPH program.
![[US News Best Graduate Schools 2004]](/public-health/localimages/usnews07.jpg)
The Oregon MPH program has been recognized three times
by US
News and World Report. It was ranked 2nd in the nation in the
area of community health programs in 2007 and 2003 and was ranked
8th in 2000 among graduate programs in community health.
The Association of Teachers of Preventive Medicine
awarded its Outstanding
Educational Program of the Year Award in 2004 to the OHSU Department
of Public Health and Preventive Medicine.
Program Length: 60 credits
Required Core Courses:
Epidemiology/Biostatistics Track Requirements:
If a student believes that previous course work may
satisfy one of the course requirements, it is possible to request
a waiver of the requirement from the faculty member teaching the
course. A copy of the course syllabus plus a transcript for the
completed course work may be submitted with a course waiver request form.
The credits must not have been used to complete another degree.
The full 60 credits must still be completed for the MPH degree.
Up to 16 credits may be transferred in to OHSU to complete the degree.
A request for transfer of credits form is available in the department
office.
For graduates of the Epidemiology and Biostatistics Track who do
not also have an additional degree in medicine, veterinary medicine,
or other doctoral degree, there are several areas where they may
find work:
The majority of graduates obtain positions in
a health agency in a section that matches a particular interest
of theirs. The health agency could be county, state, or federal
government. Some graduates, for example, pursue extra training or
a position at the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), either investigating
disease problems in different states or providing epidemiologic
input to specific disease control programs run by the CDC. Other
graduates may work in other aspects of disease control in a state
or county health department, or even in foreign countries. Additional
locations might include other federal agencies like the Food
and Drug Administration, Environmental
Protection Agency, National
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and other agencies
that must base policy decisions on scientific evaluation of human
data.
A second area of occupation is in research.
The Epidemiology and Biostatistics Track provides an extremely good
basis for conceptualizing and carrying out epidemiologic research,
or clinical research with epidemiologic study designs. Graduates
may work on a project at an institution like the Kaiser
Permanente Center for Health Research or a number of research
projects carried out at OHSU.
A third general area is in the evaluation or
assessment of health care delivery and the quality of care provided.
The skills gained in this program enable graduates to work in a
health care delivery or reimbursement organization that is interested
in testing different methods of improving care and evaluating different
methods of care delivery. Such a person might work at Regence
Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Providence
Health System, a hospital quality improvement project, or any
other agency associated with the provision of care.
Also, there is a need for people in the drug
and medical equipment industry to help conduct safety and efficacy
tests of the products to be marketed, and to conduct the surveillance
of possible problems after marketing.
Lastly, a number of graduates of this program
have become interested in additional education either in medicine,
epidemiology at the PhD level, or other graduate programs.
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