Curriculum
EPIDEMIOLOGY PH.D. CURRICULUM
The doctoral program in Epidemiology includes coursework in epidemiology methods, public health methods, and electives. Students complete a series of core courses and electives sufficient to develop an individual area of emphasis and a dissertation. The dissertation is the capstone of the program and is expected to be a significant contribution to knowledge based on original and independent research of sufficient quality to warrant publication in peer reviewed, indexed journals. The development of grant writing skills is also emphasized through coursework.
Prerequisites
Students entering with a master’s degree in a field other than public health must complete the prerequisite courses in consultation with the PhD Director. Students must earn a grade of B or above to receive credit. These prerequisite course credits do not count toward the 69 post-master’s credit hours and a maximum of six post-masters credits earned from another nationally accredited university may be applied with the Director’s approval. Graduates of a CEPH accredited program are waived from the foundational public health course requirement. The prerequisite public health courses are as follows:
HLTH 6200 – Case Studies in Public Health, or other foundational public health knowledge course (3)
HLTH 6211 – Evidence-Based Methods, or other introductory epidemiology course (3)
HLTH 6271 – Public Health Data Analysis, or other introductory biostatistics course (3)
For detailed course descriptions please see the Course Catalog.
For program requirements please see the PhD Handbook.
Epidemiology PhD Program Courses
Public Health Methods (15 credits)
HSRD 8260 Design of Health Services Research (cross-listed with HLTH 8201) (3)
HLTH 8270 Applied Biostatistics: Regression (3)
HLTH 8271 Applied Biostatistics: Multivariate (3)
EPID 8202 Introduction to Data Management (3)
HLTH 8282 Health Survey Design and Research (3)
Professional Seminars (9 credits)
HSRD 8600 Seminar in Health Services Research* (3)
HLTH 8601 Ethics in the Public Health Profession (3)
HLTH 8603 Teaching Portfolio (3) *Three one-credit hour courses
Epidemiology Methods (18 credits)
EPID 8274 Advanced Methods in Epidemiology (3)
HLTH 6260 Analytic Epidemiology (3)
EPID 8272 Survival Analysis (3)
EPID 8273 Multilevel and Longitudinal Data Analysis (3)
EPID 8275 Spatial Epidemiology (3)
EPID 8276 Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis (3)
Electives (9 credits)
From the list below or other course(s) approved by the Program Director
ECON 6260/PPOL 8667/HSRD 8203 – Economics of Health and Healthcare (3)
PPOL 8663/HSRD 8204– Health Policy
HSRD 8261 – Healthcare Program Evaluation, Outcomes, and Quality (3)
HLTH 8221 – Qualitative Research 1: Theory Generation in Behavioral Sciences (3)
HLTH 6281 – Measurement and Scale Development
HLTH 8223 – Social Determinants of Health
Dissertation (18 credits)
HSRD 8901 – Dissertation Research (May be taken as 3, 6, or 9 credits)
All newly admitted doctoral students are required to enroll in the online non-credit course, GRAD 8990 – Academic Integrity. Students must successfully complete this course prior to registering for the next semester.
Full-time status is considered enrollment in nine credit hours or more per semester. Part-time status is considered enrollment in fewer than nine credit hours per semester. Dissertation Research is available in 3, 6, or 9 credits. Students will sit for the qualifying examination after completion of their didactic coursework. All course selections require the approval of the PhD Program Director. Students will identify a Dissertation Committee Chair during the second year of full-time study; once the Dissertation Committee chair is selected, he/she will become the student’s academic advisor for the remainder of the program.
All newly admitted doctoral students are required to enroll in the online non-credit course
GRAD 8990 – Academic Integrity. This course must be successfully completed prior to registering for the next semester.
CONTACT
Ahmed A. Arif, PhD
Professor, Director of PhD Programs in Epidemiology and Public Health Sciences
Department of Public Health Sciences
College of Health and Human Services
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
9201 University City Blvd.
Charlotte, NC 28223