Epidemiology MD/MPH Program Requirements

The MPH in Epidemiology is a professional degree that prepares students to serve as epidemiologists in mid-level positions in public health research or practice settings. The program appeals to professionals currently employed in the health field and as well as those without previous training or experience in public health.

The MPH degree in epidemiology is highly analytical and methods-based. Students learn to apply conceptual methodology to the study of public health problems and health disparities as a means of understanding how to prevent or address them. As an MPH student in epidemiology, the knowledge base and research skills are applied within a chosen content area of current importance in the field, such as chronic or infectious disease; environmental, reproductive, molecular/cancer, or genetic epidemiology. Through coursework and other learning experiences, students gain a thorough knowledge of the sources of health data, how to collect data from original sources, process, analyze and effectively report findings from epidemiologic studies.

Graduates can design and carry out studies in which epidemiologic information is needed for making sound health policy decisions or for the management of research projects in both public and private agencies and institutions.

Program Competencies

For MPH in Epidemiology:

Identify characteristics of major study designs used in epidemiologic research, including assessment of the threats to validity for each design.
Evaluate readings from the epidemiologic literature for methodologic strengths and weaknesses, including appropriateness of the study design relative to the
research question, and potential threats to the validity of study findings.
Analyze and interpret public health and epidemiologic data, using appropriate statistical software and statistical techniques.
Write a study protocol for a specific research question, incorporating scientific rationale, study design, and details of research methods..

Admission Requirements

Students applying to master's programs at SPHTM must meet the school's general admission requirements.

Degree Program Requirements

In addition to the SPHTM academic standards, students in the MPH in Epidemiology program and those taking advanced epidemiology courses must demonstrate the following standards:

All students must complete and earn a "B" or better in the prerequisite foundational course, SPHL 6060 Epidemiology for Public Health, before advancing to EPID 7120 Epidemiologic Methods II or other advanced epidemiology courses.
Any Epidemiology student receiving a grade of "C" in any required course (including any foundation course) must repeat the course.
Epidemiology students receiving a grade of "F" in any course may not continue in the MS MPH program (unless special extenuating circumstances can be demonstrated).
To take an advanced epidemiology course, student must have a grade of "B" or better in any prerequisite courses.

The MPH Degree in Epidemiology requires 42 credits that includes:

SPHTM Foundational Requirements (15 credits)

SPHL 6020 Foundations in Public Health (3)
SPHL 6050 Biostatistics for Public Health (3)
SPHL 6060 Epidemiology for Public Health (3)
SPHL 6070 Health Systems, Policy and Management (3)
SPHL 6080 Design Strategies for Public Health Programs (3)

Program Course Requirements (11 credits)

EPID 6230 Computer Packages for Epidemiology (2)
EPID 7120 Epidemiologic Methods II (3)
BIOS 6040 Intermediate Biostatistics (3)
EPID 7130 Observational Epidemiology (3)

Advanced Methods (5 or 6 credits)

EPID 6290 Genetic Epidemiology (3)
EPID 6340 Clinical & Translational Research Methods (3)
EPID 6420 Clinical Epidemiology (3)
EPID 6500 Nutritional Epidemiology (3)
EPID 6750 Outbreak Epidemiology (3)
EPID 7160 Survey Methodology (3)
EPID 7170 Clinical Trials Design, Conduct and Analysis (3)
EPID 7220 Analytic Epidemiology (3)
EPID 7310 Meta-Analysis (3)
EPID 7410 Pharmacoepidemiology (2)

Other Elective Credits (10 credits)

MD/MPH students receive 10 credits transferred from the Tulane SOM for successfully completing specific coursework with public health relevance.

MD/MPH Rotation Applied Practice Experience (SPHL 9980)

The Applied Practice Experience (APE) (formerly practicum) is a supervised practice experience conducted in an agency or organization external to the university to gain practical experience. The APE allows students to demonstrate attainment of at least five competencies, including at least three from the foundational competencies (CEPH Criterion D2 [link)).

The APE is conducted after completion of the foundational courses. After identifying the APE setting and defining the competencies, students enter the information into Terra Dotta. An APE report is required that summarizes the field experiences. (See APE Handbook - coming soon).

Integrative Learning Experience (SPHL 7950) [Handbook available soon]

All students must complete an Integrative Learning Experience (ILE) (formerly culminating experience) that demonstrates the synthesis of foundational and concentration competencies. Students in the MPH in Epidemiology conduct a public health analysis. See ILE handbook [coming soon].

MD/MPH Director: Adam Maese

MD/MPH Senior Program Coordinator: Rachael Ruiz Currier

MD/MPH EPID Faculty Advisor: Lydia Bazzano, MD, PhD

Email: mdmph@tulane.edu

Phone: (504) 988-7055