Curriculum
Doctoral (PhD) students who do not have a degree from a Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH)-accredited public health school or program, must take PUBHLTH 200 to meet the CEPH required 12 learning objectives.
Please note that the courses listed in the UCI Course Catalogue may vary. For the most accurate and up-to-date list of classes, please consult with your academic counselor.
Requirements
PhD requirements: At least 72 quarter credit units for degree at least 12 dissertation unit credits (84 units total): 52 units from core classes (16 epidemiology, 4 genetic epidemiology, 16 biostatistics, 4 data management, 3 research journal club, 9 seminar), 12 dissertation (minimum), 20 credits via electives and directed study. PubH200 is not considered an elective.
Required Courses
EPIDEM 200A
Epidemiologic Methods I
4 UNITS
Introduces the scope of epidemiology, measures of disease occurrence and association in populations, public health surveillance, diagnostic testing and screening studies, and methods and best practices for collecting data.
EPIDEM 200B
Epidemiologic Methods II
4 UNITS
Design, conduct and critical evaluation of randomized and observational study designs.
Prerequisite: EPIDEM 200A with a grade of B or better
Restriction: Graduate students only.
EPIDEM 200C
Epidemiologic Methods III
4 UNITS
Analysis, interpretation, and communication of epidemiologic data from different study designs.
Prerequisite: EPIDEM 200A and EPIDEM 200B. EPIDEM 200A with a grade of B or better. EPIDEM 200B with a
grade of B or better
EPIDEM 200D
Epidemiologic Methods IV
4 UNITS
Research design, questions, and analysis tasks, emphasizing theory, methods, and approaches for estimating causal effects in health/social sciences from observational data.
EPIDEM 202
Genetic Epidemiology
4 UNITS
Research principles, covering diverse study designs and methods. Integrates literature examples, lectures, demonstrations, and software applications for varied study designs, ranging from unrelated individuals to large extended kindreds.
EPIDEM 204A
Biostatistics I: Introduction to Statistical Methods
4 UNITS
This course is an introduction to the basic statistical techniques commonly used in epidemiological research. Topics will include descriptive statistics (graphical and numerical summaries of data), basic probability, inferential statistics (estimation, confidence intervals, and hypothesis testing), and contingency tables. SAS software will also be introduced.
Same as PUBHLTH 204.
Restriction: Graduate students in Epidemiology MPH, MS, PhD programs, others with permission
EPIDEM 204B
Biostatistics II: Intermediate Statistical Methods
4 UNITS
This course is the second course in the Biostatistics sequence intended for graduate students in epidemiology, public health, and clinical research fields. It will concentrate on more advanced methods of statistical analysis models that are used in biological and medical applications of statistics, including linear, logistic, and generalized linear regression models such as Poisson regression. It is assumed that the student will be familiar with statistical techniques as presented in Biostatistics I.
Prerequisite: EPIDEM 204. EPIDEM 204 with a grade of B or better
Repeatability: May be taken for credit 2 times.
Same as PUBHLTH 204B.
Restriction: Graduate students only.
EPI 204C
Biostatistics III: Advanced Statistical Methods
4 UNITS
This course is designed to cover advanced topics in statistical analysis of epidemiologic studies. It will present modern approaches to the analysis of longitudinal/clustered data. Mixed effects models and generalized estimating equation models will be studied. Missing data issues and statistical power analysis will also be covered. The main emphasis will be on selecting the appropriate statistical models as well as analyzing and interpreting the results properly for longitudinal/clustered data.
Prerequisite: EPIDEM 204B. EPIDEM 204B with a grade of B or better
Repeatability: May be taken for credit 2 times.
Same as PUBHLTH 204C.
Restriction: Graduate students only.
EPIDEM 204D
Biostatistics IV: Survival Analysis
4 UNITS
Advanced statistical analysis for epidemiologic studies, focusing on time-to-event data. Modern approaches, covering survival analysis, missing data, and statistical power analysis.
EPIDEM 220A
Data Management I
2 UNITS
Uses SAS and other types of statistical software to introduce best practices for processing, managing, and analyzing research data.
EPIDEM 220B
Data Management II
2 UNITS
Uses SAS statistical software and other types of statistical software to further enhance skills for processing, managing and analyzing research data.
Prerequisite: EPIDEM 220a with a grade of B or better
Repeatability: May be taken for credit 2 times.
EPIDEM 280 *
Epidemiology Research Skills and Journal Club
1 UNITS
Over 3 quarters, students learn how to plan and conduct a review of the existing peer-reviewed literature and of other sources to describe the current evidence for a specific scientific question, and use a current reference library; are introduced to the historical context of human subject protections, ethical issues, and regulatory and guidance information for human subjects research, and the structure and contents of an original scientific manuscript, including writing guidance. Additional time may be devoted to the discussion of recent publications in population health related fields.
Repeatability: Taken each quarter of the first year of study.
EPIDEM 282*
Epidemiology Department Seminar
1 UNITS
A forum for the presentation of recent research to epidemiology students, faculty, and other interested parties. The atmosphere is informal, yet rigorous. Speakers range from graduate students through distinguished visitors from other institutions.
EPIDEM 297 **
PhD Degree Dissertation Research & Writing
1-12 UNITS
Individual research and study necessary for a graduate student to prepare and complete the dissertation required for the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree.
Please note:
* Both EPI 280 and EPI 282 are required each quarter.
** Students must advance to candidacy before enrolling in EPI 297. EPI 297 is not taken for a grade.
Electives
Most graduate level courses (200 series) offered by Wen Public Health are allowed electives. Any graduate level courses offered outside of Wen Public Health and deemed appropriate by the student, mentor, and director of graduate studies for development of content expertise are also allowed electives. The list of approved electives follows:
| Course # | course name |
|---|---|
| EPIDEM 200E | Epidemiologic Methods V |
| EPIDEM 201 | Cancer Epidemiology |
| EPIDEM 205 | Environmental Epidemiology |
| EPIDEM 212 | Methods for Design and Implementation of Epidemiologic Research |
| EPIDEM 215 | Introduction to Statistical Genetics |
| EPIDEM 232 | Cardiovascualr Disease Epidemiology & Prevention |
| EPIDEM 275 | Special Topics in Epidemiology |
| EPIDEM 298 | Directed Study in Epidemiology |
| EPIDEM 299 | Independent Study in Epidemiology |
| PUBHLTH 208 | Advances in Social Epidemiology |
| PUBHLTH 209 | Methods of Demographic Analysis |
| PUBHLTH 210 | Theory-Driven Secondary Data Analysis |
| PUBHLTH 213 | Epidemiology in Global Health |
| PUBHLTH 222 | Health Policy & Management |
| PUBHLTH 223 | Risk Communication |
| PUBHLTH 242 | Theories of Health Communication |
| PUBHLTH 244 | Health Behavior Theory |
| PUBHLTH 245 | Health Promotion Planning |
| PUBHLTH 246 | Social Research Methods |
| PUBHLTH 247 | Program Evaluation |
| PUBHLTH 248 | Fundamentals of Maternal and Child Health – Programs, Problems, and Policy |
| PUBHLTH 251 | Models of Practice and Intervention at the Community Level |
| PUBHLTH 264 | Introduction to Environmental Health Science |
| PUBHLTH 269 | Air Pollution, Climate, and Health |
| PUBHLTH 275 | Environmental Modeling and Risk Management |
| PUBHLTH 277A | Target Organ Toxicology I |
| PUBHLTH 277B | Target Organ Toxicology II |
| PUBHLTH 278 | Industrial Toxicology |
| PUBHLTH 279 | Special Topics in Environmental & Occupational Health |
| PUBHLTH 280 | Global Burden of Disease |
| PUBHLTH 281 | Infectious Disease Epidemiology |
| PUBHLTH 282 | Climate Change and Global Health |
| PUBHLTH 283 | Geographic Information Systems for Public Health |
| PUBHLTH 286 | Advanced Geographic Information Systems and Spatial Epidemiology |
| PUBHLTH 287 | Qualitative Research Methods in Public Health |
| PUBHLTH 289 | Special Topics in Global Health and Disease Prevention |
| PUBHLTH 290 | Special Topics in Public Health |
| PUBHLTH 291A | Seminar: Advances and Challenges in Public Health |
| PUBHLTH 291B | Seminar: Advances and Challenges in Public Health |
| PUBHLTH 291C | Seminar: Advances and Challenges in Public Health |
| PUBHLTH 292 | Ethics and Responsible Conduct of Research in Public Health |
| PUBHLTH 293 | Foundations of Clinical and Translational Science |
| PUBHLTH 294 | Research Communication in Public Health |
| PUBHLTH 297 | Research Design and Proposal Writing |
| PUBHLTH 298 | Directed Studies in Public Health |
| PUBHLTH 299 | Independent Study in Public Health |
| EHS 201 | Case Studies in Environmental Toxicology |
| EHS 202 | Principles of Environmental Toxicology |
| EHS 203 | Psychosocial Occupational Epidemiology |
| EHS 204 | Neurotoxicology |
| EHS 207 | Experimental Design and Interpretation of Toxicology Studies |
| EHS 212 | Inhalation Toxicology |
| EHS 290 | Independent Study in Environmental Toxicology |
| EHS 297 | Advanced Topics in Occupational Toxicology |
| EHS 298 | Seminar in Environmental Health Sciences |
| EHS 299 | Research Problems |
