Epidemiology?

[TreyA]

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So I thought Epidemiology sounded interesting, but when looking at a curriculum for Epi it looks like it is mostly Biostats. Are Epidemiology jobs mostly dealing with Biostats?

Alright thanks

 

[erikalindsay]

There are a wide variety of jobs that someone with an MPH (in any concentration) could have. My MPH is in maternal and child health but I am "qualified" (on paper) for a variety of jobs in epi, as well. When getting an MPH (in epi or otherwise) from an accredited school, you will need to take certain core courses, which include biostats.

Anyway, here is a sample curriculum for the UMN epi MPH program to compare with the other one you were looking at:
http://www.sph.umn.edu/programs/epi/curriculum.asp

 

[Stories]

Biostats plays an important role in Epidemiology, but it isn't Epidemiology. You also need a good understanding of biology to apply to your epidemiology design, too.

 

[BETHANYP12]

How important is it to have an MPH in Epidemiology instead of general MPH? My goal is to get a job as an Epidemiologist with a local health department after I complete my MPH. I live in Dallas and am either going to University of Texas (at the Dallas UT Southwestern campus) or University of North Texas (in Fort Worth). The would much rather go to UT in Dallas but they only offer a general MPH (they do offer a PhD in Epi at the Dallas campus, so they do have several epi classes). Is it a bad decision getting a general MPH?

 

[Stories]

How important is it to have an MPH in Epidemiology instead of general MPH? My goal is to get a job as an Epidemiologist with a local health department after I complete my MPH. I live in Dallas and am either going to University of Texas (at the Dallas UT Southwestern campus) or University of North Texas (in Fort Worth). The would much rather go to UT in Dallas but they only offer a general MPH (they do offer a PhD in Epi at the Dallas campus, so they do have several epi classes). Is it a bad decision getting a general MPH?

I don't know how a "general MPH" works, but if I were a guessing man, a epi-specific MPH would have far more epidemiology training than the general degree, so it would be to your advantage (especially when your resume is being reviewed) to have "Epidemiology" on your degree, particularly if you don't have work experience explicitly depicting your epidemiology skills.

 

[abcabc1]

So I thought Epidemiology sounded interesting, but when looking at a curriculum for Epi it looks like it is mostly Biostats. Are Epidemiology jobs mostly dealing with Biostats?

Alright thanks

Epidemiology and Biostats have some overlap but they are quite different. Epidemiology is going to incorporate more knowledge of Science, diseases processes, microbiology, etc. although this knowledge can be useful in certain Biostats courses as well (like Longitudinal Data and Survival Analyses). Epidemiology is quantitative as well but, from what I have seen, it does focus more on applied material and less on theory/proofs than BIOS.

Biostats, though, is clearly heavier on the Mathematics side. As frustrating as it is, you need to know your Mathematical Statistics cold especially to study BIOS at the doctoral level. You need to know your distributions (Chi Square, Gamma, Normal, F, etc.) how they combine, likelihood tests, MGFs and all that stuff. In addition, knowing Matrix Algebra well helps a LOT in BIOS. It's all matrices; even your basic linear regression equation is all matrices and vectors, though it may not seem that way when SAS/R does it for you (although those programs themselves are performing matrix algebra). It helps to be good at proofs as well.

Within the Math spectrum, BIOS is still lighter than Applied Math, which is lighter still than Pure Math. That said, the Math in BIOS is not that easy and is going to be tough especially for those who did not major in quantitative fields in College or soon thereafter.

People in both fields will spend a lot of time in front of SAS/R screens, but I don't see them as that similar.

 

[abcabc1]

How important is it to have an MPH in Epidemiology instead of general MPH? My goal is to get a job as an Epidemiologist with a local health department after I complete my MPH. I live in Dallas and am either going to University of Texas (at the Dallas UT Southwestern campus) or University of North Texas (in Fort Worth). The would much rather go to UT in Dallas but they only offer a general MPH (they do offer a PhD in Epi at the Dallas campus, so they do have several epi classes). Is it a bad decision getting a general MPH?

In general, my view is that a 'general MPH' is not going to be worth the time. I've found that many of the general Public Health courses are not that beneficial to job seekers.

Were I in your shoes, I'd earn an MPH focused in Epidemiology over a general MPH. If possible, I'd recommend an MS in Epidemiology over an MPH, as it's typically even more focused and spends even less time on general Public Health coursework. The PhD in Epi should be OK, though I don't think UNT has an MS in Epi.

 

[jkmph]

In general, my view is that a 'general MPH' is not going to be worth the time. I've found that many of the general Public Health courses are not that beneficial to job seekers.

Agreed; pass on a "general MPH". Especially if it's from a school that isn't CEPH accredited. Some employers, such as the CDC, will not recognize a "general MPH".