MPH Is Math An Important Part Of Epidemiology?

[failureisnotfatal]

I am considering trying to get an MPH in epidemiology. Math is not my strongest subject. I am not absolutely horrible at it, but I am also not amazing at it either. I took stats 1 and got a B- and I took stats 2 and got a B. I know there are a lot of stats in this job. I also took the GRE and did well on the verbal and analytical sections, but only got a 149 on the quantitative/math section, so I am wondering how important math will be for a career in epidemiology. If I actually decide to pursue this career, will my lack of strong math skills make it more difficult for me? And will my less than stellar math skills make it more difficult/impossible for me when applying to schools of public health?(I have already looked at a few websites and my quantitative gre scores are not as high as some of the averages)

I am asking now because I have been oscillating back and forth between epidemiology and another career option for a while now and now it has come down to the wire where I actually need to choose one and start applying to places. Right now it seems like I am better suited to the other career, but I just don't know. I have to really figure out which career I am better suited for and this math situation may play a pretty big part.

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[WHOdriscoll91]

Yes, but it can be a pretty mixed answer depending on a person's position. I'd say a person's learning curve with computer software is more important.

 

[failureisnotfatal]

Yes, but it can be a pretty mixed answer depending on a person's position. I'd say a person's learning curve with computer software is more important.

I have worked with SPSS and SAS before and didn't find it horribly difficult, I am just still a little worried

 

[themmases]

Epidemiology is one of the most quantitative public health concentrations outside of biostats, so yes, it's important. For example, my curriculum at UIC requires at least 10 hours of biostats (out of a minimum of 50 hours total), and some of the epi courses are intended to link with biostats, e.g. epidemiologic computing. An MPH would generally have you taking more classes in other areas of public health rather than focusing so tightly on epi/bio, but for example Michigan's epi MPH would require 60 hours, 10 hours of which would be biostats and several of the epi courses would obviously be quant-heavy too: http://www.sph.umich.edu/epid/pdf/graduation_requirements/14_ema_60.pdf

You could look at other MPH concentrations, but it wouldn't get you out of the quantitative stuff entirely and anyway those are exactly the skills that would help you find a job. A 149 in quantitative would also limit where you could apply, because it's common for schools of public health to consider >50th percentile scores competitive, and to want higher scores in more quantitative concentrations.

Could you try retaking the GRE, and looking for syllabi of the types of courses you'd be taking? The test is very teachable if you know how to prepare. It's not unusual for intro biostats courses for non-majors to be true introductions that are suitable for people who took college math but don't have a lot of coursework specific to the field. If you already took statistics in college, you may actually be better prepared than some of your classmates.

 

[failureisnotfatal]

Epidemiology is one of the most quantitative public health concentrations outside of biostats, so yes, it's important. For example, my curriculum at UIC requires at least 10 hours of biostats (out of a minimum of 50 hours total), and some of the epi courses are intended to link with biostats, e.g. epidemiologic computing. An MPH would generally have you taking more classes in other areas of public health rather than focusing so tightly on epi/bio, but for example Michigan's epi MPH would require 60 hours, 10 hours of which would be biostats and several of the epi courses would obviously be quant-heavy too: http://www.sph.umich.edu/epid/pdf/graduation_requirements/14_ema_60.pdf

You could look at other MPH concentrations, but it wouldn't get you out of the quantitative stuff entirely and anyway those are exactly the skills that would help you find a job. A 149 in quantitative would also limit where you could apply, because it's common for schools of public health to consider >50th percentile scores competitive, and to want higher scores in more quantitative concentrations.

Could you try retaking the GRE, and looking for syllabi of the types of courses you'd be taking? The test is very teachable if you know how to prepare. It's not unusual for intro biostats courses for non-majors to be true introductions that are suitable for people who took college math but don't have a lot of coursework specific to the field. If you already took statistics in college, you may actually be better prepared than some of your classmates.

This was the exact sort of information I was looking for. Thank you. It really gives me a lot to think about now. I am thinking that I could retake the GRE, but that wouldn't really solve the root of my problem because I could study for it and retake it and get a better score on the test, but it wouldn't really make me all that much better in math in actuality. I have always been more interested in the disease elements of epi than the math elements, but now I have to really think about if I want to pursue this career. I took an into epi course and it had a lot of math, but nothing too difficult. I just have a lot of thinking to do.

 

[GUH]

10 units of biostats really isn't that much - 3 or 4 stats courses and you're done.
I did not enjoy math in college but had a great time with biostats in my MPH program. And a B is sufficient to pass, even in grad school.

Academic epidemiologists do use a ton of math/simulation. If your plan is to work for a nonprofit or public health agency, you might be able to get along fine with the basics of biostats.