Questions about epidemiology

[mustang66]

Hello;
I have a BA in psychology and am interested in pursuing a degree in public health. I am interested in epidemiology, but did not take many science or math courses in my undergrad. Will this be a strike against me? My major GPA is 3.7, while my cumulative is 3.3. I'm wondering if I will need to go back and take some additional science and math courses before I can get accepted. I am in Tulsa Oklahoma, and the OU Tulsa campus offers public health degrees which would be very convenient for me. They also offer a joint MSW/MPH degree that I may look into.
Lastly, how math intensive is the epidemiology course load? I'm not intimidated by math so much, but if it's completely grueling I may reconsider this path. Thank you for reading and I wish you all great luck.

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[SnakeCharmer]

Hi there -

I'm looking into an MPH program/epidemiology track too. I am currently working on a second BS degree and am considering changing my major to Psychology, so we have these things in common! My major was BSN, but I've changed my mind about nursing...

The MPH program I'm considering only lists a few pre-reqs on their website. Those are:
College algebra and one other math (statistics qualifies)
At least 2 college-level biology courses

I'm going to contact the school soon to see if there is anything else I should take. It just doesn't seem like that's enough for an epidemiology path, but who knows?

I've taken Bio 101, A&P I and II, and Microbiology. I have not taken a math course yet (and the ones I took for my 1st BS degree don't qualify now...long story). I'm hoping to take the CLEP exam for College Algebra and possibly for Statistics too (if not, I will take that course @ the university). I don't have a strong math background either, but I've been studying independently because I want to CLEP out of as many classes as possible (saves time and $$$).

Anyway, enough of my rambling...I hope someone comes along and answers your questions more adequately. 🙂

 

[Epi2013]

Hi guys! I'm just beginning my MPH in Epi, but maybe I can help you out a little. I'm not quite sure what you mean when you say "math" because that can mean calculus to some people and basic division to others. For epi programs, you will be required to take epi courses which will utilize statistics. You will also be required to take several biostatistics courses. If you consider statistics to be "math", then I guess you could say that epi requires a bit of math.

If you have questions for me, feel free to PM me. Best of luck on your decision.

 

[LiteBear2011]

The extent of math needed depends on the kind of epidemiology one would like to do. For the most part, most epidemiology students should be competent in basic statistics (including regression models) at the time of graduation. If you are interested in modeling infectious diseases, then the math could be as advanced as multivariable calculus and linear algebra.

 

[mustang66]

Thank you for the feedback guys. I took college algebra and behavioral statistics in my bachelors program. That is it. I'm just wondering if I'm going to drown when I enter an epi program since I didn't take much math/stats during my bachelors. I suppose If I needed I could take a course or two this coming up spring to freshen myself up.

I am in Tulsa, OK and the University of Oklahoma has a campus in town that offers public health degrees. This would be my number 1 choice since it would allow me to keep my job and not relocate.

 

[SnakeCharmer]

I suppose If I needed I could take a course or two this coming up spring to freshen myself up.

I am in Tulsa, OK and the University of Oklahoma has a campus in town that offers public health degrees. This would be my number 1 choice since it would allow me to keep my job and not relocate.

I'm brushing up on math and statistics skills independently - check out khanacademy.org - it is a free website with video instruction for everything from basic math and statistics to differential equations, etc. That site also has biology, chemistry, and other science videos. You might be able to freshen up that way, instead of taking courses.

I'm going to continue working through school too. Does the University of Oklahoma have a part-time MPH program? I'll be attending Old Dominion here in VA - they have a joint program with Eastern VA Medical School.

 

[mustang66]

I'm brushing up on math and statistics skills independently - check out khanacademy.org - it is a free website with video instruction for everything from basic math and statistics to differential equations, etc. That site also has biology, chemistry, and other science videos. You might be able to freshen up that way, instead of taking courses.

I'm going to continue working through school too. Does the University of Oklahoma have a part-time MPH program? I'll be attending Old Dominion here in VA - they have a joint program with Eastern VA Medical School.

What an excellent site, snakecharmer. Thank you, I will be kept quite busy with it. Yes, OU does. IT's mainly cut out for working adults, I will find out more very soon.

 

[jaya88]

Hi,
I'm a first student in CHS. I have a somewhat similar math/science background as you but not the behavioral stats. So, for the required epi class, a lot of people find it quite easy. I love the class and it isn't the hard BUT there are tons of equations to memorize and I don't know about other schools, but I find that 5 classes, one of those biostats, to be quite time consuming and it is hard to devote enough time to study for epi. That being said, I think I could manage another semester of Epi but any of the other required Epi classes would require more undergrad science classes.

I have a friend who was accepted into the CHS program but transferred to Epi. In order to do so, she had to show she had taken biology, chemistry and microbiology to transfer.

I would suggest looking at a course catalog to determine the required courses for each program you are considering and then read through the course descriptions. A lot of times the course description will give you a better idea and list any prerequistes.

Good luck!
Jaya