Social Epi programs

[UCMaroon]

I am interested in various aspects of social epidemiology. From my research of different programs it seems like most schools have at least a few faculty members doing work in social epi and all offer classes in social epi.

I guess my question is whether it is better to choose a school based on its history/tradition of social epi (ie- schools like Harvard, Berkeley, Michigan) or choose a school based on the program overall and assume that you will learn some social epi stuff along the way.

I should note that I am not completely wedded to social epi, I am also interested in other aspects of epidemiology and would be happy doing my research on a non social-epi topic. I just find social epi the most interesting.

Also, if people know of programs with particularly weak or strong social epi programs I would love to hear your input.

Some schools I am considering-
Michigan
Emory
UW
Harvard (waiting)


Thanks!

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[classicvendetta]

From what I understand, social epi is still a relative "new" concept (although the idea of social determinants isn't so new anymore). Most epi study is still focused on diseases, not social conditions or phenomena.

If I were you, I'd choose the school that had specific coursework in social epi. Even if you decide not to pursue it as a research topic, you will still have had the opportunity to take some classes in it. Epidemiology is a field that is heavily focused on research methodology. I'm not sure that you will obtain the necessary research techniques for social epi (social theory and qualitative data analysis, for example) "along the way" unless you seek them out intentionally.

I feel that if a school has a history of research in social epidemiology, it will be strong in other areas too. The opposite, however, may not be true.

Hopefully someone who's a current epi student will chime in but hope this helps!

 

[Stories]

From what I understand, social epi is still a relative "new" concept (although the idea of social determinants isn't so new anymore). Most epi study is still focused on diseases, not social conditions or phenomena.

If I were you, I'd choose the school that had specific coursework in social epi. Even if you decide not to pursue it as a research topic, you will still have had the opportunity to take some classes in it. Epidemiology is a field that is heavily focused on research methodology. I'm not sure that you will obtain the necessary research techniques for social epi (social theory and qualitative data analysis, for example) "along the way" unless you seek them out intentionally.

I feel that if a school has a history of research in social epidemiology, it will be strong in other areas too. The opposite, however, may not be true.

Hopefully someone who's a current epi student will chime in but hope this helps!

You actually hit what social epi is on the head. Social epi is the study of social factors and and distributions of disease.