The Interdisciplinary PhD program in Biostatistics is a collaboration between the Department of Statistics in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Division of Biostatistics in the College of Public Health.
The goal of the program in Biostatistics is to provide trained personnel to the biostatistics community, including academia, industry, and government. Our curriculum is designed to develop each student's ability to create new methodologies as well as address applied questions that arise from the biomedical sciences and public health.
Students in this program choose between one of two specializations: Methodology and Public Health, which differ in some topic emphases. Incoming students are admitted into the joint program without having to choose a specialization.
The first two years of coursework in both specializations are similar and students in both specializations may earn an MS in Statistics degree on the way to the PhD.
Methodology specialization
The Methodology specialization requires at least 60 credit hours of study, including core math and statistics courses, methodology and elective courses, and independent research for the dissertation.
Core math and statistics courses make up 41 hours of the specialization. Methodology specialization coursework is 19-20 credit hours. Dissertation research is a maximum of 21 credit hours.
Sample Methodology course sequence
| Autumn Semester | Spring Semester | |
| First Year | MATH 4545 (Analysis) STAT 6801 (Stat Theory I) STAT 6910 (Appl Stat I) |
STAT 6570 (Appl Bayes) STAT 6802 (Stat Theory II) STAT 6860 (Found Lin Mod) STAT 6950 (Appl Stat II) |
| Second Year | STAT 7301 (Adv Stat Theory I) STAT 7410 (Theory of Lin Mod) PUBHBIO 8899 (Doctoral Seminar) STAT 7201 (Theory of Prob) |
STAT 7430 (GLM) PUBHBIO 8235/STAT 7605/STAT 8605 (Adv Survival) PUBHBIO 7245/STAT 7755 (Biostat Collab) |
| Third Year | STAT 7730 (Stat Computing) Specialization Courses |
STAT 7540 (Theory Stoch Proc) Specialization or Elective Courses |
| Fourth Year and Beyond | Specialization or Elective Courses | Specialization or Elective Courses |
Public health specialization
The public health specialization requires 60 credit hours of study, including core math and statistics courses, public health and elective courses, and independent dissertation research.
Core math and statistics courses make up 41 hours of the specialization. Public health specialization coursework is 19 credit hours. Dissertation research is a maximum of 21 credit hours.
Sample Public Health course sequence
| Autumn Semester | Spring Semester | |
| First Year | MATH 4545 (Analysis) STAT 6801 (Stat Theory I) STAT 6910 (Appl Stat I) |
STAT 6570 (Appl Bayes) STAT 6802 (Stat Theory II) STAT 6860 (Found Lin Mod) STAT 6950 (Appl Stat II) |
| Second Year | STAT 7301 (Adv Stat Theory I) STAT 7410 (Theory of Lin Mod) PUBHBIO 8899 (Doctoral Seminar) Public Health-related Course |
STAT 7430 (GLM) PUBHBIO 8235/STAT 7605/STAT 8605 (Adv Survival) PUBHBIO 7245/STAT 7755 (Biostat Collab) |
| Third Year | STAT 7730 (Stat Computing) PUBHBIO 7215/STAT 6615 (Clinical Trials) |
STAT 6540 or 7540 (Appl or Theory Stoch Proc) Specialization or Elective Course |
| Fourth Year and Beyond | Specialization or Elective Courses | Specialization or Elective Courses |
