Ph.D. in Biostatistics
The Ph.D. program is designed to train biostatisticians who can develop innovative methods that can be utilized to solve problems in public health and biomedical sciences. In addition, graduates of the Ph.D. program will be prepared to apply statistical and epidemiological methods for the design and analysis of public health and biomedical research investigations. Finally, graduates of the Ph.D. program will be well suited to function as collaborators or team leaders on research projects in the biomedical and public health sciences.
The program requires competency in the theory of statistics and probability, in introductory and advanced statistical methods and theory, and in fundamentals of epidemiologic study design. Graduates of the doctoral program will have written a doctoral dissertation which focuses on the development of a new methodology or on the innovative application of statistical methods to a health research problem. Such innovation or development in statistical methodology is part of the student’s dissertation is expected and must entail a publication in a reputable scientific journal.
Courses
Duration: 4 years
Prerequisite courses: 9 credits
Special Courses: 18 credits
Thesis: 20 credits
Total: 47 credits
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Compensatory Courses
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Credits
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Health Information Systems
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1
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Biostatistical Inference
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3
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Biostatistical Inference 2
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3
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Biostatistical Inference 3
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3
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Survival Analysis in Medical Research
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3
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Design and Analysis of Clinical Trails
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3
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Applied Multivariate Analysis
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3
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core Specialized Course
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Statistical Inference
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3
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Linear Models
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3
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Categorical Data Analysis
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3
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Survival Data Analysis
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3
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Stochastic Process
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3
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Design and Analysis of Clinical Trials
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3
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Thesis
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20
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noncore Specialized courses
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Advanced Statistical Methods in Epidemiology
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3
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Advanced Methods of Nonparametric Statistics
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3
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Statistical Learning Theory
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3
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Computational Bayesian Statistics
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3
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Statistical Analysis in Genetics
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3
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Large Sample Theory
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3
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Multivariate Statistical Analysis
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3
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Longitudinal Data Analysis
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3
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Special Topics
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3
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Ph.D. Comprehensive Examination
The Ph.D. comprehensive examination is offered twice yearly. If the examination is not passed in the first attempt, it may be repeated one time. The examination consists of a two-day in-class component (two 3-hour examinations on consecutive days) and a follow-up oral-exam component. The in-class component contains a closed-book set of theory problems drawn from the Ph.D. required courses (please see above). The topic areas for the oral examination include topics covered by the in-class exam, as well as topics covered in Master’s degree of Biostatistics courses. The primary focus of the oral-exam is to gauge the student’s ability in presenting the statistical solution of a real-world public health or biomedical research problem.
Ph.D. Dissertation Proposal
The dissertation proposal describes the rationale for the proposed research and outlines its basic components. According to the joint interest of students and professional field of academic staff, supervisor assignments is done every years for new students. Prior to initiation of the research, the student defends her/his proposal via a public presentation in the department. Then, the proposal is submitted to the department’s research committee members (consisting of a dissertation advisor, department’s head, and department education and research representatives) for the final evaluation. A written approval by all committee members is required.
Dissertation Defense
The student and the dissertation committee are required to comply with the School of Public Health guidelines with regard to preparation of the dissertation and meeting deadlines for graduation. The pre-defense session is a necessary prerequisite. During the dissertation defense, the dissertation committee will thoroughly examine the student’s knowledge in the content area of the research.