Requirements - Clinical Specialization

The MS in Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases degree requires a total of 10 course units. The Clinical Specialization requires the student to complete or acquire an exemption or waiver from the courses listed below. Full-time students must take a minimum of 5-course units each semester. Course substitutions must be identified and approved by the student’s advisor and DGS.

All courses count as 1 credit unless otherwise noted.

MS Required Courses for Clinical Specialization (9 course units)

• EMD 525 Seminar in Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases - 0 units
  
• EMD 526 Seminar in Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases - 0 units
• EPH 505 Biostatistics in Public Health
• EPH 508 Foundations of Epidemiology and Public Health
• BIS 505 Biostatistics in Public Health II OR CDE 534 Applied Analytic Methods in Epidemiology
• EMD 517 Principles of Infectious Disease I
• EMD 518 Principles of Infectious Disease II
• EMD 530 Health Care Epidemiology: Improving Health Care Quality through Infection Prevention OR EMD 536 Outbreak Investigations: Principles and Practice
• EMD 567 Tackling the Big 3: Malaria, TB and HIV in Resource-Limited Settings OR EMD 533 Implementation Science
• EPH 608 Frontiers of Public Health
• Capstone: EMD 625 How to Develop, Write, and Evaluate an NIH Proposal OR EMD 563 Laboratory and Field Studies in Infectious Diseases

MS Electives in Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases (1 course unit)

Suggested electives include: EMD 531, EMD 537, EMD 541, EMD 546, EMD 580 and EMD 582. Alternative electives may be approved in consultation with student’s advisor and DGS.

*Students entering the program with an MPH or relevant graduate degree may be exempt from this requirement.

There will be two Capstone Course options for students enrolled in the MS in EID:

Option 1: MS students will develop a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-style research proposal focusing on a topic related to infectious disease epidemiology. This course will be taken by students in the final semester of their MS. Students will meet as a group for cross-cutting didactic sessions on reading RFAs (Requests for Applications), NIH peer review and scoring, effective grant writing and grantsmanship, and budget construction. Students will work outside of these sessions with faculty mentors in 1:1 to construct their grant proposals over the course of the semester. They will work with other students in the course to refine their projects and will deliver an oral presentation of their proposal during the final Capstone Course symposium of the end of the semester.

Option 2: MS students may elect to enroll in the EMD course entitled Laboratory and Field Studies in Infectious Diseases (EMD563). This course is intended to provide students with hands-on training in laboratory or epidemiological research techniques. Students will work 1:1 with faculty members on existing or new projects. Students choosing this option will write up and present their findings at the final Capstone Course symposium at the end of their final semester.

1. Explain the role of quantitative methods and sciences in describing and assessing a population’s health (especially in terms of risk/burden of infectious diseases)
2. Explain ecological perspective on the connection between human health, animal health and ecosystem health with respect to microbial threats
3. Analyze datasets that arise in the context of outbreaks, epidemics and endemic infectious diseases [Quantitative specialization only]
4. Design observational and/or experimental studies to study the relationship between host, microbial or environmental factors on the occurrence or control of infectious diseases. [Clinical specialization only]