Overview of Educational Programs
Departments
Biostatistics blends theoretical mathematics and applied data analysis in modern medical and biological research. Biostatisticians work with physicians, epidemiologists, health services researchers, and other scientists to design research studies and to collect and analyze data. Students in biostatistics develop and apply the quantitative techniques of mathematics, statistics, and computing appropriate to medicine, biology, and health services.
The focus of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences is to identify agents in the environment and workplace that affect human health, analyze and explain their mechanisms, assess and communicate their risks, develop strategies to reduce or eliminate their effects, and share the knowledge obtained.
Epidemiology is the study of the frequency, distribution, and determinants of disease in human populations. The overall mission of the Department of Epidemiology is to provide rigorous training in the fundamentals and practice of epidemiology, to contribute to the understanding of the etiology and prevention of disease, and to improve of the health of the public through excellence in research.
The Department of Global Health focuses on identification and evaluation of health problems and health inequities in underserved populations. It develops and implements innovative interventions that can dramatically reduce disease burden. Programs in the department promote and support interdisciplinary research that addresses global health disparities.
Health Services focuses on the organization, financing, and effectiveness of health care and public health, emphasizing how societal resources are used to respond to individual and population health needs. Research areas include the evaluation of health services delivery programs, health status measurement, outcomes and effectiveness research, and the use of large databases for health services research and evaluation.
Interdisciplinary Programs
The Nutritional Sciences Program offers an interdisciplinary MS and a PhD
degree in nutritional sciences through the Graduate School, and an MPH degree
in Public Health Nutrition through the Department of Epidemiology. The MPH
degree program provides students with skills in program planning, evaluation,
and management with an emphasis on policy issues and societal determinants
of nutrition and health. The MS program provides students with knowledge
and research skills in nutritional biochemistry, diet-disease relationships, and
clinical nutrition. The PhD program offers advanced training in nutritional
sciences, with a focus on chronic disease, cancer, obesity, diabetes, nutritional
epidemiology, and public health.
Pathobiology is the study of pathogenic biological agents and the interaction with their hosts, primarily humans. As a discipline, pathobiology combines the fundamental concepts of biology and clinical medicine. Members of the program have diverse research interests, including the molecular biology of cancer; molecular investigation of pathogenesis; drug resistance and host responses; diagnosis of diseases; development of vaccines and therapeutics; and fundamental biology of infectious agents.
The Institute for Public Health Genetics offers an MPH and a PhD in Public
Health Genetics, an MS in Genetic Epidemiology, and a concurrent MPH/JD.
The MPH and PhD programs offer training that integrates genomics with the
public health science disciplines of epidemiology, biostatistics, environmental
health, and health services, as well as with bioethics, social sciences, law, public
policy, and economics. The curriculum focuses on understanding genetic susceptibility
to disease in populations and communities, and addresses the ethical,
legal, cultural, economic, and policy issues involved in applying genomics to
public health. The MS program focuses specifically on epidemiologic methods,
biostatistics, statistical genetics, and research methods in genetic epidemiology.
Applicants are expected to have an excellent record with a bachelor’s degree and
some coursework in human genetics.
Certificate Programs
Undergraduate Programs
The Bachelor of Science in Health Informatics and Health Information Management
(HIHIM) is offered through the UW Evening Degree Program. The major
is designed to help students develop the skills necessary to administer information
technology systems in the health care environment. It prepares students for
the Registered Health Information Administrator certification examination of
the American Health Information Management Association.
| Degree Program |
Summary Table |
Program-Specific Information and Application Instructions |
| BS in Health Informatics and Health Information Management (Evening Degree) |
Summary Information |
Go to program website |
Public Health BA/BS