Requirements and Curriculum

Your program will consist of courses addressing foundational knowledge and competency areas basic to public health, required and elective concentration courses, a field training experience and a culminating project.

The MPH in biostatistics is 46 to 47 credits. Up to 9 credits may be transferred from previous coursework. The program can be completed in four semesters of full-time attendance or up to eight semesters of part-time attendance. Regardless of any waivers/substitutions, a minimum of 43 MPH credits must be completed.

On this page:

Advisement

You will be assigned a faculty advisor who will assist you in planning your academic coursework and other program requirements. Learn more about advisement.

Required courses

Students should enroll in courses following the schedule below.

  • Part-time students taking courses over multiple years should register for courses in order.
    • For example, if you take 2 courses per semester, in your first Fall semester take the first 2 courses under Year 1 Fall, and in your next Fall semester take the next 2 courses.
  • One-year accelerated students combine Fall semester years 1 and 2 for your Fall schedule, and Spring semester years 1 and 2 for your spring schedule.

Year 1 Fall Semester (13 credits)

Course order Course Credits Course Type
1. EEH 501 Principles of Epidemiology^ 4
Foundational MPH course
2. STA 502 Introduction to Statistical Inference
3
Foundational MPH course
3. STA 503 Introduction to Applied Statistics I 3 Concentration course
4. Biostatistics elective 3 Elective course

^ Students can take EEH 500 Introduction to Epidemiology (3 credits) in the Spring semester instead of EEH 501 Principles of Epidemiology if their faculty advisor approves.

Year 1 Spring Semester (12 credits)

Course order Course Credits Course Type
1. EEH 550 Environmental Health 3
Foundational MPH course
2. EEH 520 Biological Basis of Public Health+ 3
Foundational MPH course
3. STA 504 Introduction to Applied Statistics II 3 Concentration course
4. Biostatistics elective 3 Elective course

+ This course reviews biological processes of chronic and infectious diseases, which is not covered elsewhere in the MPH. Students who have satisfactorily completed college coursework in human biology, immunology, microbiology, pathophysiology, or anatomy and physiology may be able to replace this course with another concentration elective.

Year 2 Fall Semester (14 credits)

Course order Course Credits Course Type
1. CHB 501 Study of Health Behavior 3
Foundational MPH course
2. EEH 530 Introduction to Health Care Organization 3
Foundational MPH course
3. EEH 590 Leadership, Collaboration and Negotiation in Public Health 2
Foundational MPH course
4. Biostatistics elective 3 Elective course
5. STA 544 MPH Field Training* (Students should not contact the Field Training Coordinator until completing all Year 1 courses) 3 Foundational MPH course
 

To complete field training, submit your INFO Form (in the UB Learns MPH Student Resources portal) by:

  • Sept. 15 for a Winter placement
  • Oct. 15 for a Spring placement
  • Mar. 15 for a Summer placement
  • May 15 for a Fall placement
   
  MPH Field Training (3 credits) can alternately be completed in Summer of Year 1, or in Fall of Year 2.    

Year 2 Spring Semester (8 credits)

Course order Course Credits Course Type
1. CHB 507 Public Health Teams and Practice 2 Foundational MPH course
2. Biostatistics elective 3 Elective course
3. STA 630 Culminating Project
3 Foundational MPH course

Electives

Select four courses from the list below (courses are 3 credits each):

  • STA 506 Introduction to Statistical Computing
  • STA 509 Statistical Genetics
  • STA 511 Advanced Statistical Computing
  • STA 515 Distribution-Free Inference
  • STA 517 Categorical Data Analysis
  • STA 521 Introduction to Theoretical Stats
  • STA 522 Introduction to Theoretical Stats II
  • STA 525 Statistics for Bioinformatics
  • STA 526 Design and Analysis of Clinical Experiments
  • STA 531 Theory and Methods of Sample Surveys
  • STA 536 Statistical Design and Analysis
  • STA 537 Sequential Analysis
  • STA 545 Data Mining I
  • STA 546 Data Mining II
  • STA 551 Stochastic Processes
  • STA 561 Longitudinal Data Analysis and Time Series Analysis
  • STA 567 Bayesian Analysis
  • STA 571 Special Topics in Statistics           
  • STA 575 Survival Analysis
  • STA 581 Multivariate Data Analysis          

Interprofessional Collaborative Practice (IPCP)

Interprofessional collaborative practice, or the ability to work effectively on teams with professionals across many health or health-related disciplines, is an important competency for public health professionals.

MPH students, you can earn three interprofessional collaborative practice digital badges and an IPCP micro-credential through your required coursework:

IPCP Foundations Digital Badge by completing:

  • One spring Interprofessional Forum and IPCP Foundational Online Module Series in CHB 507 Public Health Teams and Practice
  • One fall Interprofessional Forum in EEH 590 Leadership, Collaboration and Negotiation in Public Health

IPCP Communication and Teamwork Digital Badge by completing IPCP Innovation Sprint with Pharmacy students in CHB 507 Public Health Teams and Practice.

IPCP Healthcare Practice Digital Badge by completing CHB/EEH/STA 544 MPH Field Training.

Earn the full IPCP micro-credential by completing all three digital badges.

All digital badges and the micro-credential are awarded to you upon completion of the activities. Current students can learn more about IPCP activities, digital badges, and the micro-credential in your courses, and by visiting the MPH Student Resources Portal.

Forms and Documentation

You will complete a series of field training forms before and during your field training experience. You will also complete and submit a field training set of slides about your experience to your advisor. Find more information about the forms in the MPH Student Resource Portal in UB Learns.

All students must also apply for graduation:

  • Students preparing to graduate must log into My Academics in their student HUB record, click on Apply for Graduation and select the MPH program and anticipated graduation semester before the appropriate deadline.
    • See details about applying to graduate in HUB.
  • Contact Noreen D. McGuire, graduate program coordinator, for more information.
Graduation Term Apply to Graduate in HUB by Conferral Date
Spring February 22 June 1
Summer July 15 September 1
Fall October 15 February 1
Graduation Requirements

To ensure you complete all of the necessary forms, review graduation requirements.

Questions? Contact Us

Contact Noreen McGuire, academic program coordinator, at noreenm@buffalo.edu or (716) 829-6142.