Epidemiology Certificate - CTEPCG, CTEPOG (Ohio online)

Terms of Entry: Fall, Spring, Summer

Terms of Entry Requiring Program Permission: None

Enrollment Eligibility: Current degree-seeking, non-degree status

Certificate Overview

The 9-credit hour Graduate Certificate in Epidemiology is designed to enhance graduate education in epidemiology through gaining the essential knowledge and skills in the design and conduction of epidemiological studies, the analysis of epidemiological study data and interpretation of study results, and their application to curtailing the epidemic of chronic diseases that have become the leading causes of death in the U.S. and globally in the 21st century.  Students will also become knowledgeable in risk factors of the leading chronic diseases (such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, cerebrovascular disease/stroke and others) and population-based epidemiological approaches to their prevention and control. The need for the Graduate Certificate in Epidemiology is driven by several factors that drive the job market demand in epidemiology professionals. Firstly, despite significant progress in biomedical sciences and continuous development of new treatments, the epidemic of chronic diseases continues necessitating a combined approach to the problem including not only the individual level interventions (medical treatment by clinicians), but also the population level interventions by public health professionals. Epidemiologists are trained to deal with health and disease from the population health perspective, including investigating risk factors and critically evaluating the effectiveness of health interventions.  Secondly, epidemiologists are also essential to the design and conduction of clinical trials of new drugs – a critical step in the drug development process – as well as to the post-marketing surveillance of safety and effectiveness of new drugs in the real-world patient populations.  Thirdly, with the aging of the population, the need for better understanding of the health and disease processes in senior age groups as well as health interventions and safety and effectiveness of treatment modalities increases continuously, necessitating the need for more epidemiology trained professionals.  Expected time to complete the certificate is 2 or 3 semesters.

Certificate Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to:

1. appraise the applications of epidemiological principles and methods to establishing causality and identifying disease risk factors and protective factors;  
2. compare strengths and limitations of various designs of epidemiological studies;
3. calculate measures of prevalence and incidence, including risks and rates, and measures of the association, including relative risk and odds ratio;
4. interpret the results of epidemiological studies;
5. compare major sources of health data, including public health agencies and registries;
6. apply the principles of disease screening; 
7. apply the principles of outbreak investigation;
8. explain epidemiology of chronic diseases;
9. explain risk factors for chronic diseases;
10. discuss public health approaches to prevention and control of chronic diseases;
11. discuss the concept of the public health burden of chronic diseases;
12. explain the basic concepts of descriptive and inferential biostatistics;
13. apply biostatistical methods to quantify and propose solutions to public health problems;
14. interpret results of biostatistical analysis.

Opportunities upon Completion

The job market for epidemiology graduates is strong. Completing the epidemiology certificate prepares students for employment opportunities with federal, state and local public health agencies (ranging from state and county departments of health to the CDC and the FDA), health insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, contract research organizations conducting clinical trials on behalf of pharmaceutical companies, research divisions of healthcare systems and plans, non-government organizations and foundations (such as the American Cancer Society, etc.), clinical research centers at university hospitals, research organizations and consulting firms that conduct research in various areas, including health-related, for various clients, ranging from federal agencies and state governments to foundations and businesses.

Relationship to Parent Program

The parent program of this graduate specialized stackable certificate is the Master of Public Health (MPH) degree, with program code MP8145  /MP8175  . Neither enrollment in nor completion of the MPH degree is required to complete this certificate, but completing this certificate does fulfill 3 of 14 courses toward the MPH degree. Students admitted to this certificate may also seek admission to the MPH degree. Link to MPH program: https://www.ohio.edu/chsp/social-public-health/community-public-health/graduate.

Further Information

Link to Program: https://www.ohio.edu/chsp/social-public-health/community-public-health/graduate

Admission Requirements

No additional requirements beyond those necessary for university graduate admission.

International Students

An I-20 cannot be issued based on admission to this certificate. However, this certificate can be completed as an integral part of the MPH program (program code MP8145/MP8175), and an I-20 may be issued based on admission to that degree program.

Completion Requirements

Complete 9 credit hours as follows: