General Information
Epidemiology is the study of the frequency, distribution, and determinants of disease, health, and well-being in a population-a fundamental science of public health. Biostatistics applies statistical reasoning and methods to health-related fields including public health, medicine and biomedical sciences. As core disciplines of public health, epidemiology and biostatistics are concerned with key aspects of public health investigations, covering the study design, statistical design, conduct, analysis, and interpretation of studies, and understanding of causal inference. Epidemiological and biostatistical methods are used for a wide range of public health activities, such as assessing etiological hypotheses of diseases and injuries, evaluating effectiveness of intervention programs/policies/trials, and monitoring and detecting health trends of populations.
As part of interdisciplinary teams, epidemiologists and biostatisticians collaborate with practitioners and researchers in health-related fields, monitoring population health and evaluating public health interventions, with a high degree of quantitative expertise. This typically involves understanding health-related hypotheses and surrounding issues under study; putting them into a statistically evaluable framework which guides the study design and data collection; analyzing data with respect to the hypotheses and surrounding issues; using statistical software; providing interpretation of the analysis results. Epidemiologists and biostatisticians find employment in various types of organizations and settings, including government, non-governmental organizations, research centres/groups, and the private sector involved in health. The GEC in Epidemiology and Applied Biostatistics responds to a shortage of professionals who can effectively contribute to design, conduct, monitor, analyse, and interpret a wide range of health studies.
Entrance Requirements
The embedded certificate is open to students enrolled in any degree in the School of Public Health, as well as other Faculties.
Students must be in good academic standing at the time of application for the embedded certificate. Students will be required to register for the embedded certificate no later than September 30 of their second year. For information on the application process for the embedded certificate, refer to the School of Public Health website.