Biostatistics PhD

The Department of Biostatistics educates and trains biostatistical scientists, collaborates with researchers, and conducts methodological research. Department faculty and students work together to develop and apply statistical methods in bioinformatics, epidemiology, public health, and clinical, laboratory, or other health sciences. The rich environment of applications and a full offering of coursework on statistical methods and their theoretical underpinnings, provides a mix of practical training and book knowledge that prepares students for employment in the health industry, government agencies, and research institutions.

Requirements and Curriculum

The PhD degree requires a minimum of 72 credit hours of coursework. Additional program requirements include passing the PhD qualifier exams, participating in practical data analysis training and providing written and oral reports about the experience, and preparing a dissertation.

Required Courses (15 Credits)

All courses are 3 credit hours unless otherwise indicated.

*If you have earned your master’s degree from an accredited school of Public Health and have completed one of these courses, please see Lili Tian, PhD to request a waiver of this course requirement.

STA 621LEC - Theory of Stat Inference Credits: 3
STA 622LEC - Limit Theory Credits: 3
STA 641LEC - Theory of Linear Models Credits: 3
STA 642LEC - Topic in Advanced Modeling Credits: 3
STA 782SEM - Departmental Seminar Credits: 0 Held weekly
CHB 550LEC - Pub Hlth Popultn Wellbng Credits: 3 *

Electives (12 credits)

You must complete a minimum of 12 credit hours of electives coursework; at least 9 credits (three courses) must come from the list below. All courses are 3 credit hours. The fourth elective may be an approved, graduate-level course from outside the Department of Biostatistics that complements your study with approval from the Director of Graduate Studies.

STA 612LEC - Advanced Clinical Trial/Design Analysis Credits: 3
STA 617LEC - Adv Categorical Analysis Credits: 3
STA 661LEC - Selected Topics of Modern Statistics Credits: 3
STA 667LEC - Adv Bayesian Inference Credits: 3
STA 671LEC - Adv Sp Top in Stats Credits: 3
STA 675LEC - Adv Survival Analysis Credits: 3
STA 745LEC - Topics in Design and Analysis of Observational Studies Credits: 3

Practical Training

Practical training provides you with real-world data application experience. This requirement can be satisfied by one of the following:

working with a faculty member in a consulting or collaborative research setting
participating in an internship that has been approved by your advisor and supervisory committee
completing credit in STA 781TUT - Reading & Research with your major professor

At the conclusion, you will provide written and oral reports about your practical training to your supervisory committee.

Dissertation

Through the dissertation, you will design, implement, complete and report on significant and original, independent research. Register for STA 700TUT - Thesis Guidance each semester. Learn more about the dissertation requirements.

Total Credit Hours: 72

3.0 Degree GPA required

Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs)

1) Upon graduation, it is increasingly important that a student with a PhD in Biostatistics be able to: the design of comprehensive investigations; the novel employment of existing statistical methods to address meaningful scientific questions; the development of new statistical methodologies with immediate application to studies of the cause or treatment of disease.

2) Our students will be well prepared to apply successfully for postdoctoral or assistant professor positions.

SED Statement

This program is officially registered with the New York State Education Department (SED).