Karen Edwards, Ph.D., Doctoral Program Director
https://sites.uci.edu/publichealthepibio/doctoral-programs/

The Ph.D. program is intended to train well-qualified students to be independent contributors to epidemiology or related fields. Students are expected to finish in four to six years, and maximum time permitted is seven years. The first year is largely devoted to required course work and developing research interests, with the guidance of the faculty. There is a comprehensive exam at the end of the first year, to ensure the first-year content has been mastered. In the second and third years, students are expected to participate in faculty research, including manuscript preparation and presentation of results in public forums. The Ph.D. student is strongly encouraged to apply for fellowships and grants, as well as assist with teaching. Toward the end of the third year, the student is expected to defend a thesis proposal to the faculty.  The remaining time with the program is largely devoted to completing the thesis. The formal defense of the thesis is a public event. Graduates typically go on to post-doctoral positions, faculty positions, or positions in government or industry.

Master’s level degrees in health-related disciplines are the preferred preparation for admission to the Ph.D. in Epidemiology. However, applicants with background in other disciplines are encouraged to apply but may be required to take supplementary courses to fulfill pre-requisites for some graduate level courses in epidemiology and biostatistics.

Applicants must meet the general admission requirements of the UCI Graduate Division and submit both the Application for Graduate Admission and the School of Public Health Application Service (SOPHAS) application to be considered for admission.

Each Ph.D. student will serve as a teaching assistant during their graduate program. If English is not the student’s first language, the student must pass a campus-approved oral English proficiency exam prior to serving as a teaching assistant.

Please visit the UCI Graduate Division website, or for additional questions contact EpiGrad@uci.edu.

General Information for the Ph.D. in Epidemiology

Students are expected to finish in four to six years, and maximum time permitted is seven years. The first year is largely devoted to required course work and developing research interests, with the guidance of the faculty. There is a comprehensive exam at the end of the first year, to ensure the first-year content has been mastered. In the second and third years, students are expected to participate in faculty research, including manuscript preparation and presentation of results in public forums. The Ph.D. student is strongly encouraged to apply for fellowships and grants, as well as assist with teaching. Toward the end of the third year, the student is expected to defend a thesis proposal to the faculty.  The remaining time with the program is largely devoted to completing the thesis. The formal defense of the thesis is a public event. Graduates typically go on to post-doctoral positions, faculty positions, or positions in government or industry

Requirements for the Doctoral Degree in Epidemiology:
Completion of 72 units (40 units from required ten 4-unit core courses noted below and highlighted in yellow) and successful completion of other course requirements, milestone exams and a dissertation (PhD) project are required to earn the doctoral degree in Epidemiology.  A comprehensive exam is administered at the end of year one to ensure first-year content has been mastered.

Epidemiology PHD required courses 

EPIDEM 200A	Principles of Epidemiology
EPIDEM 200B	Intermediate Epidemiology
EPIDEM 200C	Advanced Epidemiologic Methods
EPIDEM 201	Cancer Epidemiology
EPIDEM 202	Genetic Epidemiology
EPIDEM 204A	Biostatistics I: Introduction to Statistical Methods
EPIDEM 204B	Biostatistics II: Intermediate Statistical Methods
EPIDEM 204C	Biostatistics III: Advanced Statistical Methods
EPIDEM 205	Environmental Epidemiology
EPIDEM 232	Chronic Disease Epidemiology & Prevention
EPIDEM 280	Epidemiology Research Journal Club
EPIDEM 282	Epidemiology Department Seminar
EPIDEM 296	M.S. Thesis Research and Writing
EPIDEM 297	PhD Degree Dissertation Research & Writing

EPIDEM 280 AND 282 Are Required Each Quarter

EPIDEM 296 is required for the MS degree and EPIDEM 297 is the equivalent course required for the doctoral degree. Note: Students must advance to candidacy before taking EPIDEM 296 or 297. 

EPIDEM 296 and 297 are not taken for a grade.

Please refer to our website for updated course offerings and recommended electives.