Catalogue 2007-08

• Keck School of Medicine of USC
• Department of Preventive Medicine
  • Undergraduate Degree
  • Minor Programs
  • Graduate Programs
  • Master's Degrees
  • Dual Degree
  • Doctor of Philosophy Programs
  • Courses of Instruction
    • Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
    • Preventive Medicine

Master's Degrees

Master of Science in Applied Biostatistics/Epidemiology

Course Requirements

General requirements include at least 37 units of required courses as follows: 24 units of core courses and at least 9 units of elective courses. In addition, each student must register for four units of 594ab Thesis and write a master's thesis.

Core courses (24 units)		Units
PM 510L	Principles of Biostatistics	4
PM 511aL	Data Analysis	4
PM 512	Principles of Epidemiology	4
PM 517a	Research Methods in Epidemiology	3
PM 518a	Statistical Methods for Epidemiological Studies	3
PM 523	Design of Clinical Studies	3
PM 527	Epidemiology of Infectious Disease	3

Electives (at least 9 units)		units
PM 511bL	Data Analysis	4
PM 515	Behavioral Epidemiology	3
PM 516ab	Statistical Problem Solving	1-1
PM 517b	Research Methods in Epidemiology	3
PM 529	Environmental Health	3
PM 530	Biological Basis of Disease	4
PM 533	Genetic and Molecular Epidemiology	3
PM 590	Directed Research	1-12
PM 611	Advanced Topics in Epidemiology	3

Thesis (4 units)
PM 594ab	Thesis	2-2

Electives will be determined by the student's needs and interests and will be approved by the student's advisor. When appropriate, courses not listed above may be chosen with approval of the student's advisor. Sufficient familiarity in computer languages to operate major software packages for data management and analysis is required.

Thesis Requirement

A master's thesis is required of all students. This thesis consists of a research project approved by the faculty and chosen from problems encountered within the department, in other departments of the Keck School of Medicine or university or elsewhere in the community.

Master of Science in Biostatistics

Course Requirements

General requirements include at least 37 units of required courses as follows: 26 units of core courses and at least 7 units of elective courses. Each student must also register for four units of 594ab Thesis and write a master's thesis.

Core Courses (26 units)		Units
PM 510L	Principles of Biostatistics	4
PM 511abL	Data Analysis	4-4
PM 512	Principles of Epidemiology	4
PM 513	Experimental Designs	3
PM 518a	Statistical Methods for Epidemiological Studies	3
PM 522a	Introduction to the Theory of Biostatistics	4

Electives (at least 7 units)		units
PM 516ab	Statistical Problem Solving	1-1
PM 518b	Statistical Methods for Epidemiological Studies	3
PM 520	Advanced Statistical Computing	3
PM 522b	Introduction to the Theory of Biostatistics	4
PM 523	Design of Clinical Studies	3
PM 534	Statistical Genetics	3
PM 544L	Multivariate Analysis	3
PM 552	Survival Methods in Clinical Trials	3
PM 590	Directed Research	1-12
PM 603	Structural Equation Modeling	4
PM 604	Health Behavior Research Methods	4

(or MATH 506, MATH 542, MATH 543, MATH 545L, MATH 547, MATH 548, MATH 549, MATH 550, MATH 551L

Thesis (4 units)
PM 594ab	Thesis	2-2

The student's choice of elective courses will be directed by needs and interests and must be approved by the student's graduate advisor. When appropriate, elective courses not listed above may be substituted with approval of the advisor. Sufficient familiarity in computer languages to operate major software packages for data management and analysis is required.

Thesis Requirement

A master's thesis is required of all students. This thesis consists of a research project approved by the faculty and chosen from problems encountered within the department, in other departments of the Keck School of Medicine or university or elsewhere in the community.

Master of Science in Molecular Epidemiology

Course Requirements

The M.S. program requires 37 graduate-level units with a minimum grade point average of 3.0 including epidemiology core courses, 14 units; molecular biology core courses, 12 units; at least 3 elective units; laboratory research plus thesis, 8 units. Students must also complete a master's thesis.

Prerequisite: PM 510 Principles of Biostatistics

Epidemiology Core courses (14 units)		Units
PM 511aL	Data Analysis	4
PM 512	Principles of Epidemiology	4
PM 518a	Statistical Methods for Epidemiological Studies	3
PM 533	Genetic and Molecular Epidemiology	3

Molecular Biology Core Courses (12 units)		Units
BIOC 543	Human Molecular Genetics	4
INTD 504	Molecular Biology of Cancer, or
INTD 555	Biochemical and Molecular Basis of Disease	4
INTD 571	Biochemistry	4

Electives (at least 3 units)		Units
INTD 561	Molecular Genetics/Biology	4
PM 517a	Research Methods in Epidemiology	3
PM 523	Design of Clinical Studies	3

Laboratory research + thesis (8 units)		units
DPT 590abcd	Directed Research	1-1-1-1
DPT 594ab	Thesis	2-2
(1) DPT refers to the department offering the laboratory/directed research experience and thesis supervision. DPT is one of the following departments (but not restricted to): PM, BIOC, PATH.
(2) Laboratories should expose students to: statistical and epidemiological methods, molecular techniques, human genetics, population-based studies.

Master of Public Health

Course Requirements

The master's degree program in public health (M.P.H.) requires a minimum of 43-47 semester units of required and elective graduate study.

Core Requirements		Units
PM 501	Foundations in Health Education and Promotion	4
PM 508	Health Service Delivery in the U.S., or
PM 509	Comparative Health Care Systems	4
PM 510L	Principles of Biostatistics	4
PM 512	Principles of Epidemiology	4
PM 529	Environmental Health: An Epidemiological Approach	4

In addition, at least another 24 to 28 units including the practicum must be completed in a selected track of either health education and health promotion, biostatistics/epidemiology, nutrition, health communication, child and family health, or global health leadership.

Track 1: Health Education and Health Promotion

Required Courses (12 units)		Units
PM 526*	Communication in Public Health, or
PM 562*	Intervention Approaches for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention	4
PM 528	Program Design and Evaluation	4
PM 563	Organizing and Mobilizing Communities for Global Health	4

At least 4 units from: PM 505, PM 514, PM 525, PM 526*, PM 530, PM 536, PM 562*, PM 564 (4 unit courses)

At least 3 units from any 500- or 600-level course

And, 8 units of a practicum (PM 593) ending in a final report.

*May not receive credit for both track core and track elective category.

Track 2: Biostatistics/Epidemiology

Required Courses (at least 10 units)		Units
PM 511aL	Data Analysis	4
Select two courses from the following:
PM 527*	Epidemiology of Infectious Disease	3
PM 536*	Program Evaluation and Research	4
PM 537*	Chronic Disease Epidemiology	3

At least 6 units from: PM 511bL, PM 514, PM 532, PM 536, PM 542, PM 546* (4 unit courses); PM 515, PM 523*, PM 527*, PM 537*, PM 538 (3 unit courses)

At least 3 units from any 500- or 600-level course

And, 8 units of a practicum (PM 593) ending in a final report.

* May not receive credit for both track core and track elective category.

Track 3: Nutrition

Required Courses (12 units)		Units
PM 531	Research Methods in Nutrition	4
PM 535	Nutrition in Public Health	4
PM 540	Maternal and Child Nutrition	4

At least 4 units from: PM 541 (4 unit course); PM 561 (3 unit course); PM 521ab, PM 539 (2 unit courses)

At least 3 units from any 500- or 600-level course

And, 8 units of a practicum (PM 593) ending in a final report.

Track 4: Health Communication

Required Courses (8 units)		Units
PM 526	Communications in Public Health	4
PM 536	Program Evaluation and Research	4

At least 8 units from: COMM 510, CMGT 511, CMGT 528, CMGT 583, CMGT 587 (4 unit courses); PM 542, PM 562 (4 unit courses); JOUR 508, JOUR 536 (3 unit courses)

At least 3 units from any 500- or 600-level course

And, 8 units of a practicum (PM 593) ending in a final report.

Track 5: Child and Family Health

Required Courses (12 units)		Units
PM 528	Program Design and Evaluation	4
PM 580	Foundations of Child Health	4
PM 581	Quality and Inequality in Health Care: Examination of Health Services	4

At least 4 units from: PM 540, PM 582, PM 583, PM 584, PM 585 (4 unit courses)

At least 3 units from any 500- or 600-level course

And, 8 units of a practicum (PM 593) ending in a final report.

Track 6: Global Health Leadership

REQUIRED COURSES (12 UNITS)		UNITS
PM 525	Culture and Health: An International Perspective	4
PM 564	Public Health Leadership and Management	4
PM 565	Emerging Trends in Global Health	4

At least 4 units from: CMGT 583, PM 563, PM 566, PM 567, PM 568

At least 3 units from any 500- or 600-level course

And 8 units of a practicum (PM 593) ending in a final report.

The elective courses will be directed by the student's needs and interests and must be approved by the student's graduate advisor. Sufficient familiarity in computer languages to operate major software packages for data management and analysis is required.

Practicum Requirement

A practicum, PM 593, is required of all students as part of the culminating experience to the master's program. It is provided by an internship rotation through an area of public health practice in a county, state, federal or community-based agency. The practicum offers students the opportunity to observe as well as participate in applying their newly acquired skills and tools. All students are expected to participate in at least one internship and attend a corresponding seminar. An electronic portfolio describing the project and evaluating the outcomes completes the course requirement.

Criteria

Students enrolled in one of the M.P.H. professional dual degree programs (e.g., M.D./M.P.H., Pharm.D./M.P.H., D.P.T./ M.P.H., and Ph.D. (Clinical Psychology)/ M.P.H.) may waive 4 units of the practicum requirement.

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