Portland-State-University 2026-2027 Bulletin

Epidemiology MPH

The goal of the Epidemiology program is to provide training in the population perspective toward health care and disease prevention. Courses in this track emphasize the use of quantitative methods for analyzing and addressing health problems to support basic and applied research in public health and health care.

Program Competencies

Students graduating from this program will be able to:

  • Apply population-based concepts of epidemiology and risk determination to the assessment of health problems.

  • Apply evidence-based knowledge of health determinants to public health issues.

  • Apply and interpret a variety of statistical methods commonly used in medical and public health research.

  • Propose and test a research hypothesis.

  • Identify ethical principles problems that arise in public health policy decisions.

  • Apply knowledge of cultural dimensions in conducting research, including culturally sensitive recruitment of study participants, and develop strategies for interpretation of data in the larger cultural context.

  • Integrate and apply relevant literature in epidemiology to public health issues and policy.

  • Communicate public health principles and concepts through various strategies across multiple sectors of the community.

MPH Core (21 credits)

PUBH 511Foundations of Public Health

3
PUBH 521Analytic Methods I: Evidence Appraisal and Data Collection

3
PUBH 522Analytic Methods II: Applied Analysis

3
PUBH 531Communicating Public Health

3
PUBH 532Public Health Systems and Practice

3
PUBH 533Environment & Health

3
PUBH 534Upstream Public Health & Policy

3

Program Core (22 credits)

BSTA 512Linear Models

4
BSTA 513Categorical Data Analysis

4
Epi 513Epidemiologic Methods

4
Epi 514Applied Epidemiologic Reasoning & Inference

4
Epi 536Epidemiological Data Analysis & Interpretation

4
PUBH 523Introduction to R

1
Interprofessional Education Course: Any 500-level course with prefix IPE or UNI other than IPE 501

1

Program Electives (8 credits)

Methods & Skills (1-4 credits)

BSTA 514Statistical Analysis of Time-to-Event Data

3
BSTA 519Applied Longitudinal Data Analysis

3
PHE 520Qualitative Research Design

3
Epi 540Introduction to Research Proposal and Design

3
HSMP 588Program Evaluation and Management In Health Services

3
CPH 536Community Engagement

3
BSTA 504Topic in Biostatistics

1-3
ESHH 515Geographic Information Systems for Public Health

3
Other relevant course with program approval

Topics & Applications (1-4 credits)

CPH 527Applied Epidemiology

3
Epi 568Infectious Disease Epidemiology

2
Epi 576Chronic Disease Epidemiology

2
Epi 521Injury and Violence Prevention

3
PHE 532Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) - Epidemiology

3
Other relevant course with program approval

Equity Frameworks (1-4 credits)

PHE 522Health and Social Inequalities

3
PHE 534Social Epidemiology Methods & Theory

3
PHE 555Decolonizing Public Health Research: Epidemiology, Epistemology, & Embodiment

3
HSMP 581Population Health: Policy and Practice Implications

3
Other relevant course with program approval

Other Elective Courses (0-5 credits)

Any 500-level course with prefix BSTA, CPH, EPI, ESHH, HSMP, PHE, or PUBH (except required courses)
Other relevant courses with program approval

Culminating Experience (5 credits)

PUBH 590Applied Practice Experience

4
PUBH 595Integrative Learning Experience

1

Total Credit Hours: 56

For more information and instructions on how to apply visit the MPH in Epidemiology web page.