MS in Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases

Infectious Disease Epidemiologists have never been in higher demand and highly-trained infectious disease analysts are needed to respond to emerging global health threats. In the Yale School of Public Health’s 9-month Master of Science program you will gain cutting-edge quantitative training in Infectious Disease Epidemiology. Our faculty are global leaders in infectious disease modeling and analysis and contribute key insights to decision-makers in both government and industry. Our graduates will seek job opportunities in organizations such as the CDC’s new center for infectious disease forecasting, in pharmaceutical companies conducting clinical trials for new vaccines and therapeutics, and in major global health organizations that rely on quantitative analysis to maximize their impact; and in academic research.

The MS in Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases allows students to specialize in quantitative methods and modeling or clinical applications:

• The quantitative specialization is for individuals who plan to pursue mentored research or doctoral/medical studies. Graduates will be well suited for careers in data analysis at governmental state, national, or national health organizations, academia, NGOs or in pharmaceuticals.
• The clinical specialization is tailored to clinicians seeking formal research training in methods of infectious diseases epidemiology.

This area of specialization aims to provide quantitatively-focused research training in the Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases, focusing on the analysis of communicable disease data, as well as modeling and simulation. The Quantitative area of specialization is designed for individuals with sufficient undergraduate-level mathematical and statistical training to skip introductory biostatistics classes. These students are not expected to have any clinical background or substantial prior experience with infectious diseases.

This area of specialization aims to provide research training for clinicians and clinical trainees interested in furthering their research expertise. This area of specialization targets clinicians and clinical trainees who aim to conduct population-level research on communicable diseases and clinical researchers in mentored training positions at foreign sites (e.g. Fogarty fellows) who are seeking formal research training

The length of study for the MS in EID is one year (full-time) or two years (part-time). Ten credits will be required for graduation.

Admission decisions for the MS in EID degree will be made by the Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) in collaboration with the Public Health Graduate Studies Executive Committee and faculty in the department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases.

• This program does not require General GRE test scores.
• Students whose native language is not English must submit TOEFL or IELTS scores.

Prerequisites - Quantitative area of specialization:

Applicants will have at least an undergraduate degree and sufficient background in mathematics/statistics to skip introductory Biostatistics courses. Students with a master’s degree or other related degrees may be allowed to enroll in additional elective courses in lieu of required courses, if they can demonstrate proficiency in required courses. Students should have prior course work in calculus and a strong introductory biostatistics course that covers statistical inference and probability distributions. This will be necessary for students to be comfortable taking 2nd-level biostatistics courses (Advanced Regression and Advanced Survival Analysis) as well as the infectious disease modeling courses. Experience with a flexible programming language (e.g. R and/or MATLAB) is also recommended.

Prerequisites - Clinical area of specialization:

Applications will typically have a graduate degree from a clinical program or currently be enrolled in a clinical degree granting program.