Biostatistics, Certificate
The Graduate Certificate in Biostatistics (GCiB) is designed to provide graduates with the analytic tools needed for effective practice with biostatistical methods.
Learning Outcomes
- The GCiB recipient will be able to apply appropriate methods of biostatistical inference, including their implementation in standard statistical software and the communication and proper interpretation of the results.
- The GCiB recipient will be able to read, understand critically evaluate statistical analysis commonly used in professional articles in public health.
Admissions
Admission to the GCiB program will typically include graduate students or working professionals who have completed at least one undergraduate course in statistics or biostatistics course with an overall GPA of B or better. Students currently enrolled in other graduate degree programs at USC are automatically eligible to pursue the certificate (with permission of their home department for concurrent enrollment).
Degree Requirements (15 Hours)
Nine of the 15 hours required for the Graduate Certificate in Biostatistics are mandatory core courses. The three mandatory courses are designed to introduce each student to the fundamentals of statistical analysis and software to perform analyses. The remaining 6 credit hours will be chosen by each student, after consultation with an advisor from the Biostatistics Division, in specialty areas from the list of approved elective courses (listed below). The selection of these elective courses will enable the student to focus their coursework on their individual needs and interests. No more than 9 credit hours applied to a concurrent degree program may be applied to this certificate program.
Required Core (9 Hours)
Students may request the substitution of required core courses by courses rated as equivalent or more advanced. The request must be accompanied by the course syllabus and specifically approved by the Certificate Administrator and/or the Biostatistics Graduate Director.
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| Introduction to Biostatistics | ||
or BIOS 701 | Concepts and Methods of Biostatistics | |
or PUBH 725 | Quantitative Methods for Public Health Practice II | |
| BIOS 757 | Intermediate Biostatistics | 3 |
| Select three hours of coursework from the following courses: | 3 | |
| Effective Data Management for Public Health | ||
Or any of the following courses for a total of 3 hours: | ||
| Basic Software for Public Health | ||
| Introduction to R Programming | ||
| Introduction to Stata Software | ||
| Introduction to MS Access for Public Health | ||
| Advanced SAS Methods for Public Health | ||
| Total Credit Hours | 9 | |
Elective Courses (6 Hours)
Substitutions must be specifically approved by the Certificate Administrator and/or the Biostatistics Graduate Director.
Note: Other courses may be developed in the future based on student interest and availability of faculty experience.
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| BIOS 754 | Discrete Data Analysis | 3 |
| BIOS 755 | Introduction to Longitudinal Data Analysis | 3 |
| BIOS 760 | Biostatistical Methods in Clinical Trials | 3 |
| BIOS 761 | Survival Analysis | 3 |
| BIOS 765 | Research Design in the Biomedical Sciences | 3 |
| BIOS 780 | Introduction to Quantile Regression | 3 |