Dalla Lana School of Public Health - Doctor of Philosophy Epidemiology (PhD)

Doctor of Philosophy Epidemiology (PhD)

Course Requirements (4.0 FCE)

All PhD students are required to submit annual activity reports, which describe the student’s achievements in the areas of education, research, and service. The reports are reviewed by a committee of faculty. Any student whose progress/achievements are deemed unsatisfactory will be required to meet with the committee and the student’s supervisor to identify barriers to future achievements.

Required Courses (3.0)
CHL5004H	Introduction to Public Health	(0.5)
CHL5404H	Research Methods in Epidemiology I	(0.5)
CHL5406H	Quantitative Methods in Biomedical Research	(0.5)
CHL5408H	Research Methods II	(0.5)
CHL5423H	Doctoral Seminar for Epidemiology Note: Non-credit after the second year but upper year students and faculty supervisors are expected to attend and participate.	(0.5)
CHL5424H	Advanced Quantitative Methods in Epidemiology	(0.5)
Elective Courses (1.0) Students are best served if their elective courses form part of a coherent package of experience. In this light, students are encouraged to choose elective courses that relate to the theme of their dissertation. For example, advanced methodological courses might be appropriate for a dissertation which involves highly complex statistical analysis; pathology courses for a dissertation which focuses more on disease process; bioethics courses for a dissertation on genetic epidemiology. Electives also may fill gaps in overall training and experience: A student with a largely social sciences background might benefit from health professional level pathology courses; a student with substantial bench-sciences training, who is interested in disease screening, might consider courses in behavioural sciences, health economics, or health policy. Students are encouraged to discuss the selection of appropriate electives with their Advisory Committees.
Suggested courses include, but are not limited to:
CHL5250H	Special Topics in Biostatistics	(0.5)
CHL5403H	Epidemiology of Non-Communicable Diseases	(0.5)
CHL5407H	Categorical Data Analysis for Epidemiologic Studies	(0.5)
CHL5409H	Cancer Epidemiology	(0.5)
CHL5410H	Occupational Epidemiology	(0.5)
CHL5411H	International Health	(0.5)
CHL5415H	Practice of Communicable Disease Epidemiology, Prevention and Control	(0.5)
CHL5416H	Environmental Epidemiology	(0.5)
CHL5417H	Tobacco and Health: From Cells to Society	(0.5)
CHL5419H	Empirical Perspectives on Social Organization and Health	(0.5)
CHL5420H	Global Health Research Methods	(0.5)
CHL5421H	Aboriginal Health	(0.5)
CHL5450H	Special Topics in Epidemiology	(0.5)
HAD5302H	Measurement in Clinical Research	(0.5)
HAD5303H	Controlled Clinical Trials	(0.5)

Comprehensive Examination

Students are eligible to write the comprehensive examination if they have completed all required courses. In unusual circumstances, students will be allowed to write the examination without having completed those courses; approval of the PhD Program Leader is required in these instances.

Objective

The comprehensive examination requires the student to demonstrate competence in the concepts, principles, methods, and content of epidemiology, and the ability to apply these concepts and principles critically. Specifically, the student will be able to:

Identify the major causes and correlates of morbidity and mortality and provide their descriptive epidemiology;
Identify risk factors associated with major causes of morbidity and mortality;
Describe available sources of information on disease occurrence and determinants (e.g., population surveys, disease/exposure registries);
Interpret evidence in the scientific literature in epidemiology and from specific data analyses;
Formulate research questions yet to be answered for specific research areas, prioritize them, and justify the priorities assigned;
Distinguish among major methodologies, critically appraise these methodologies, and explain their strengths and limitations;
Determine the appropriate research methodology(ies) and analytic technique(s) to test specific research hypotheses;
Develop a coherent research proposal which incorporates a sound study design, appropriate measures of exposure and disease and demonstrate understanding of issues of feasibility, utility and cost;
Provide a clear and compelling argument for a chosen research question and for the appropriateness of a chosen research design to answer the question;
Identify and be sensitive to ethical issues arising in epidemiological research;
Demonstrate effective communication skills.

The comprehensive examination consists of three parts: certification of completion of the tutorial for the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS); a written in-class examination; and the preparation of a systematic literature review. All three parts will be completed by July of the first year.

Part 1: TCPS certification to be provided to the PhD Program Leader

Part 2: In-class written examination (approx. 3 hours)

This part of the examination is designed to test competence in the concepts, principles, data sources, and content of epidemiology, and the ability to apply these concepts and principles critically. Students will be required to answer all questions. The examination may include multiple choice, fill-in-the blanks, calculations, and short answer questions.

An Examination Committee will mark the examination, blind to the identity of the student. A passing grade is 70%.

Part 3: Systematic literature review

This part of the examination is designed to assess the ability to develop and to conduct a systematic review of the literature in an area of the Student’s choosing (including that of the dissertation topic). The Student may take as much time as needed, beginning in September of the first year, and have a manuscript ready for submission to an appropriate peer-reviewed journal by the time of the in-class portion of the comprehensive examination (that is, by July of the first year). The manuscript will be reviewed by the examination committee, blind to student identity. A passing grade is 70%, although automatic passing may be indicated by the prior acceptance of the manuscript by a peer-reviewed journal.

Click here to view a Comprehensive Exam study guide.

Students will be notified of the results of the examination within two weeks of the completion of the examination process. In the event that a Student is unsuccessful in the examination, one re-examination is permitted. The re-examination must be held no later than December of the second year. Failure on the re-examination constitutes grounds for termination of the Student’s doctoral program.
The procedures for appeal are outlined in the calendar of the School of Graduate Studies.

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PhD

Last Update 7/30/2010