Chair: Peihua Qiu
Associate Chair for Education: Babette Brumback
Graduate Coordinator: Kristen Cason

The Department of Biostatistics offers the Doctor of Philosophy degree in biostatistics, the Master of Science degree in biostatistics, and the Master of Public Health degree with concentration biostatistics, which is described in detail in the Public Health section of the catalog. These programs in the Department are designed to prepare students for research and faculty positions; careers in health agencies and health-related institutions; and for consultation, especially in the biomedical fields. Although each graduate program has a set of required courses, there is ample flexibility in the programs to allow each student to develop strengths and interests through elective courses, seminars, and tutorials.

Doctor of Philosophy

The biostatistics doctoral program requires a minimum of 90 semester credits beyond the bachelor’s degree. Students must have a directly related master’s degree (i.e. Master of Science in statistics or biostatistics). All students must complete a minimum of 54 credits of biostatistics/statistics course work (30 credits will typically be transferred from a Master of Science program), 6 credits of public health course work, 3 credits of a consulting requirement, 6 credits of the cognate requirement, and 21 credits of dissertation work.

All graduates of the program are expected to be able to

• Conduct independent research in the development of new biostatistical methodology
• Engage in successful collaborations with investigators in new quantitative fields
• Write statistical methodology papers for peer-reviewed statistical and biostatistical journals
• Write collaborative papers for peer-reviewed subject matter journals
• Compete successfully for research and teaching positions in academic institutions, federal and state agencies, or private institutions

Specific course requirements are described at the program website http://biostat.ufl.edu/education/phd-in-biostatistics/curriculum-overview/.

Master of Science

The biostatistics masters degree (MS) requires a minimum of 36 semester credits beyond the bachelor’s degree. The program is designed to facilitate students’ development of a strong theoretical foundation in biostatistics, broad-based understanding of biostatistical methods, and expertise in a cognate field. A typical student will be enrolled full-time for two years. Upon successful completion of the program, graduates will be awarded an M.S. degree in biostatistics.

The principal goal of the M.S. program is to prepare highly qualified individuals for future Ph.D. training and for careers in biostatistics practice. This training is conducted in the innovative and interdisciplinary public health culture of the college of public health and health professions and the college of medicine. We expect our graduates to be highly competitive in three primary settings: academic university-based settings, industry, and federal agencies that involve research and/or public health practice.

Specific course requirements are described at the program website http://biostat.ufl.edu/education/ms-in-biostatistics/ms-curriculum-overview/.