Master of Science in Public Health (MSPH) - Clinical Research (CRHB)

There is a growing interest in medical and other health science schools in developing the clinical research skills of faculty members and fellows.  This interest has been fueled by increased support from the NIH to prepare such individuals to meet the demand for clinical investigators in the field.   Locally, the Schools of Medicine and Public Health have combined efforts to create a training program for young faculty members and fellows from a variety of disciplines.

This program is a post-medical or other health science degree training program, aimed primarily at fellows and faculty members interested in developing skills required for clinical research.  It is anticipated that this academic training will supplement extensive training in the content area in which the student is trained, and senior mentoring in the politics and policies of project development and management.  A graduate of this program will have the academic training to develop and lead independent research programs and projects. The program consists of a core set of courses common to all students, plus research elective and focus elective courses that reflect the academic interest of the student.   At this time, the program can accommodate students with specific interest in Biostatistics (CRBS), Epidemiology (CREP), Environmental Health (CREH), and Health Behavior (CRHB).  As a result, there will be some variation in the specific knowledge an skills acquired by each graduate.  However, the primary learning objectives will apply to all students, irrespective of departmental affiliation.  As such, graduates will be able to do the following upon completion of the program:

• design, conduct, and evaluate clinical research studies;
• understand issues of data collection and study management;
• follow appropriate policies and procedures relating to the utilization
  of human subjects in clinical research;
• demonstrate an understanding of the ethics of research on human
  subjects;
• prepare competitive applications for extramural research funding;
• prepare manuscripts for publication in the scientific literature; and
• critically evaluate published research

Admission:  Applicants should possess a medical or other health science professional degree.  They may be in their final years of training as residents or fellows or hold positions as junior faculty members.  The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is required for applications to all MSPH programs in the School of Public Health.  Scores of 550 or better on each of the three sections of the general test (verbal, quantitative, and analytical writing) are preferred.  The GRE may be waived at the discretion of the committee, for applicants who have been pre-screened by the clinical investigator training grant committee of the School of Medicine. The applicant must produce three letters of reference and a letter stating that he/she will be guaranteed sufficient release time from clinical duties to be able to attend classes regularly and fulfill course requirements in a timely manner.  A medical/health sciences mentor should be identified and a setting where the student can gain experience in conducting clinical research. A faculty member within the School of Public Health will be assigned as an advisor based on the stated interests of the applicant.    

Curriculum:    The MSPH in clinical Research consists of a minimum of 41 credit hours.  Of these, 14 hours are required, including 9 hours of specific Biostatistics courses and 5 hours of specific Epidemiology courses.  Students then select at least 9 credit hours from a list of approved Masters Research Electives, complete 9 hours of focus specific electives in Biostatistics, Epidemiology, Environmental Health, or Health Behavior, and take at least 9 hours of (698 level) Masters Research to fulfill the MSPH requirement for conducting a research project. 

Coursework			Credit Hours
Required Core Courses			14
BST 611*	Intermediate Statistical Analysis I		3
BST 612*	Intermediate Statistical Analysis II		3
BST 625	Design and Conduct of Clinical Trials		3
EPI 607	Epidemiology of Clinical Research		3
EPI 680	Topics in Clinical Research		2
Masters Research Electives: Nine credit hours should be selected by faculty advisor and student			9
BST 619	Data Collection and Management		3
BST 626/626L	Data Management/Reporting with SAS		3
ENH 650	Essentials of Environmental and Occupational Toxicology & Diseases		5
EPI 611	Issues in Epidemiologic Design & Analysis		4
EPI 625	Quantitative Methods in Epidemiology		3
EPI 703	Grant Writing		3
EPI 709	Theoretical Basis of Epidemiology		3
HB 624	Advanced Theory and Practice in Behavioral Science		3
HCO 677	Patient-Based Outcomes Measurement		3
Focus Specific Electives: Nine hours in field of interest selected by faculty advisor and student. With approval of the student's advisor, courses included in the Research Electives that are not taken to meet that requirement may be taken as a part of the Focus Specific Electives			9
HB 630		Health Communications	3
HB 641		Research Methods	3
HB 643		Health Program Evaluation	3
Masters Directed Research: Nine hours of research (698 level) in a clinical setting (directed).			9
BST 698, EPI 698, HB 698, or ENH 698 (depending upon the area of study)
			Total Hours  41

 * Students who want to focus their degree on Biostatistics should take BST 621/622
rather than BST 611/612 since the former are prerequisites for more advanced Biostatistics focus courses.  In addition, other students who wish to receive higher level mathematical training in Biostatistics could substitute BST 621/622 for BST 611/612.

Note that care must be exercised when selecting some of these courses since some have prerequisites that must be taken earlier in the sequence of classes or taken
concurrently.