PhD in Epidemiology
Drive advances in epidemiology and its impact on public health with our PhD program.
Epidemiology is scientific, systematic, data-driven, and a rewarding academic path for public health professionals who aspire to do research, teach, or lead a health or health-related agency where research is an important function.
UMass Amherst’s PhD in epidemiology will provide you with the skills and knowledge to move forward. In addition to providing extensive training in epidemiologic methods and biostatistics, our program allows you to develop a minor that serves as a foundation for your dissertation research. The minor area may be content- or methods-related in areas such as human reproduction, genetics, health disparities, nutrition, cancer, and environmental epidemiology. You’ll apply our pioneering use of multimodality methods in your research.
Students in the PhD degree program can expect to take two years for coursework and one to two additional years for completion of the dissertation.
Benefits list
Funding Your Education
Many PhD students are supported with research assistant (RA) positions funded by faculty grants. Doctoral students are also provided financial support via teaching assistant (TA) positions. Typically, a doctoral student will have both types of assistantships to develop their post-graduation careers.
Partner With Research Centers and Institutes
You’ll find a wealth of opportunities in our campus research centers, including state-of-the-art research hubs like the Institute for Applied Life Sciences, and international collaborations with researchers in the Institute for Global Health, to support a wider breadth of research inquiries.
Make the Program Your Own
With faculty expertise spanning the full spectrum of epidemiology, including human reproduction, genetics, and nutrition, we offer a wide array of courses from which to design the best doctorate in epidemiology program for your unique interests.
Featured class
This course provides an overview of the epidemiology of population mental health throughout the life course. Students will explore how epidemiologic methods are used to study major mental disorders in populations.
Featured faculty
Susan Hankinson
Focus on breast cancer, prevention, hormones, biomarkers, and women’s health
Lisa Chasan-Taber
Chair, Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology
Focus on physical activity epidemiology; reproductive and perinatal epidemiology; gestational diabetes mellitus; Hispanic women
Andrew Lover
Deputy Director, New England Center of Excellence in Vector-Borne Disease
Focus on infectious disease epidemiology; vector-borne disease; malaria; global health; epidemiological study design
Elizabeth Bertone-Johnson
Director, Center for Program Evaluation
Women’s health; mental health
Susan Sturgeon
In the spotlight
"Our professors are knowledgeable, prepared, and give us a solid foundation to succeed wherever we go, and that was an important part of the program for me."
Application information & deadlines
Prospective students must apply first through the SOPHAS site and then the UMass Graduate School Supplemental Application, which will be emailed to you upon completion of the SOPHAS application.
Priority Deadline
Priority consideration is given to applicants who submit their applications by Dec. 1.
Application Deadline
The application deadline is Feb. 1.
Epidemiology
Preparing our future workforce to confront myriad, complex public health challenges.