Applicable only to students admitted during the 2023-2024 academic year.

Biostatistics

Fielding School of Public Health

Graduate Degrees

The Fielding School of Public Health offers a school-wide Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) degree in Biostatistics as well as an articulated degree program in Medicine and concurrent degree program with Law.

For information on the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Biostatistics, applicants should see the listings for the department.

Admissions Requirements

Master’s Degree

Advising

Upon entering the program, students are assigned a faculty adviser whose responsibility is to counsel students concerning program of study and progress toward the fulfillment of degree requirements.  Students may request a change in faculty advisers at any time during the course of study by submitting a request directly to the department.  Students are expected to meet with assigned faculty advisers each quarter.

Foreign Language Requirement

None

Course Requirements

The M.P.H. requires Public Health 200A, 200B, and 401 (20 units). Students may also satisfy Public Health 401 with a School-approved alternative course in consultation with the Associate Dean of Public Health Practice.

The Biostatistics concentration (46 units) requires Biostatistics 100B, 200A, and 406; or Biostatistics 200A, 200B and 406; or Biostatistics 200A, 200B and 200C. In addition, students are required to complete Biostatistics 201A, 201B, 203A, 400, 402A, 595, and 12 units of graduate level (200 series with courses numbers of 203B and above and 400 series) coursework selected from departmental offerings.

M.D./M.P.H. Program

Medicine, M.D./Biostatistics, M.P.H.

See the Biostatistics concentration requirements above. M.P.H. elective courses may not be used towards the M.D. in Medicine.

See School of Medicine for degree requirements.

J.D./M.P.H. Program

Law, J.D./Biostatistics, M.P.H.

See the Biostatistics concentration requirements above. No more than 12 units may be applied to both the J.D. and the M.P.H.

See School of Law for degree requirements.

Teaching Experience

Not required.

Field Experience

Field training in an approved setting is required of all MPH degree candidates.  Typically, full-time field training is completed during the summer between the first and second year of enrollment.  Students must be in good academic standing with a grade point average of 3.0 or better before beginning the field experience.

Capstone Plan

The aim of the capstone is to assess each student’s ability to select theories, methods, and techniques from across the content matter of a field, integrate and synthesize knowledge, and apply it to the solution of public health problems.  The requirement is fulfilled by completing a project or exam that is specifically designed for the concentration.  Students must be in good academic standing, with a grade point average of 3.0 or better, before undertaking the completion of the capstone requirement.

The MPH in Biostatistics requires a Capstone Project with written and oral components and must be satisfactorily completed by the last term of enrollment.  The topic of the Capstone Project will be determined by the student in consultation with their Faculty Adviser. For Capstone Project guidelines, please consult the department for more information.

Thesis Plan

None.

Time-to-Degree

From graduate admission to award of the degree, normal progress is six quarters of enrollment. Maximum time allowable from enrollment to graduation, including leaves of absence, is five years (15 quarters).

 

DEGREE	NORMATIVE TIME TO ATC (Quarters)	NORMATIVE TTD	MAXIMUM TTD
M.P.H.	6	6	16

Academic Disqualification and Appeal of Disqualification

University Policy

A student who fails to meet the above requirements may be recommended for academic disqualification from graduate study. A graduate student may be disqualified from continuing in the graduate program for a variety of reasons. The most common is failure to maintain the minimum cumulative grade point average (3.00) required by the Academic Senate to remain in good standing (some programs require a higher grade point average). Other examples include failure of examinations, lack of timely progress toward the degree and poor performance in core courses. Probationary students (those with cumulative grade point averages below 3.00) are subject to immediate dismissal upon the recommendation of their department. University guidelines governing the academic disqualification of graduate students, including the appeal procedure, are outlined in Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study at UCLA.