Public Health Sciences

Study mode:On campus Study type:Full-time Languages: English
Foreign:$ 34.3 k / Year(s) Deadline: Feb 1, 2025
StudyQA ranking:2399 Duration:

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The Penn State Master of Science in Public Health Sciences is a 30-credit degree program that provides the knowledge and insight required for careers in health-related research.

Students learn population-based methods for planning, executing, analyzing and disseminating research results.

The program emphasizes hands-on applications of methods in the real world. Courses usually fall into three disciplines: biostatistics, epidemiology, and health services research.

A total of 24 course credits and 6 thesis research credits are required to fulfill the degree requirements for the Master of Science in Public Health Sciences.

In addition to the core course areas of biostatistics, epidemiology, clinical research methods, clinical trials, outcomes measurement, health care economics and policy, and ethics of clinical research, additional courses are available in data management, translational research methods, and more specialized health services research methods.

Students who enter as master’s degree candidates may continue provided their first-year performance is satisfactory.

Thesis Requirement

A major component of the master’s degree curriculum is a student-chosen, mentored research thesis that is designed, conducted, analyzed, and summarized during the two-year program.

There are currently 90 established investigators who are available to participate as mentors and advisors for these projects.

Through choice of research topic, students can opt for a concentration in clinical research, clinical trials, or health services research, for example.

Year 1

Fall Semester

  • * PHS 520: Principles of Biostatistics (3 credits)
  • * PHS 550: Principles of Epidemiology (3 credits)
  • * PHS 529: Biostatistical Computing for Public Health (1 credit)
  • * PHS 530: Principles of Health Services Research (2 credits)

Spring Semester

  • * PHS 521: Applied Biostatistics (3 credits)
  • * PHS 551: Advanced Epidemiological Methods (3 credits)
  • * PHS 500: Research Ethics for Clinical Investigators (1 credit)

Summer Semester (Optional)

  • PHS 511: Methods Used in Translational Research (1 credit)
  • PHS 522: Multivariate Biostatistics (3 credits)

* - indicates required course

Year 2

Fall Semester

  • PHS 570: Health Economics and Economic Evaluation (3 credits)
  • * PHS 536: Health Survey Research Methods (3 credits)
  • PHS 518: Scientific Communication (2 credits)
  • ** PHS 600: Thesis Research (3 credits)

Spring Semester

  • PHS 580: Clinical Trials (3 credits)
  • PHS 540: Decision Analysis (1 credit)
  • PHS 522: Multivariate Biostatistics (3 credits)
  • PHS 535: Quality of Care Measurement (3 credits)
  • ** PHS 600: Thesis Research (3 or 6 credits)

* - indicates required course

** - thesis research can be taken as 3 credits in each of two semesters, or as 6 credits in the final semester; a thesis mentor must be identified before scheduling the course

  • Completed online application
  • Resume or CV
  • Statement of goals (PDF format is suggested)
  • Copies of transcripts from all colleges and universities attended; applicants must have completed a bachelor's degree with a 3.0 GPA or higher, and must have completed at least college-level course in algebra, calculus or statistics
  • Two letters of recommendation
  • GRE, GMAT, MCAT or LSAT scores. The requirements of a 3.0 undergraduate GPA and satisfactory GRE scores may be relaxed if the student has professional experience, a post-baccalaureate degree in a related field, or other strong evidence suggesting likely success in the MS PHS program. Some applicants may be accepted on a provisional basis, pending performance at the B (3.0) level or higher in the first semester.
  • Official TOEFL or IELTS scores 

Scholarships

Assistantships

The most common form of graduate support, teaching and research assistantships, include a stipend, tuition remission, and a subsidy for medical insurance. Recipients are assigned to a faculty adviser who supervises the experience. Graduate assistants support undergraduate instruction or undertake research projects. A specified time commitment of 10-30 hours per week is required depending on the unit (a half-time/20 hour per week commitment is typical). Appointments are available only to graduate students who are registered for courses and enrolled in degree programs.

Fellowships

Fellowships are highly prestigious financial support packages that typically include a stipend, tuition remission, and a subsidy for medical insurance. They derive from University or outside awards. Unlike assistantships, they do not have a required work commitment; they are duty-free. Recipients must be enrolled in degree programs and be registered full time. Fellowship recipients are not permitted to accept employment without obtaining approval from the unit and/or agency supporting the fellowship.

Traineeships

Training grants are derived from agencies outside the University and are intended to support specific student learning experiences in core curricular areas and research methods. Institutional awards, typically under the direction of a faculty principal investigator, afford funding to support selected students with stipends, tuition grants-in-aid, and often include a subsidy for medical insurance.

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