The Ph.D. Program in Biostatistics provides training in:

• Developing new quantitative methods and underlying theory
• Making innovative applications to substantive and demanding scientific problems
• Leading and participating in interdisciplinary research involving public health, medicine, biology, and the social sciences

Program Requirements and Course of Study

The Graduate School has several University-wide requirements for all students enrolled in doctoral programs at Brown. Both students and advisors are expected to become familiar with these requirements.

Within the Department of Biostatistics, the major requirements for the Ph.D. are:

1. Completion of a program of courses covering core areas of required expertise
2. Demonstration of proficiency in teaching
3. Synthesis of a core body of knowledge, evaluated via written examination
4. Demonstration of readiness to undertake original research, via oral presentation and defense of a written dissertation proposal (oral exam)
5. Completion and oral defense of a dissertation that makes an original contribution in the chosen field of study.

The methods for meeting these requirements may differ depending on the individual program of study.

Competencies

Competencies in biostatistics are divided into four core areas:

1. Theory and foundation of statistical inference
2. General biostatistical methods
3. Advanced training in specialized domain areas
4. Foundation in public health

Owing to the inherently interdisciplinary nature of biomedical research, biostatistics students are also required to demonstrate competency in a substantive field of application; examples include (but are not limited to):

• Genetics
• Economics
• Demography
• Molecular biology
• Epidemiology
• Infectious diseases
• Cancer biology

This competency is demonstrated via the successful completion of at least one graduate course (1000 or 2000 level) in another department or graduate program. The selection of this course must be approved by the Graduate Program Director.

Required Courses

Courses taken at other institutions can be used to meet one or more course requirements.

• PHP 2520 Statistical Inference I
• PHP 2530 Bayesian Statistical Methods
• PHP 2550 Practical Data Analysis
• PHP 2580 Statistical Inference II
• PHP 2601 Linear Models
• PHP 2605 Generalized Linear Models
• PHP 2602 Analysis of Lifetime Data
• PHP 2610 Causal Inference and Missing Data
• PHP 2950 PhD Journal Club * (see the program handbook for details)
• PHP 2000 Foundations of Public Health (No credit, see the program handbook for description)
• PHP 2120 Introduction to Methods in Epidemiologic Research

Electives

Ph.D. candidates must take at least 5 — including at least 2 from biostatistics —1 in substantive field of application) 

• PHP 2030 Clinical Trials Methodology
• PHP 2603 Analysis of Longitudinal Data
• PHP 2604 Statistical Methods for Spatial Data
• PHP 2620 Statistical Methods for Bioinformatics
• PHP 2650 Statistical Learning and Big Data
• PHP 2690 Advanced Topics in Biostatistics
• PHP 2590 Design of Experiments
• PHP 2670 Simulation Models for Public Health Decision Making
• APMA 1160 Introduction to Numerical Optimization
• APMA 2610 Recent Applications of Probability/Statistics
• APMA 2630 Probability Theory I
• APMA 2640 Probability Theory II
• APMA 2821 Stochastic Processes on Graphs
• APMA 2811 Convex Analysis + Minimization Algorithm
• CSCI 1470/2470 Deep Learning
• Qualifying courses in other departments (APMA, ECON, CS), with approval from Graduate Director

Additional Requirements

• Teaching Experience (TE) credit (See the program handbook for description)
• Annual Research Presentation
• School of Public Health Responsible Conduct in Research Training - 1st Semester

Transfer Credits

Graduate-level academic credit earned outside of and prior to a student’s current degree program at Brown may accelerate the time to the completion of the tuition unit requirement of the degree. Ph.D. students may transfer up to 8 courses. Only advanced coursework taken while the student was a graduate student either at Brown or another institution may be used for graduate credit at Brown. For details, refer to the Graduate School Handbook.   

For a full list of classes that the Department of Biostatistics offers please visit our Courses page.

Individual Development Plan

In response to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) notice NOT-OD-13-093 and the Brown University School of Public Health mandate regarding the use of Individual Development Plans (IDP), all students in the Department of Biostatistics, regardless of funding sources, are required to complete and submit, in consultation with their advisor, and IDP. Specifically:

• Incoming, matriculating students must complete an IDP, in consultation with their advisor, by the beginning of their second semester.  
• All students must submit an updated IDP, in consultation with their advisor, on an annual basis.  

The IDP is a valuable tool that gives students the opportunity to consider and address their short-term and long-term career goals.  In order to achieve compliance with the IDP policy, please fill out the Individual Development Plan for Biostatistics, discuss with your advisor, and submit your completed form.