Jump To:  Graduate Search  >  Institution  >  College/School  >  Department/Program      

My Saved Schools  |  Print

Program Web Site	PhD Programs	MS Programs
Apply Now

Others also viewed:

• Boston University, Epidemiology Department
• University of California, Berkeley, Division of Biostatistics
• University of California, Los Angeles, Department of Biostatistics

View full list

Detailed Information

Programs of Study

Graduate education at the University of Southern California (USC) prepares students for leadership in research, teaching, or professional practice in the private or public sector. Rigorous, individually tailored course work and research forms the basis for the graduate programs.

Graduate studies in biostatistics, epidemiology, molecular epidemiology, and statistical genetics and genetic epidemiology are contained within USC’s Keck School of Medicine. The University offers the Master of Science (M.S.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees. The Ph.D. in biostatistics is designed to produce a biostatistician with a deep knowledge of statistical theory and methodology. The Ph.D. in statistical genetics and genetic epidemiology is a joint effort to combine biostatistics, epidemiology, statistical and molecular genetics, and computational methods in order to develop new and cutting-edge statistical methodology that is appropriate for human genomic studies.

Master’s degree studies in biostatistics focus on the theory of biostatistics, data analytic methods, experimental design (including clinical trials), statistical methods in human genetics, biomedical informatics, and statistical computing methods. The master’s degree in applied biostatistics and epidemiology includes applied biostatistics, epidemiological research methods, and research applications, including cancer, infectious disease, chronic disease, and environmental epidemiology. Doctoral studies cover the areas of biostatistics and data analysis; descriptive, genetic, and molecular epidemiology; computational methods; clinical trial methodology; and related fields of field research, such as population disease and treatment trials.

The Division of Biostatistics also offers a joint-degree program in either the M.S. or Ph.D. in molecular epidemiology in conjunction with the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. The objective of the M.S. degree is to train students in the application of statistical methods to the design of biomedical research. The objective of the doctoral degree is to produce a molecular epidemiologist with in-depth laboratory, statistical, and analytical skills in both epidemiology and the molecular biosciences.

Research Facilities

Hands-on research alongside a faculty mentor is the norm at USC. Graduate students work alongside colleagues as coinvestigators on epidemiological, clinical trial, and environmental research projects. Graduate students have myriad opportunities to participate in the latest clinical and biomedical research projects. Research teams gain expertise on study design as well as statistical methodology, data analysis, and manuscript preparation. The University’s Health Sciences Campus contains the Norris Cancer Center, the General Clinical Research Center, the Zilkha Neurogenetic Research Institute, and the Doheny Eye Institute Vision Research Center.

USC has a dozen libraries to serve all the varied needs of its graduate students. Primary source materials include ongoing research projects and recent faculty and staff members’ publications. In addition, electronic resources in hundreds of subjects plus online archives and Internet access are available for students through the library system.

Financial Aid

Most graduate students who demonstrate financial need qualify for low-interest loans, work-study, or assistantships. Graduate assistantships are awarded on the basis of scholastic accomplishment and competence. Students exchange teaching and laboratory assistant time for tuition waivers and stipends.

The Sponsored Projects Information Network (SPIN) is a computerized database of funding opportunities–federal, private, and corporate–created to help faculty members identify external financial support for research and education. SPIN funds that are directed toward USC programs in biostatistics result in research funds and fellowships for graduate students.

Cost of Study

Costs for 2009–10 are as follows: tuition, $39,000; books and supplies, $1700; and other miscellaneous expenses, $5000.

Living and Housing Costs

Estimated housing costs for the Los Angeles area are approximately $14,500 per year. Housing costs vary greatly, depending on the location and type of accommodations. There are ample housing facilities in the many communities surrounding the medical school.

Student Group

There are approximately 2,300 graduate students at USC and 120 in the biostatistics, epidemiology, and genetics programs. The relatively small size of the programs facilitates student–faculty member interchange and good accessibility for students to their professors and mentors.

Location

University of Southern California campuses are mostly centered around Los Angeles, with other facilities in nearby Alhambra, Pasadena, and Marina del Rey; on Catalina Island; and further away in Orange County to the south and Sacramento to the north. Los Angeles is the second-largest city in the U.S. and the nucleus of southern California. The scenic, sunny, and culturally diverse area of Los Angeles offers miles of beaches, acres of recreational and park areas, and some of the finest arts and cultural opportunities in the nation.

The University

USC is the oldest and largest independent coeducational university in the West. The campus is composed of 169 buildings located in a 150-acre parklike setting near downtown Los Angeles. USC is among the ten most successful private universities in the country in attracting research support from external sources (more than $100 million annually). Graduate students in the Division of Biostatistics take the majority of their courses at the Health Sciences Campus, 3 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles and 7 miles from the USC University Park Campus. The Health Sciences Campus is adjacent to the Los Angeles County–USC Medical Center, one of the nation’s largest teaching hospitals. The surrounding neighborhoods are among the most historically significant in the city, with rich educational resources.

Applying

For the M.S. degree, an undergraduate degree in mathematics, statistics, biostatistics, or computer science is most helpful. Undergraduate preparation should include differential and integral calculus, mathematical statistics, and basic computer programming. The Ph.D. requires successful scores on a screening examination (the M.S. prepares students for this exam). Applicants must apply online through USC’s general Web site. They must also get the department’s preapplication via the graduate program’s direct Web site at http://www.usc.edu/medicine/biostats.

The Faculty and Their Research

• Hooman Allayee, Assistant Professor.
• Todd Alonzo, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Washington (Seattle), 2000. Design and analysis of clinical trials, pediatric oncology, statistical methodology and missing data methodology.
• Susan Ames, Assistant Professor of Research.
• Edward Avol, Associate Professor; M.S., Caltech, 1974. Chronic respiratory effects of airborne pollutants in populations.
• Stanley Azen, Professor and Codirector; Ph.D., UCLA, 1969. Biostatistical methodology.
• Lourdes Baezconde-Garbanati, Associate Professor; Ph.D., UCLA, 1994. Cancer control research.
• Kiros Berhane, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Toronto, 1994. Analysis of health effects of environmental exposures.
• Leslie Bernstein, Professor; Ph.D., USC, 1981. Epidemiology of breast cancer and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
• Jonathan Buckley, Professor of Research (also with Pediatrics, CHLA); Ph.D., Melbourne, 1981. Epidemiology of childhood cancer, clinical trials, molecular epidemiology.
• John Casagrande, Clinical Associate Professor; D.Ph., UCLA, 1978. Computer applications in research.
• Lu Chen, Assistant Professor of Research.
• Chih-Ping Chou, Associate Professor of Research; Ph.D., UCLA, 1983. Evaluation of approaches to substance-abuse prevention among adolescents, statistical methods in prevention research.
• Myles Cockburn, Assistant Professor of Research; Ph.D., Otago (New Zealand), 1998. Epidemiology of melanoma, gastric cancer, and Helicobacter pylori; computational methods; geographical information systems (GIS).
• David Conti, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Case Western Reserve, 2002. Statistical methods in genetic association studies, use of hierarchical models in epidemiology.
• Victoria Cortessis, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., UCLA, 1993. Genetic-epidemiologic and molecular genetic studies of congenital disorders, adult-onset cancers and etiologic relationships among these entities.
• Wendy Cozen, Associate Professor of Research; M.P.H., UCLA, 1989. Epidemiology of hematologic neoplasms, Hodgkin’s disease, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
• N. Tess Cruz, Assistant Professor of Clinical; Ph.D., Massachusetts, 1993. Public health communications research, anti-tobacco media and pro-tobacco marketing effects.
• Dennis Deapen, Professor; Dr.Ph., UCLA, 1982. Cancer outcomes among breast implant patients; lupus erythematosus, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and Alzheimer’s disease.
• Manuela Gago, Assistant Professor of Research.
• Peggy Gallaher, Assistant Professor of Research.
• W. James Gauderman, Professor; Ph.D., USC, 1992. Biostatistical methodology, genetic-epidemiological analysis of pedigree data, health outcomes to environmental exposure.
• Frank Gilliland, Professor; Ph.D., Minnesota, 1992. Environmental exposures on air pollution.
• Michael I. Goran, Professor (also with Physiology and Biophysics); Ph.D., Manchester (England), 1986. Biophysics etiology prevention of obesity, type 2 diabetes in children.
• Susan Groshen, Professor of Research; Ph.D., Rutgers, 1980. New drugs and treating cancer.
• Robert Haile, Professor; Ph.D., UCLA, 1979. Genetic epidemiology of breast, colon, and prostate cancers.
• Christopher Haiman, Associate Professor; Ph.D.
• Ann Hamilton, Associate Professor; Ph.D., UCLA, 1987. Breast, prostate, and testicular cancer; Kaposi’s sarcoma; cancers in twins.
• Brian Henderson, Professor; M.D., Chicago, 1962. Cancers of the breast, prostate, ovary, testes, and endometrium in different ethnic groups.
• Andrea Hricko, Associate Professor; M.P.H., North Carolina, 1971. Outreach and education techniques, translational and community-based participatory research.
• Sue A. Ingles, Associate Professor; D.P.H., UCLA, 1993. Nutritional genetics and breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer.
• Carol Koprowski, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., USC, 1998. Diet and physical activity.
• Mark Krailo, Professor of Research; Ph.D., Waterloo, 1981. Clinical trials on cancer treatment.
• Peter W. Laird, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Amsterdam (Netherlands Cancer Institute), 1988. Biochemistry and molecular biology, cancer genetics, gene regulation.
• Bryan Langholz, Professor of Research; Ph.D., Washington (Seattle), 1984. Cancer and other chronic diseases, cohort studies.
• Thomas Mack, Professor (also with Pathology); M.P.H., Harvard, 1969. Chronic disease in twins.
• Wendy Mack, Professor (also with Pathology); Ph.D., USC, 1989. Biostatistical methodology in cardiovascular research, clinical trials using angiographic and ultrasound endpoints.
• Paul Marjoram, Associate Professor of Research; Ph.D., University College (London), 1992. Computational biology; the coalescent, probabilistic models; microarray data.
• Rob McConnell, Professor; M.D., California, San Francisco, 1980. Environmental exposures, air pollution.
• Roberta McKean-Cowdin, Assistant Professor of Research; Ph.D., 1996. Breast, brain, and endometrial cancer.
• Joel Milam, Assistant Professor of Research.
• Elaine Nezami, Associate Professor; Ph.D., USC, 1994. Chronic disease, cancer, cardiovascular.
• Paula Palmer, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., California School of Professional Psychology, 1998. Social and cultural determinants of health in ethnically diverse populations, school- and community-based research.
• Celeste Pearce, Assistant Professor of Research.
• Mary Ann Pentz, Professor; Ph.D., Syracuse, 1978. Development and testing of school/community-based prevention intervention for adolescents.
• John Peters, Professor; S.C.D., Harvard, 1966. Environmental exposures on air pollution.
• Malcolm Pike, Professor; Ph.D., Aberdeen (England), 1963. Hormonal, endometrial, and ovarian cancer.
• Jean Richardson, Professor; M.P.H., UCLA, 1971. Cancer control, behavioral and epidemiological research methods.
• Louise Rohrbach, Associate Professor of Research; Ph.D., USC, 1989. Community-based interventions for disease prevention and health promotion; prevention of tobacco, alcohol, and other drug abuse.
• Jonathan Samet, Professor and Chair of Preventive Medicine; M.D., M.S., Harvard School of Public Health.
• Kimberly Siegmund, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Washington (Seattle), 1995. Statistical methods for genetics.
• Richard Sposto, Professor of Research; Ph.D., UCLA, 1981. Biostatistics, clinical trials in pediatric oncology, Bayesian analysis of survival data.
• Donna Spruijt-Metz, Associate Professor of Research; Ph.D., Amsterdam Vrije, 1996. Obesity and type 2 diabetes, smoking prevention.
• Michael R. Stallcup, Professor; Ph.D., Berkeley, 1977. Cancer cell biology, signal transduction, genes.
• Mariana Stern, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Texas Health Science Center, 1997. Colorectal and breast cancer, genes–diet, genes–smoking.
• Daniel Stram, Professor; Ph.D., Temple, 1983. Modern statistical methods, measurement error methods in cancer epidemiology, repeated measures data, human genetics data.
• Ping Sun, Assistant Professor of Research; Ph.D., USC, 1999. Cardiovascular disease and cancer.
• Steven Sussman, Professor; Ph.D., Illinois at Chicago, 1984. Drug abuse, cessation, school-based alcohol, tobacco.
• Duncan Thomas, Professor; Ph.D., McGill, 1976. Statistical methods, occupational and environmental health.
• Jennifer Unger, Associate Professor; Ph.D., USC, 1996. Psychosocial and cultural factors in adolescent.
• Giska Ursin, Associate Professor; Ph.D., UCLA, 1992. Breast cancer.
• Thomas Valente, Professor; Ph.D., USC, 1991. Health promotion, substance abuse.
• Richard Watanabe, Associate Professor; Ph.D., USC, 1995. Type 2 diabetes, biologic systems, positional cloning and gene characterization in complex disease.
• Anna Wu, Professor; Ph.D., UCLA, 1983. Various cancers among Asian migrants to the U.S.
• Anny Xiang, Associate Professor of Research; Ph.D., USC, 1995. Clinical collaboration and statistical methodology, non-insulin-dependent diabetes (NIDDM).
• Tianni Zhou, Assistant Professor of Research; Ph.D., 2002. Clinical trials in pediatric oncology.

Correspondence and Information

University of Southern California
Graduate Programs in Biostatistics, Epidemiology, Molecular Epidemiology, and Statistical Genetics and Genetic Epidemiology
Division of Biostatistics
Department of Preventive Medicine
Keck School of Medicine
Center for Health Professions, 222
1540 Alcazar
Los Angeles, California 90089-9010
Telephone: 323-442-1810
Fax: 323-442-2993
Email: mtrujill@usc.edu