Best online master's programs in Epidemiology - Updated 2021

Master of Public Health in Epidemiology will prepare you for new levels of leadership in your career while fitting around your busy schedule. In the MPH-EPI program, you will study with one of the world’s most accomplished epidemiology faculties. By combining the best of online, in-person, and in-the-field learning, this rigorous part-time, two-year degree program will provide you with the advanced research and epidemiological skills you need to pursue senior positions in academia, hospitals, public health agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector.

Epidemiology is the study of trends, patterns, and causes related to disease in populations. Graduates of the UAB Epidemiology program have found employment in academia, research organizations and foundations, industry, public and private health services delivery organizations, and international agencies. The MPH in Epidemiology in-person program typically takes 4 semesters or 16 months of full-time coursework to complete.

The knowledge and skills obtained through the concentration will enable graduates to characterize the health status of communities, critically evaluate research on determinants of health-related events, formulate strategies to evaluate the impact of health-related interventions and foster the application of epidemiologic methods for health-promotion disease-prevention activities at the community level. According to the 2012 US Bureau of labor statistics, the median pay for a Master’s degree in epidemiology is $63,010 per year, with a faster than average increase in the number of jobs available. Epidemiologists can work in a large variety of areas.

If applicant decide to pursue a graduate degree in epidemiology, look for a multidisciplinary program that covers a wide range of topics, such as health policy, research methods, biology, ethics, statistics and environmental health. Master’s programs tend to be career-oriented while PhD programs focus on research opportunities.2 A PhD is not required, however, unless applicant want to pursue a senior-level job or research position at a university.4.