Biostatistics

In addition to completing core courses in theory and methods of biostatistics, Ph.D. students are required to develop expertise in a cognate area (e.g., epidemiology, economics, molecular biology, etc.).

The Ph.D. program is administered by an active, expanding and highly interdisciplinary faculty in the Department of Biostatistics. Major areas of research activity include Bayesian inference, analysis of biomarkers and diagnostic tests, causal inference and missing data, time series and functional data analysis, modeling of social networks, bioinformatics, longitudinal data, and multilevel modeling. Faculty collaborate actively with investigators in the areas of cancer prevention and screening, behavioral sciences, HIV/AIDS, health care policy, genetic epidemiology, neuroscience, and genomics. Biostatistics faculty are members of the Center for Statistical Sciences (CSS) or the Center for Evidence Based Medicine. CSS hosts the Biostatistics Center for NCI–funded American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN), the Biostatistics Core for Brown's Center for AIDS Research (CFAR), and the Biostatistics Core for Brown's multidisciplinary Alcohol Research Center for HIV (ARCH).

Brown's rapidly expanding School of Public Health housed in newly renovated space at 121 South Main Street in the heart of downtown Providence, just blocks from the main green and walking distance to several of Brown's research centers. Its educational programs include both masters and doctoral programs in Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Health Services Research, an MPH program, and undergraduate concentrations in both Community Health and Statistics. The School of Public Health is home to several world–class research centers, such as the Center for Gerontology and Health Services Research, the International Health Institute, and the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies. Our faculty also collaborate with researchers at Brown's Center for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine, Center for Computational Molecular Biology, Center for Genetics, Genomics and Proteomics, and the Population Studies Training Center.

All Ph.D. students are provided with office space in the School of Public Health building at 121 South Main Street. Ph.D. students in Biostatistics also have access to the CSS computing infrastructure, a high–end, continuously updated computing environment featuring both Unix and PC networks, with access to all major software for data analysis and numerical computing. CSS also maintains a biostatistics library housing a considerable collection of statistics texts and journals.

MCAT or LSAT tests cannot be substituted for the GRE. Applicants to the Ph.D. program should have taken courses in calculus (three semesters), and advanced undergraduate courses in linear algebra and probability. Experience with numerical computing is also recommended. Applications from students in applied fields such as biology, biochemistry, economics, and computer science are strongly encouraged, with the understanding that necessary mathematical coursework may have to be completed before or soon after enrollment in the program.

Applicants to this School of Public Health program should apply through SOPHAS, a centralized application service for accredited schools and programs in public health. The application opens in mid–August each year. Brown University School of Public Health GRE reporting code: 7765.

• GRE General: Required
• GRE Subject: Not required

Application Deadline: December 15