Jan Carney, M.D., M.P.H., Associate Dean for Public Health, UVM College of Medicine (Photo: COM Design & Photography)

The University of Vermont is launching a new graduate certificate program in fall 2016 that features a concise, six-course immersion in the quantitative sciences of public health used for analyzing diseases and health-related conditions.

Epidemiology has many applications and plays a critical role in research, health care planning and investigating disease outbreaks. Epidemiology is increasingly used globally in public health research and practice, including cases like the Zika virus, to assess public health impact and develop guidelines and policies. 

“Now more than ever, epidemiology — the foundation science of public health — is a crucial and timely area of study,” says Jan K. Carney, M.D., associate dean for public health at the UVM College of Medicine. Carney is one of several College of Medicine faculty for the program.

The certificate, which received approval from the UVM Board of Trustees in May, can be completed in one year. Graduate students may choose to take the certificate program as a stand-alone program or later apply the credits toward the Master of Public Health, also offered online. The Certificate of Graduate Study in Epidemiology is the fourth online graduate public health program at UVM, joining the Certificate of Graduate Study in Public Health, Certificate of Graduate Study in Environmental Public Health and Master of Public Health programs.

The one-year, 18-credit online Epidemiology Graduate Certificate Program is a collaboration of the College of Medicine, Continuing and Distance Education, and the UVM Graduate College and is now open for enrollment. Learn more about the program at learn.uvm.edu/com/program/epidemiology.