Statistical Practice I

Graduate / Professional

This is the first semester of the yearlong capstone course for biostatistics M.P.H. and M.S. students. The course, which prepares students to transition from the classroom to the real-world practice of biostatistics, assumes a strong foundation in statistical analysis and knowledge of epidemiological methods. The course augments that knowledge with topics frequently encountered in practice (e.g., calculating sample size, handling missing data), and it provides opportunities to apply that knowledge to real world study design and analysis. Throughout, we encourage students to bring a “big picture” perspective to their work by considering the study’s research question, aims, and hypotheses, which provide the framework for designing the study and planning and conducting appropriate statistical analyses. Moreover, as biostatisticians must be able to clearly communicate their findings to fellow statisticians and non-statisticians, this course provides multiple opportunities for students to present their work orally and in writing. As in statistical practice, there are opportunities for problem-solving and decision-making at the individual and group level. This course is required of all second-year biostatistics M.P.H. students and M.S. students (standard, data science, and implementation science pathways). Prerequisites: SAS programming skills; BIS 621 or BIS 623 and instructor approval are required. BIS 628 and BIS 630 are recommended. T 1pm-2:50pm