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Overview
Who should apply
Benefits
Curriculum
Admissions criteria
Contact info
Overview
A survey conducted by the Council of State and Territorial
Epidemiologists showed that as of November 2001, 42% of epidemiologists working
in state and territorial health departments had no formal training in
epidemiology. The terrorist events of September 11, 2001, the
bioterrorism-related anthrax exposures of November 2001, the emergence of SARS
and West Nile virus, and the continued threat of influenza viruses necessitate
a public health workforce prepared to respond to emerging and re-emerging
health threats and bioterrorism. To address this need and fill the gap in
educational programs available to practitioners, the School
of Public Health at the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill has developed the online
Certificate in Field Epidemiology Program. This 12-credit certificate program
consists of four online courses:
introductory epidemiology, field epidemiology methods, infectious
disease epidemiology, and surveillance.
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Who should apply
This program should be considered essential for public
health preparedness staff, nurses, communicable disease investigators,
epidemiologists, environmental health specialists, health educators, health
officers, physicians, and veterinarians working in the public health field, as
well as for any other individuals currently performing epidemiological tasks
with limited or no formal training.
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Benefits
Graduates of this program will have a solid background in
introductory epidemiology and the ability to competently conduct outbreak
investigations. They will know how to
apply field epidemiology methods, use epidemiology software to identify
patterns in infectious disease outbreaks, and they will be able to set up
surveillance systems to collect and monitor data used to identify outbreak
patterns.
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Curriculum
This 12-credit program can be completed in 16 months.
Participants take courses one at a time, in the fall, spring, summer, and fall
semesters. Courses are offered in sequence and admission is available in Fall,
Spring, and Summer I. The schedule and core topic areas are:
- Introduction
to Epidemiology for Public Health (fall and summer, 3 credits)
- Field
Epidemiology Methods (spring, 3 credits)
- Introduction
to Methods in Infectious Disease Epidemiology (summer, 3 credits)
- Public
Health Surveillance (fall, 3 credits)
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Admissions criteria
- Priority
given to those with at least three years in a health or social science related
field
- Demonstrated math competency
- Excellent
English language skills
- Basic computer
skills and access to the Internet
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Contact info
Meleata Pinto
Marketing Coordinator, Certificate Education
(919) 966-4870 | certificates@unc.edu
North Carolina Institute of Public Health
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