Pre-Program Requirement
All students should have prior coursework in biostatistics equivalent to at least BIO201 (Introduction to Biostatistics) at the entry into the program. Admitted students will be required to take an online biostatistics pre-test to assess competency with the BIO201 material. Students who score below a certain threshold will be required to either (i) take an online biostatistics module during the summer preceding program entry or (ii) register for an in-person summer biostatistics course at the school. Students who do particularly poorly on the pretest will be strongly encouraged to pursue the in-class option.
Regardless of the pre-test outcome, the PHS Program will encourage students to attend a biostatistics “bootcamp” in late August during program orientation to ensure all students are adequately prepared for the required quantitative research methods sequence (see below).
Electives
Students in this program may take other courses offered at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The link to the course listing is here.
They may also take courses across any of the Harvard schools. The link to the University-wide course listing is here.
Course Enrollment Requirements
Please note that credit numbers are different between the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and the Harvard Chan School. FAS uses a 2, 4, 8 credit system while the Harvard Chan School uses a 2.5, 5, and 10 credit system. For the purposes of PHS courses, 4/5 credit courses will be referred to as a “semester course” and 2/2.5 credit courses as a “quarter courses.” Overall, GSAS students need to enroll in a minimum of 16 credits per semester. As students of the Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, PHS students will register directly into any PHS-specific (or other FAS) courses, such as PHS 2000A and PHS 2000B; and will cross-register into any Chan School courses (predominantly Field of Study requirements).
