About the Program
PLEASE READ: For the 2025-2026 academic year, the University of Rochester will pause our acceptance and review of applications to our Epidemiology and Health Services Research PhD programs. We will not review any applications and will not be enrolling any PhD students this year. This pause is only for 1 year and we will return to accepting applications and enrolling students next year (during the 2026-2027 academic year). Please note that we continue to accept and review applications this year to our Masters programs as usual (MS in Epidemiology, MS in Clinical Investigation, MS in Health Services Research and Policy, and our Master of Public Health programs), as well as all of our certificate programs. The pause is for our Epidemiology and Health Services Research PhD programs only.
The Doctoral Program in Epidemiology aims to prepare students for careers conducting independent community and population research focusing on disease causation and prevention. The program builds closely mentored relationships between students and faculty, and the collaborative atmosphere at the Medical Center offers the opportunity for students to work with researchers in various fields. Therefore, graduates will be well prepared to contribute their training, expertise and insights to multidisciplinary investigations that span laboratory, clinical, and public health research.
The epidemiology faculty's research interests include:
- environmental exposures (e.g. air pollution, methyl mercury, and impacts on reproduction, neurobehavioral disorders, immune-mediated diseases, and acute cardiovascular events)
- nutrition (e.g. interventions in adults and children to prevent weight gain)
- cardiovascular disease (e.g. fatty acids and the pathophysiology and prevention of heart disease
- infectious disease (e.g. HIV transmission prevention, interventions to improve HIV care in high risk populations)
- maternal and child health, and
- health disparities in racial and ethnic groups and in the elderly.
Epidemiology faculty are part of the diverse faculty of the Department of Public Health Sciences, which represents such disciplines as epidemiology, health policy, economics, psychology, behavioral sciences, and sociology. The department has an active and well-funded research program with many opportunities for student participation.
Candidates who are particularly suited to the program are:
- health professionals
- those already having master’s degrees in epidemiology or public health, and
- individuals with degrees in related fields such as the natural sciences, sociology, psychology, social work, or demography.
Those with an undergraduate degree in one of these fields are also welcomed to apply.
For information related to the doctoral degree program in Epidemiology, please contact:
David Rich, Sc.D., M.P.H.
Public Health Sciences
265 Crittenden Blvd.
Rochester, NY 14642
Office: (585) 276-4119
Fax: (585) 424-1469
Administrative: (585) 275-8784