MS

Master of Science in Biostatistics

The MS in Biostatistics is an academic degree program for students with a background in calculus and a strong interest in public health. The program emphasizes statistical theory and methods so that students are prepared to be effective statistical collaborators in interdisciplinary studies; and lead the design and execution of studies.  In addition to the main biostatistics master's curriulum, the department now offers concentrations in health data science and in statistical and computational genetics.

Careers

Recent graduates hold the following positions:

  • Opioid compliance specialist, Georgia Dept. of Public Health
  • Actuarial analyst, Highmark Health
  • Biostatistician, Ichan School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai
  • Statistician, Mayo Clinic
  • Business analyst, PNC Financial Services
  • Biostatistician, University of Pittsburgh Dept. of Critical Care Medicine
  • Biostatistician, University of Pittsburgh Dept. of Orthopedic Surgery
  • Data analyst, University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy
  • Statistician, University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work

Recent Thesis Titles

Browse titles in D-Scholarship , the institutional repository for research output at the University of Pittsburgh

MS Competencies

All graduates with an MS in BIostatistics will be able to...

  • Address health problems by appropriate problem definition, study design, data collection, data management, statistical analysis, and interpretation of results
  • Demonstrate mastery of the theory underlying statistical methods
  • Understand and implement innovative statistical approaches
  • Communicate biostatistical analyses to individuals with varying degrees of statistical knowledge
  • Apply research design principles to problems in public health
  • Recognize strengths and weaknesses of approaches, including alternative designs, data sources, and analytic methods
  • Determine the data best suited to address public health issues, program planning, and program evaluation

Requirements

  • 40 credits, including:
  • Coursework in fundamentals of statistical theory and applications
  • A statistical consulting practicum
  • Coursework in epidemiology and public health
  • Thesis involving innovative data analysis or related to an internship experience

program information

MS Two-year Schedule (PDF)
MS Eighteen-month Schedule (PDF)
MS Degree Requirements Worksheet (PDF, 2019-20)
Student Handbook (PDF, 2019-20)

Admissions

Application Deadline

Applications are due by January 15 for fall admission. 

Apply online now

Using  SOPHAS, the centralized application service for graduate schools of public health.

Questions?

biostat@pitt.edu

Why Pittsburgh?

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PLAN A VISIT

Want to explore interest areas and career options, find the best fit among our degree programs and departments, and meet students and faculty?

Visit the school, participate in an information session, or attend our annual Open House each fall.

MS Student News

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Boyd selected for JSM Diversity Workshop and Mentoring Program 

Boyd selected for JSM Diversity Workshop and Mentoring Program

Kristina Boyd (BIOST '19) has been selected to participate in the JSM Diversity Workshop and mentoring program at this year's Joint Statistical Meetings taking place in Denver July 28-31. She was also granted a travel award to attend. Those selected will participate in daily sessions, career enhanc... (07/03/2019)
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Barbour: 2019 Early Career Excellence Award 

Barbour: 2019 Early Career Excellence Award

Kamil Barbour (BIOST ’11, EPI ’10) is an epidemiologist with the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion for the CDC, currently serving as team lead of the State Chronic Disease Epidemiology Assignee Program. In this hand-selected role, he supervises four senior-level ... (04/22/2019)
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Liu's paper selected for Distinguished Student Paper Award 

Liu's paper selected for Distinguished Student Paper Award

Peng Liu's (BIOST '16, '20) paper "MethylSeqDesign: A framework for Methyl-Seq genome-wide power calculation and study design issues" has been selected for the Distinguished Student Paper Award. Congratulations!  (02/11/2019)
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Pitt Public health students competed and won at Code4PA code-a-thon competition 

Pitt Public health students competed and won at Code4PA code-a-thon competition

At this year's Code4PA event, two teams of Pitt Public Health students won prizes in the regional competition and advanced to the final round. A team of four, including HUANG LIN (BIOS '20), QING YIN (BIOS '21), AND LINGYUN LYU (BIOS '22), won best use of a case/visualization. The other team, inclu... (11/07/2018)
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2018 Celebration of Student Awards 

2018 Celebration of Student Awards

On April 28, 2018, Pitt Public Health celebrated recent graduates with awards given upon the culmination of a degree program. Delta Omega's honor society inductees were announced and outstanding thesis/essay and dissertation awards were conferred. Outstanding Student Awards were also given at both ... (04/30/2018)

Lyu receives Lingzi Lu Memorial Award 

Lyu receives Lingzi Lu Memorial Award

This year, Pitt BIostats master's student LINGYUN LYU is a recipient of the  Lingzi Lu Memorial Award  from the American Statistical Association in partnership with the International Chinese Statistical Association, The award provides travel support to the ASA Conference on Statistical Practice and... (12/13/2017)
More Biostats Student Stories