MS - SCG concentration

The MS in Biostatistics with area of concentration in Statistical and Computational Genomics is designed for students with a background in calculus, some experience with programming, and a strong interest in public health and genomics. The SCG concentration emphasizes biostatistical theory and statistical computational methods for analyzing and interpreting ‘omics data so that students are prepared to be effective statistical collaborators in interdisciplinary studies; and lead the design and execution of studies.

Biostatistics and SCG Careers

Statistical and computational genetics is an exciting, rapidly changing, and interdisciplinary profession. Trained statistical and computational geneticists are in high demand.In fact, the U.S. Department of Labor’s O*NET OnLine projects the job growth for bioinformatics scientists nationwide to be 5-9%.

Here are just a few employers with open positions for statistical geneticists, genomic data scientists or bioinformaticians in a recent search on Indeed, Glassdoor, and ZipRecruiter:

  • 23andMe
  • Regeneron Pharmacueticals
  • University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
  • GeneDx
  • New York Genome Center
  • Signature Science
  • AgBiome
  • NIH Bioinformatics and Microbiome Center

Typical median salary ranges were $42,000-$167,000.

SCG Concentration-Specific Competencies

Students with the statistical and computational genetics concentration will master the core MS in biostatistics competencies and will also be able to:

  1. Apply specialized data curation, management, and cleaning tools for various types ‘omics data,
  2. Apply specialized statistical, bioinformatics, and computational methods for analysis of ’omics data, and
  3. Effectively use a programming language (such as R) to analyze ‘omics data.

SCG Concentration-specific Requirements

40 credits, including:

  • Coursework in fundamentals of statistical theory and applications
  • Coursework in programming languages (e.g. SQL, R, SAS, Python)
  • Coursework in modern computational methods for high dimensional data, machine learning, genomics and molecular biology
  • A statistical consulting practicum
  • Coursework in epidemiology and public health
  • Capstone course to prepare a thesis involving innovative data analysis or related to an internship experience

program information

MS-SCG Schedule (PDF, 2022-23)
MS-SCG Degree Requirements Worksheet (PDF, 2022-23)
Student Handbook (PDF, 2022-23)

Admissions

Sample thesis titles

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

Application deadline

Applications for fall admission are due by January 15 for international and US applicants.

Apply online now

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

Questions?

biostat@pitt.edu

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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)

Biostatistics Student Wins National Award 

Biostatistics Student Wins National Award

Xiaotian (Steven) Gao, a Masters student in the Department of Biostatistics at Pitt Public Health is the 2015 and inaugural winner of the Lingzi Liu memorial award.  (03/17/2015)

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)
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Meet Kristina Boyd (BIOS '19), Dean's Scholar 

Meet Kristina Boyd (BIOS '19), Dean's Scholar

After landing a research position at the Massachusetts General Hospital Biostatistics Center, Kristina Boyd was encouraged to pursue public heath as a career. In addition to serving as a research assistant in the UPMC Department of Emergency Medicine, she is a wife and mother to a 2-year-old. Thoug... (09/07/2017)
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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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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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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)
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