Introduction to Epidemiology (Online) - FULLY BOOKED

Course description

This course gives an insight in the basic terminology and principles used in epidemiology. Also, the principles of bias and confounding are addressed. This course can best be followed at the start of the PhD track.

Learning objectives

By the end of the course, you should be able to:

• Use and explain the basic terminology and principles used in epidemiology
• State important historical developments in health sciences in general, and epidemiology in particular

In particular, you will be able to:

• Distinguish between, and apply, the different measures of frequency, association and impact that are commonly used in epidemiological research
• Calculate these measures using simple numerical examples
• Tell apart and explain the different aspects of epidemiological research (causal and descriptive).
• Tell apart and state the (dis)advantages of the different study designs used in epidemiological research: cohort, case-control and cross-sectional studies.
• Read and interpret (simple) epidemiological scientific papers, and recognize in these papers which study design was used
• Apply the correct measures of frequency and association belonging to the different epidemiological study designs
• Explain the meaning of the terms ‘bias’ and ‘confounding’ and distinguish between them

Course program

The online course is a 3 week part-time course with a study load of 14 hrs/w. Web lectures, articles, assignments and group discussions are the learning methods that will be used. There are interim deadlines and the course ends with an exam.

Start: 5 September 2022

End:  23 September 2022

Course material

Compulsory study material: ‘Epidemiology – An Introduction’ by K.J. Rothman, Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, June 2012, ISBN-13: 978-0199754557.

Group size

8 to 30 participants

Number of credits

1.5 EC

Course certificate

Participants will receive a certificate when they completed the practical exercises (self-study), attended at least 80% of the classes and passed the exam.

Course fee

We offer 10 places for free for PhD candidates registered with the Graduate School of Life Sciences via MyPhD. Be quick, these 10 places tend to be taken soon. Important: you can only use one of these places for 1 course organised by the Julius Center (Introduction to Epidemiology & Introduction to Statistics, Modern Methods, Study Design in Etiologic Research).

Cancellation and No-show policy

This course is free for GSLS PhD candidates. However: free of charge does not mean free of responsibility. Once you have signed up for a course, we expect you to attend. For every late cancellation or no-show we have had to disappoint others who would have liked to attend. This is our policy:

• You may cancel free of charge up to 4 weeks before the start of the course. After this date you can only cancel if you have a GSLS PhD candidate to replace you in the course. Send the name and contact information of your replacement to pcc@uu.nl, at least 2 working days before the start of the course;

• We expect that you actively attend the full course. You have to complete the total E-learning.

• Not meeting the above requirements means you will be charged a no-show fee. We will send the invoice after the course has ended. We are unable to make any exceptions, unless you have a valid reason (i.e., illness or death in the family 1^st/2^nd degree or partner). Your supervisor has to send an e-mail to pcc@uu.nl indicating the reason.

More information and registration

To register for this course, please send an e-mail to msc-epidemiology@umcutrecht.nl, Registration is closed. Course fully booked

Interest list

Is this course fully booked? Or would you like to follow a course at a later moment? When you subscribe to the interest list of a course, you will receive an e-mail when a new edition opens for registration. The interest list is for GSLS PhD candidates only.