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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: 31 aug 2020

End: 18 sep 2020

Course material

Compulsory study material: ‘Epidemiology – An Introduction’ by K.J. Rothman, Oxford ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ 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

PhD candidates registered with the Graduate School of Life Sciences via MyPhD: €0

Our no-show policy

We are happy to offer courses and workshops for free to all GSLS PhDs. However: free of charge does not mean free of responsibility. Our activities tend to be fully booked well in advance. For every late cancellation or no-show we have had to disappoint others who would have liked to attend. 

This is how we work: 

• Once you have signed up for a course, we expect you to attend;
• If you need to cancel your registration, do so at the earliest possible moment, at least four weeks before the start of the course;
• If you really have to, you are allowed to miss up to 20% of the classes. You always have to attend the first course session;
• Not meeting the attendance requirements or cancelling within four weeks before the course starts means you will be charged no-show fee (€288,75 for this course);
• We are unable to make any exceptions.

More information and registration

To register for this course, please send an e-mail to msc-epidemiology@umcutrecht.nl, including:

• You are a PhD candidate of the GSLS
• Your PhD programme of the GSLS
• The course that you would like to attend (Introduction to Epidemiology Online starting 31-08-2020)