Minor in Epidemiology

Director of Graduate Studies, Graduate Field of Epidemiology:

Julia L. Finkelstein, ScD MPH
Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition
Division of Nutritional Sciences 

Associate Professor of Epidemiology
Division of Epidemiology, Department of Population Health Sciences  
Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University  

jfinkelstein@cornell.edu

Epidemiology Minor: Information for Prospective and Current Graduate Students

For students interested in studying epidemiology at Cornell, the interdepartmental Minor Field of Epidemiology offers graduate students the opportunity to declare a minor in epidemiology within any major area of study (including Nutrition, Animal Science, Food Science, Biometry, Environmental Toxicology, International Development, Sociology, Statistics, and Veterinary Medicine). Comprehensive course offerings in major disciplines related to epidemiology are available. Epidemiology is a graduate major area of concentration within the Field of Veterinary Medicine, and this major is administered through the College of Veterinary Medicine.

Modern epidemiology requires the use of big data methods, new approaches to causal inference, collaborative studies and translational research. Now more than ever, training in epidemiology is relevant to many disciplines. In 2023, Cornell was awarded a National Institutes of Health institutional training grant to train the next generation of scientists with expertise in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) methods to tackle complex biomedical research challenges in nutrition and health using high dimensional data. At the same time, the infodemic, which the World Health Organization defines as an overabundance of information, some accurate and some not, underscores the need for training in evidence synthesis, which draws heavily on epidemiology methods. Cornell has two other NIH-funded institutional training grants: one focuses on translation in nutrition and evidence synthesis and the second focuses on maternal and child nutrition with epidemiology as one of its cornerstones. All three training grants are led by epidemiology faculty and exemplify the cutting-edge opportunities for training in epidemiology at Cornell.

Epidemiology is the study of the distribution, determinants, and consequences of disease in populations. The goal of epidemiology is to elucidate and quantify the relation between potential risk factors or exposures and disease to prevent the onset and/or the progression of illness. Those wishing to enter the minor should have at least a B.S. or M.S. degree (or the equivalent) in a discipline related to (or offering preparation for) the proposed graduate studies in epidemiology. Applicants should have a sound background in mathematics and the sciences, with additional preparation consistent with the requirements of their proposed major fields of interest.

Students should have taken coursework that deals with physiological or psychological behaviors of individuals. In the social sciences, suitable courses would be medical sociology or psychology. In the zoologic sciences, suitable courses would be physiology, pathology or nutrition. Other biologically- and socially-oriented courses or background experiences would be appropriate depending on the goals of training for each student.

Graduate students enrolled in the minor will conduct their research in the departments of their major advisors. Participating faculty are drawn from the Division of Nutritional Sciences, the Department of Computational Biology, the Department of Statistics and Data Science, the Department of Population Medicine & Diagnostic Sciences, and the Department of Population Health Sciences at Weill Cornell Medicine. Areas of research interest among the faculty can be found on each faculty webpage; interests are broad and include infectious disease epidemiology, nutritional epidemiology, genetic epidemiology, epidemology and data sciences, artificial intelligence and machine learning in epidemilogy, social epidemiology, veterinary epidemiology, and statistical aspects of epidemiology.

Faculty and Specialization

Visit the Cornell University Graduate School website