Offered through the CU Denver Graduate School and Colorado School of Public Health, the master of science in biostatistics exposes students to a wide variety of studies and research interests including longitudinal data, statistical genetics and genomics, clinical trials, infectious disease, and cancer research. To see the wide range of projects undertaken by our students, you can review our previous thesis titles.

The program targets students with strong skills and training in mathematics with the interest to apply math in health care and biological settings.  Students pursuing the MS look forward to rewarding careers in academia, research, public health and private industry.  Potential positions include design and analysis of health studies, clinical trials, drug development and public health studies.

Coursework includes: applied and theoretical statistics; consulting; analysis of clinical trials; longitudinal and survival data; as well as production of a research paper or thesis.  Please note this program requires 3 semesters of recent calculus (e.g., Calculus I-III offered from a math or engineering department), and linear algebra with a minimum grade of B+ or higher, an introductory statistics or biostatistics course, and exposure to some statistical software (e.g., R, SAS).  Students interested in a less mathematical program with broader exposure to Public Health should consider the MPH in Applied Biostatistics.

Students interested in specializing in statistical methods in genomics and genetics can consider the MS Minor in Statistical Genomics/Genetics.  Students interested in specializing in the generation, analysis and interpretation of large data sets can consider the MS Minor in Data Science Analytics.

The MS  program is designed to be completed in 2 years by full time students.  Many MS students are supported through Research or Teaching Assistantship positions.  These positions are competitive, and offer opportunities for training and experience in research, teaching and practice in Bioinformatics .