Master’s program in Epidemiology

Free University, Amsterdam

Master

Yes

Yes

Possible

60

Parttime

On campus

Dutch

Yes

20

MSc

1) WO masters from the following (bio)medical programs are directly admissible to the program: medicine, veterinary medicine, pharmacy and biopharmaceutical sciences; 2) WO masters with a degree other than one of the above mentioned programs will be admitted only upon approval of the Admissions Committee. They must demonstrate sufficient basic medical knowledge (see VvE registration requirements, requirement A; www.epidemiologie.nl). If a student has insufficient basic medical knowledge, he will be admitted to the program under the condition that he has completed a basic medical knowledge course, preferably before the start of the program but at the latest before the completion of the program. 3) HBO bachelors from a health-related program will be admitted only upon approval of the admissions committee. They must demonstrate that they have: - At least two years of relevant work experience; - Sufficient basic medical knowledge (see item 2): - A successfully completed premaster program. This program consists of courses in the field of methods and techniques of research and is offered by VU's Faculty of Science.

24

1. Epidemiological research: basic principles 2. Principles of epidemiological data analysis. 3. Regression techniques 4. Clinimetry: developing and evaluating measurement instruments. 5. Epidemiological research: deepening 6. Methodological advice 7. Missing data: consequences and solutions

6

1. Systematic reviews and meta-analysis 2. Efficiency research: methods and principles 3. Multilevel models and longitudinal data analysis 4. Qualitative research in health care practice 5. Clinical prediction models and machine Learning 6. Mediation analysis 7. Item Response Theory 8. Lifestyle Epidemiology 9. Bayesian Statistics 10. Causal Inference and Propensity Score Methods 11. Statistical analyses with R

30

The course is taught in Dutch and intended for professionals and researchers (including PhD students) already working in health care in the broadest sense (prevention, curation, rehabilitation, policy and management). More than half of the students are practicing physicians and combine research with clinical work. Students take the course part-time in addition to their jobs. Because some courses are organized 2x a year, entry is possible during the academic year. An individual training plan can be created for each student. Almost all students have a university degree before starting this program. The courses (7 mandatory and 3 elective) are taught on a number of consecutive (3-6) days, some of which are at a conference center. This block teaching (about 4-5 blocks per year) is easily arranged for the student to combine with his work. Away from daily professional practice, this gives students the time and opportunity to reflect on their practice and be completely open to the material being taught. This set-up, in which faculty and students work intensively together for several consecutive days, ensures a pleasant learning environment with plenty of room for formal and informal interaction. This also gives students the opportunity to discuss questions from their own research practice with instructors. Because the students work in various sectors of the health care industry, many in the position of (physician) researcher, there is ample opportunity for networking and sharing experiences. The internship is almost always part of in-house research (PhD) work.