The Graduate Certificate in Biostatistics is a 15-credit hour graduate certificate that allows students to develop foundational skills in the design and analysis of biomedical studies. These skills are necessary for conducting quantitative research in public health and medicine, and they are attractive to future employers.

About
Disciplines
Requirements
Entry Requirements
- Students seeking admission to the Graduate School must have obtained a baccalaureate degree, prior to the start of the term for which s/he is admitted, from a fully accredited U.S. institution of higher learning or from a recognized foreign institution. An accredited U.S. institution is one that is accredited by the appropriate regional agency (Middle States, New England, North Central, Northwest, Southern or Western Association of Colleges and Schools). A recognized foreign institution is an institution that is recognized by that nation's Ministry of Education or similar authority as a postsecondary, academic degree-granting institution.
- An overall grade point average of 2.75 on undergraduate work and 3.00 on all graduate work is required by the Graduate School. Individual departments may require higher grade point averages.
- Submission of scores on the verbal, quantitative and analytical writing portions of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) unless their chosen program indicates otherwise. The Graduate School has no minimum GRE score requirement; individual programs may set specific score requirements and in some cases may require the advanced portion of the GRE.
- International applicants whose native language is not English must submit either a TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or IELTS (International English Language Testing System) score. The University of Kentucky requires a minimum TOEFL score of 550 (paper-based), 213 (computer-based) or 79 (internet-based). For IELTS, a minimum mean band score of 6.5 is required. Students may also use the Duolingo English Test (only tests taken after July 15, 2019 will be accepted. The minimum score will be 115, and students recommended for admission may also be interviewed by a CESL evaluator. TOEFL essentials may also be used and the minimum overall score is 9.
- Domestic applicants (U.S. citizens or resident aliens) must pay a $65 application fee; international applicants must pay a $75 fee. The application fee is non-refundable.
English Requirements
- IELTSMin 6.5
- TOEFLMin 79
Career
A graduate certificate is not a degree program, but it does provide formal recognition of the mastery of foundational biostatistics. The certificate is designed for students studying in degree programs outside the Department of Biostatistics or for professionals seeking continuing education.
Upon successful completion of the Graduate Certificate in Biostatistics, students will be able to:
- Identify and apply appropriate statistical methods for analyzing public health and biomedical data
- Summarize statistical designs, including design issues and power calculations, and their applications in solving public health and biomedical problems
- Interpret and convey statistical findings
- Use technology to perform statistical procedures
Application Process
Students already enrolled in a graduate degree program at UK may apply at any time. For those not currently enrolled, please follow the UK Graduate School application deadlines.
Students must apply through the UK Graduate School's ApplyYourself system. A link to the application system as well as Graduate School application deadlines and forms are located at: http://gradschool.uky.edu/.
Official transcripts are required to be provided for prior undergraduate and graduate work from universities other than the University of Kentucky. A GPA of at least 3.0 is also required for admission.
Curriculum
The Graduate Certificate in Biostatistics curriculum includes a total of 15 credit hours, consisting of 3 credit hours of required courses and at least 12 credit hours of electives.
Required Course:
BST 600 – Introduction to Biostatistical Methods (3 hrs)
Elective Courses (must choose at least two courses marked with *):
*BST 631 - Design and Analysis of Health Surveys (3 hrs)
*BST 636 - Analytic Methods for Mining Healthcare Data (3 hrs)
*BST 661 - Survival Analysis (3 hrs)
*BST 662 - Applied Longitudinal Data Analysis (3 hrs)
*BST 663 - Analysis of Categorical Data (3 hrs)
*BST 664 - Design and Analysis of Clinical Trials (3 hrs)
*EPI 717 - Introduction to Causal Inference (3 hrs)
*PPS 710 - Techniques in Secondary Data Research (3 hrs)
BST 535 - Introduction to R Programming (3 hrs)
BST 635 - Databases and SAS Programming (3 hrs)
BST 655 - Introduction to Statistical Genetics (3 hrs)
BMI 520 - Designing for Data Visualization (3 hrs)
BMI 633 - Introduction to Bioinformatics (3 hrs)
BMI 733 - Biomedical Natural Language Processing (3 hrs)
CPH 713 - Pharmacoepidemiology (3 hrs)
EDP 712 - Advanced Psychometric Methods (3 hrs)
Note that some electives are not offered every year. Enrollment in courses outside the Department of Biostatistics may be limited, and some electives may have additional prerequisites.
Courses completed prior to admission may count toward the curriculum requirements. Requests to include these courses are made on the application.
Students in the Graduate Certificate in Biostatistics must maintain a certificate GPA of 3.0 or better to progress with certificate coursework. All course work for the Graduate Certificate in Biostatistics must be completed within 5 years of admission. For students not enrolled in a UK degree-granting program, coursework must be completed in consecutive semesters.
Fee Information
How to Apply
1. Complete UK Graduate Application
2. $75 Application processing fee (non-refundable)
3. Official transcripts in English
4. English proficiency directly from testing center:
- TOEFL: 79 iBT
- IELTS: 6.5
- Duolingo: 115
Deadline to Apply
- April 15 for Fall semester
- August 22 for Spring semester
- Some programs have earlier deadlines

United States of America, Lexington