Duke University: Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics
The Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics (B&B) engages in methodological and collaborative research and directs four educational degree programs: the Master of Biostatistics Program, the PhD in Biostatistics Program, the Clinical Research Training Program (CRTP), and the Master of Management in Clinical Informatics (MMCi). Instructors in these programs, as well as other faculty members in the department, either teach courses or supervise student research in the areas of biostatistics, computational biology, statistical genetics, epidemiology, health economics, health services research, and computational medicine.
The Ph.D. degree in Biostatistics is offered through the Duke University Graduate School. A distinguishing feature of the program is its integration within the world-class biomedical research enterprise at Duke University and the Duke School of Medicine. The goal of the program is to train outstanding biostatisticians who will advance the field of biostatistics through collaboration with biomedical investigators. Methodological sophistication is critical to this goal, as is the ability to identify the most important features of the problem under study and to embed these features within the statistical design and analysis. The program emphasizes analytical skills, biological knowledge, and communication.
The Department currently has over 50 faculty members who are individually affiliated with various research groups, centers, and institutes across the School of Medicine, including the Duke Clinical Research Institute, the Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy, the Duke Cancer Institute, the Durham VA Medical Center, the Center for HIV/Aids Vaccine Immunology, and the Duke Center for Aging. The discipline of biostatistics constitutes a primary focus of the Department, which serves as the academic home for faculty biostatisticians in the Medical Center.
Outside the School of Medicine, statistics and biostatistics are represented at Duke by the Department of Statistical Science, one of the eight natural science departments in the School of Arts and Sciences. Some Department of Statistical Science faculty members have secondary appointments in B&B, and vice-versa. Secondary appointments are also held by several faculty members in the Center for Human Genetics whose primary appointments are in the Department of Medicine.
Student body profile
Fall 2014 marked the matriculation of the first class of Duke Biostatistics PhD students, with an entering class of three students. Together, the two Master’s classes and one PhD class comprise just 40 students; the class sizes are kept intentionally small to ensure that each student receives individual attention.
Funding opportunities
PhD students typically receive full funding, comprising tuition, fees, and a graduate stipend. Funding for years three through five is through a traditional teaching assistantship, a graduate research assistantship, and/or a training grant.
For Masters students:
- Tuition scholarships between $5,000 and $20,000 per year for well-qualified Americans
For PhD students:
- Full tuition and fee coverage
- A stipend of $30,000 per 12 months
More information
Contact for more information:
Greg Samsa
Email:
samsa001mc.duke.edu