“The Public Health Data Fluency Certificate has taught me the importance of using data to solve problems and generate insights. This certificate has encouraged me to pursue a career where I am able to use my skills in data management and analysis. My career interests include healthcare consulting, healthcare informatics, and healthcare administration.”

— Amelia Benson, Health Promotion major, Business minor

“I really enjoyed the data fluency certificate because I felt it gave me coding skills that I didn’t get with the College of Public Health at UGA. Most CPH students only get to alter prewritten code, with no support in learning how to clean data or compose statistical analysis. I hope to continue to use the skills from this certificate as I pursue graduate studies in epidemiology.”

— Jacqueline Jordan, Health Promotion major

“The Data Fluency course work gave great practice on how to work with data in a professional setting. Learning how to use coding software made working with the data easy to jump into, even if you haven’t had a lot of experience working with data. I feel prepared to move into epidemiology with the skills I gained from these courses.”

— Joshua Dunehew, Health Promotion major, Global Health minor

“I originally started the course sequence as someone with no prior knowledge of working with data and have completed the courses as someone who is now pursuing a career in Data Science. This experience created an interest in working with data that I had never anticipated coming from a healthcare background. I learned many skills that will make me an asset to any team that I become a part of, and I am confident that the skills I have attained by partaking in this opportunity will continue to create even more opportunities for me in the future.”

— Ishita Gaikwad, Data Science major

“As a student with little to no data skills entering the field of public health, I knew I needed to fill this gap. The College of Public Health Data Fluency Certificate was the perfect educational opportunity to gain these skills, and I couldn’t be more glad I took the courses!”

— Julia Baumohl, Health Promotion major

“I pursued the Public Health Data Fluency Certificate because I wanted to develop a useful skillset that would bridge the gap between my background in science and my goal of pursuing epidemiology. Epidemiology requires a niche toolkit in biostatistics, data analytics, and coding, and this certificate is the perfect introduction to that. The courses taught me so much about finding, using, and communicating data, and I am confident that it will continue to benefit me as I pursue graduate education in epidemiology.”

— Bailey Hebermehl, Public Health Data Fluency

“The Public Health Data Fluency Certificate opened the doors I needed to start my career as a public health epidemiologist! This program is more than just a collection of data literacy and public health courses. It bestows credibility to your resume and helps you build competitive skillsets and helpful connections that could get you a foot in the door to any opportunity related to data research. I would know – the certificate helped me secure a seat in the UGA MPH program and earn and graduate research assistantship. This program truly is a wonderful resource for anyone looking to start a career in the public health field!”

— Elizabeth Grace Threadgill, Public Health Data Fluency Certificate

Eligibility: Students can enter the certificate at any time in their academic career. To be successful in EPID 2100, students should have already taken a first-level Statistics Course (see list below).

• BIOS 2010
• STAT 2000
• Equivalent Statistics Transfer Credit

How to Apply: Undergraduate students can change or add majors, minors, certificates, and areas of emphasis using the “My Programs” option in Athena.  If undergraduate students encounter an error when changing or adding a programs, they can contact [email protected] for assistance.

Students will take three required core courses from the College’s Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics. All certificate courses must be passed with a B or higher:

• BIOS 2010, Elementary Biostatistics (4 hours)
• EPID 2100, Health Data Literacy for Public Health Research and Practice (3 hours) – Offered Every Spring Semester
• EPID 3100, Health Data Fluency and Management for Public Health Research and Practice (3 hours) – Offered Every Fall Semester

Only one following three interdisciplinary research methods courses may be used to fulfill certificate elective requirements:

• EPID 4070  Fundamentals of Epidemiology (3 hours)
• INTL 4005  Social Experimentation Around the World (3 hours)
• POLS 4150  Research Methods in Political Science (3 hours)

Additional elective options:

• AAEC 4040-4040L  Statistics for Agribusiness Management (4 hours)
• BINF(BCMB) 4005/6005  Essential Computing Skills for Biologists (2 hours)
• BIOS 3000  Intermediate Biostatistics for Public Health Sciences (3 hours)
• BIOS 3910  Directed Study in Biostatistics (1-3 hours)
• BIOS 4960R  Faculty-Mentored Undergraduate Research I** (1-6 hours)
• BTEC 3000  Ethics and Communication in Biotechnology (2 hours)
• CSCI 1360  Foundations for Informatics and Data Analytics (4 hours)
• CSCI 2725  Data Structures for Data Science (4 hours)
• CSCI 3360  Data Science I (4 hours)
• DIGI 2000  Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for the Digital Humanities (1 hour)
• GEOG 2011-2011L  Introduction to Geographic Information Science (3 hours)
• GEOG 4300/6300  Data Science in Geography (3 hours)
• GEOL 4530/6530-4530L/6530L  Principles and Environmental Applications of GIS (3 hours)
• HPAM 4410  Introduction to Health Informatics and Analytics (3 hours)
• INTL 4000, Research Design and Quantitative Analysis in International Affairs (3 hours)
• MIST 2090 Introduction to Information Systems in Business (3 hours)
• MIST 4000 Data Literacy in Business (3 hours)

**Other faculty-mentored data intensive, research course offerings with approval of certificate coordinator.