Epidemiology is th study of patterns of disease and injury in human populations and the application of this study to the control of health problems.*

Competencies: Upon graduation a student with an MPH should be able to,

• Identify key sources of data for epidemiologic purposes.
  
• Identify the principles and limitations of public health screening programs.
  
• Describe a public health problem in terms of magnitude, person, time and place.
  
• Explain the importance of epidemiology for informing scientific, ethical, economic and political discussion of health issues.
  
• Comprehend basic ethical and legal principles pertaining to the collection, maintenance, use and dissemination of epidemiologic data.
  
• Apply the basic terminology and definitions of epidemiology.
  
• Calculate basic epidemiology measures.
  
• Communicate epidemiologic information to lay and professional audiences.
  
• Draw appropriate inferences from epidemiologic data.
  
• Evaluate the strengths and limitations of epidemiologic reports.
  
  

*Definitions are provided to define the context by which the workgroups' competency modeling development activities took place and are not intended to describe the entire field of the particular discipline's scholarship and practice.