Education and Training
Since 1989 the department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics and EMGO+ organize a Postgraduate Epidemiology Program. This program includes a full Master program in epidemiology and offers additional courses in epidemiological methods.
The Master’s Programme in Epidemiology trains postgraduates from a range of disciplines (Medicine, Health Sciences, Biomedical Sciences, Pharmaceutical Sciences etc.). It focuses on applied research in primary care and public health. The programme provides the methodological tools for evidence-based medicine and evidence-based health policy. The theoretical section of this Master’s programme consists of six compulsory courses and one optional course. The programme also includes a scientific internship which spans a period of six months. The students taking part in the programme are researchers (including PhD students) and professionals working in the health services field. They often combine their work (including clinical work) with research activities. The research that they carry out at their place of work represents their scientific internship.
The Master’s Programme in Epidemiology meets the Netherlands Epidemiological Society’s registration requirements for epidemiologists. The programme has also been registered by the Executive Board of VU University Amsterdam as an official Master’s programme (not subsidized by the government). A new revised curriculum has started in January 2010. This programme has been accredited by the NVAO (Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders) in January 2011.