Areas of Concentration

Trainees pursuing the Master of Science in Clinical Research must choose a specialty track and may also choose to further focus their research by taking 6 credits of coursework in a specific area of concentration and submitting a research paper in that area. Three areas of concentration are currently available: the Health Disparities and Underserved Community Research; the Palliative Care Research; and the Aging and Chronic DiseaseResearch.

Health Disparities and Underserved Community Research Area of Concentration

This area of concentration is designed to provide additional advanced training in health services research that focuses on underserved populations and health care disparities. Courses chosen from the following list will provide trainees with skills and analytic methods that are appropriate for community-based and disparities research and will help trainees identify and address problems facing underserved communities.

Required Courses
Course number Course title Credits Term
CLRES 2100 Outcomes and Effectiveness Research Methods 2 Spring (Mar-Apr)
MEDEDU 2240 Cultural Competence in Medical Education 1 Spring (Feb)
Suggested Elective Courses
Course number Course title Credits Term
BCHS 2502 Social and Behavioral Aspects of Public Health Practice 1.5 Spring
BCHS 2545 Introduction to Community Mental Health 2  
BCHS 2548 Community Mental Health Consultative techniques 1  
BCHS 2563 Community Health Assessment 3 Fall
BCHS 2568 Human Diversity and Public Health Policy, Research, and Practice 2 Summer (May-Aug)
BCHS 2585 Historical and Sociological Perspectives in Public Health 3  
BCHS 2599 Public Health Approaches to Women's health 3 Fall
EPIDEM 2710 Epidemiology of Women's Health 2 Fall
EPIDEM 2711 Physiology in Women 2  
HPM 2135 Health Policy 2 Fall

Palliative Care Area of Concentration

This area of concentration is designed to provide trainees with didactic training in a broad spectrum of research methodologies, technologies, and tools; exposure to multidisciplinary research teams, hands-on mentored experience in conducting patient-oriented research; and the conceptual and writing skills necessary to submit competitive grant applications for successful, long-term patient-oriented research careers.

Required Courses
Course number Course title Credits Term
CLRES 2601 Principles and Practices of Palliative Care Part I 1 Fall
CLRES 2602 Principles and Practices of Palliative Care Part II 1 Spring
CLRES 2610 Research Methods in Palliative Care 1 Spring
Suggested Elective Courses
Course number Course title Credits Term
BCHS 3002 Health Survey Methods 3 Spring
BCHS 3007 Ethnographic Approaches to Program Evaluation 3 Spring
BIOETH 2658 Philosophy of Medicine 3 Fall
BIOETH 2661 Theoretical Foundations 3 Fall
BIOETH 2664 Bioethics 3  
CLRES 2100 Outcomes and Effectiveness Research Methods 2 Spring (Mar-Apr)
CLRES 2120 Cost Effectiveness Analysis 1 Fall (Sept)
CLRES 2121 Clinical Decision Analysis 1 Fall (Oct)
NUR 1829 Contemporary Issues in Cross Cultural Care 3 Spring
NUR 2350 Crisis Intervention 3  
SOC 2406 Medical Sociology 3  
SOC 2426 Historical/Sociological Perspectives of Public Health 3 Spring

Aging and Chronic Disease Area of Concentration

This area of concentration is designed to provide trainees with advanced knowledge and skills related to patient-oriented research on aging and chronic disease. Courses will address conceptual and pragmatic issues concerning research in populations of older patients who may have multiple disorders and functional limitations. Topics include how research is adapted to deal with special challenges of sampling, recruitment, retention, respondent medical burden, nonresponse, comorbidity, combined interventions, competing events, and analysis with censored data. Trainees will become familiar with research approaches in various settings (e.g., long-term care, home care, life care, rehabilitation, emergency services, hospitals, and intensive care units), the design and implementation of clinical trials in elderly populations, and the application of new diagnostic technology to problems of aging and chronic disease.

Required Courses
Course number Course title Credits Term
CLRES 2500 Introduction to Patient-Oriented Research in Aging and Chronic Disease 3 Fall (Sept-Oct)
CLRES 2510 Aging Research in Special Settings 1 Spring (Feb)
CLRES 2520 Special Issues in Clinical Trials in Older Populations 1 Spring (Apr-May)
CLRES 2530 New and Emerging Techniques in Aging Research 1  
Suggested Elective Courses
Course number Course title Credits Term
BCHS 2532 Dimensions of Aging, Culture, and Health 2 Spring
BCHS 2533 Issues in Long-Term Care 3  
EPIDEM 2150 Epidemiology of Cardiovascular Diseases 2 Spring
EPIDEM 2171 Cancer Epidemiology 2 Summer (May-Jun)
EPIDEM 2900 Epidemiology of Aging 2 Spring
LAW 5347 Elderly and the Law 3 Spring
SWBEH 2077 Adult Development and Aging 3 Spring