Master of Science in Epidemiological Research

The master's degree is the leading program in the training of researchers in epidemiology in Peru, with more than 250 graduates to date. The master's degree is taught by more than 20 internationally renowned Peruvian and foreign PhD researchers graduated from universities in the United States and Europe, most of them graduated from the prestigious Johns Hopkins University. Our faculty is dedicated full-time to research at UPCH and other internationally recognized institutions, and the master's degree is supported by key collaborators at Johns Hopkins University.

The master's degree offers the deepest and most solid training in biostatistics, epidemiology and research methods in the country, with international level content. The curriculum has many elements in common with the master's degrees at Johns Hopkins University, where most of the teachers were trained. Ethical and comprehensive training is also provided to prepare them for conducting research and university teaching. Students learn to formulate research questions, write protocols, conduct complex regression analyses, and write scientific manuscripts for international publication. Priority is given to teaching methods and transmitting how research is conducted in practice. All biostatistics teaching is hands-on, using the most up-to-date version of Stata®. Classroom classes are complemented by integration activities on and off campus, and a demonstration of methods in the field. Our applied methodology allows classes to be completed with a very advanced version of the thesis, which facilitates rapid graduation and future publication of findings.

The master students come from the most prestigious research centers or groups in the country. They have a very diverse profile in terms of training and experience. His evolution after the master's degree is highly positive. More than half of the graduates have published in international indexed journals, most of them in English and as first author. More than 10% progress to doctorates, mainly in the United States (41%), England (22%), Brazil (14%) and the rest of Europe (22%), with multiple students in prestigious institutions such as Johns Hopkins University and Oxford. The majority of graduates work directly linked to research, generation or management of scientific evidence, with a high presence in the main research centers in the country. 

The master's degree was created in 2007 and has been offered annually without interruption since then under the auspices of a training program funded by the Fogarty International Center of the National Institutes of Health, currently called "Emerge, Training in Research in Epidemiology of Emerging Diseases". The program has been renewed until the year 2025 and is directed by Dr. Andrés G. (Willy) Lescano, general coordinator of the master's degree.