传染病研究的目的是在核心流行病学课程的基础上发展对流行病学，分析和实验室方法论，免疫学和病原体生物学的必要知识，以了解传染病原体及其宿主，媒介和环境之间的相互作用。教师和学生考虑如何最好地识别和衡量感染，了解传播动态以及制定和评估针对新兴和已建立的传染病的预防和治疗计划，例如HIV / AIDS，丙型肝炎病毒，人乳头瘤病毒，疟疾，麻疹，结核病，流感和登革出血热。
The doctoral program in Epidemiology is anchored in public health and population research and analysis. Students approach research using epidemiologic methods to understand complex human health problems. The PhD requires two years of coursework followed by two (or more) years of research. Students are required to complete a teaching training curriculum and serve as a teaching assistant for methods and topical courses. Additionally, students must complete a written comprehensive exam, a practice oral exam, a preliminary exam, multiple oral and poster presentations, and a final dissertation including presentation and defense.<br>The aim of the Infectious Disease track is to build upon the core epidemiology curriculum to develop the requisite knowledge of the epidemiology, analytical and laboratory methodology, immunology and pathogen biology necessary to understand the interactions of infectious agents and their hosts, vectors, and environment. Faculty and students consider how best to identify and measure infections, understand transmission dynamics, and develop and assess prevention and treatment programs for emerging and established infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C virus, human papillomavirus, malaria, measles, tuberculosis, influenza, and SARS-CoV-2. Students within the program benefit from coursework in microbiology and immunology, epidemiologic methods and statistical analyses, as well as the broad spectrum of courses on infectious diseases offered in the Department of Epidemiology and other departments within the school. Students have the opportunity to engage in local and international projects supervised by faculty within Infectious Disease Epidemiology.