Public Health 345 - Public Health Data Science
Fall
2026
01
3.00
Renu Sharma-Gehring
TU TH 10:00AM 11:15AM
UMass Amherst
17369
Library Tower 1667-ComputerRm
rsharmagehri@umass.edu
Implementing evidence-based public health requires us to examine evidence in order to make the best decisions we can to improve the health of communities and populations. Data science is a rapidly growing discipline which combines programming skills, statistical knowledge and applied subject expertise to examine data to answer questions and make informed decisions. In this course we will learn which kinds of questions to ask, how to visualize and model data to answer those questions, and how to communicate our findings. You will gain hands-on experience through in-class coding activities as well as homework assignments. The course will culminate in an original data analysis project. The data sets used in this class will be real public health related data sets. All coding will be done in R, a popular free open-source data analysis program. Class sessions will consist of a combination of lectures and group team-based learning exercises.
Open to sophomore, junior, and senior Public Health majors only. Students who cannot self-enroll and wish to be placed on a waiting list for this course, please submit a request on https://tinyurl.com/PHWaitlist-Electives