Pitt Public Health students may receive some type of financial aid in the form of student loans, full or partial scholarships, fellowships, student hourly jobs or assistantships (GSR/TA). Check the school-level tuition and financial aid overview to review options for financing your degree, then contact your department for more information.
Funding Support for Epidemiology Master's Students
Master’s students may be eligible for partial scholarships. In addition, master’s degree program accepted applicants and students may inquire about hourly paid positions by talking with their academic advisors or Dr. Nancy W. Glynn, master's program director. Students can also contact course instructors or departmental lab staff. Other on-campus hourly paid positions may also be available, and are posted to the University of Pittsburgh Human Resources Web site. Contact Nancy Glynn for more information.
Students may also apply for loans through the University’s Office of Financial Aid. Generally, loan applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
Coverdell Fellows Program
Pitt Public Health invites Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) to apply for the Paul D. Coverdell Fellows Program, which provides financial support towards a Master of Public Health (MPH) or Master of Science (MS) degree as well as experience working with local underserved communities.
Coverdell Fellows receive a 40 percent tuition & fees scholarship for up to four academic terms of study at Pitt Public Health. If you're interested in pursuing an MPH or MS degree, simply check the RPCV box on your SOPHAS application!
Funding Support for Epidemiology Doctoral Students
Graduate Student Researcher (GSR) appointments or trainee appointments associated with training grants as described below may be offered by Epidemiology department faculty to selected doctoral degree program students or accepted applicants. Candidates for trainee appointments must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents, although both international and U.S. citizens or permanent residents are eligible for GSR appointments. Contact Dr. Tina Costacou, doctoral program director, or Amy Rhodes, epidemiology student services manager and program administrator, for more information about GSRs.
Contact information for training grant representatives is identified below. Generally, priority in trainee appointment consideration is given to continuing students as opposed to applicants, but applicants who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents may contact grant representative to inquire about the availability of positions and their eligibility based upon their academic backgrounds and experience.
Graduate Student Researcher Positions
Graduate student researcher (GSR) positions are provided by faculty members to selected doctoral program students or accepted applicants. Appointment responsibilities may encompass activities related to students’ individual dissertation preparation or may be based upon a specific research project. All positions provide students with invaluable opportunities to collaborate with faculty and colleagues, and acquire transferable skills.
Candidates are identified by faculty based upon individual academic background and experience sought, and in some cases, comparable research interests. Those selected for consideration are contacted directly by faculty via phone or email. Appointments are awarded largely at the start of academic terms, but offers may be extended at other times when funding is available.
The GSR program is competitive because of the great demand for these training opportunities. Due to limited financial resources, it is not possible for the Department of Epidemiology to offer these appointments to all doctoral students. Students not receiving an appointment should be prepared to provide their own sources of funding for the duration of their study at Pitt Public Health.
Eligibility
Accepted doctoral program (PhD) applicants or continuing doctoral students may be considered for GSR appointments in the Department of Epidemiology. Master’s program (MPH or MS) applicants and continuing master’s degree students are not considered for these appointments.
How to be considered for An appointment
Doctoral program applicants are automatically considered for GSR appointments unless they indicate through their applications that they are not seeking or do not need funding support.
Continuing, unfunded epidemiology PhD or DrPH students seeking financial support should contact Amy Rhodes about how to proceed.
Effort and Course Registration Requirements
GSRs are expected to devote twenty hours per week to the research project. They must maintain a full-time credit load during fall and spring terms (9–15 credits).
Appointments
GSR appointments range from one to two terms at a time (fall, spring). Summer term appointments are awarded separately. Appointment renewals are subject to satisfactory job performance and availability of funding support.
Stipend
The monthly stipend payment for a GSR is currently $2,500.
Tuition Scholarships
GSRs will receive full tuition scholarships to cover up to 15 credits.
Health Insurance
GSRs will be provided individual coverage under the UPMC Health Plan for graduate students. Family coverage is available at an additional cost to the student.
Training Grant Positions
Trainee position availability is based upon current grant funding status.
- Aging Epidemiology
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Contact: Elsa Strotmeyer, program director
Opportunities: predoctoral, postdoctoralMajor scientific advances have been made in epidemiology studies and clinical trials regarding important medical, behavioral and genetic determinants of healthy aging, yet the potential to substantially reduce disease and disability in old age is far from being fully realized in health care and public health practice. The Center for Aging and Population Health (CAPH) strives to apply these important research findings by enhancing education of health professionals and the public about maximizing active life expectancy and reducing disease-specific morbidity and mortality.
- Cardiovascular Epidemiology
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Contact: Akira Sekikawa, program director
Opportunities: predoctoral, postdoctoralThe Cardiovascular Training Grant at the University of Pittsburgh Department of Epidemiology is one of seventeen training grants in cardiovascular epidemiology and biostatistics funded through the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute.
- Infectious Disease Epidemiology
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Contact: Lee H. Harrison, program director
Opportunities: predoctoralPitt Fogarty AIDS Training and Research Program (AITRP) The mission of the Pitt AITRP is to provide Brazilian and Indian health professionals with the multidisciplinary tools needed to conduct cutting-edge HIV prevention research in their countries. Since its initiation the end of 1998, we have had multiple doctoral students from the two countries.In addition, the Pitt AITRP had provided dozens of Brazilian and Indian students, laboratory technicians, and investigators with short-term training in a variety of technical areas, including the sensitive/less sensitive HIV ELISA assay to determine HIV seroincidence from single serum specimens, the measurement of HIV RNA in semen, and how to conduct an HIV vaccine trial.
- Population Neuroscience of Aging and Alzheimer's Disease
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Contact: Caterina Rosano, program director
Opportunities: 3 predoctoral, 2 postdoctoralThe School of Public Health and the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh are pleased to announce a new pre- and postdoctoral training program in Population Neuroscience of Aging & Alzheimer’s Disease. The program is codirected by Drs. C. Rosano and M. Ganguli. The PNA program trains highly talented individuals to pursue successful independent research in the etiology of Alzheimer’s Disease and other age-related dementia (ADRD). Eligible applicants must have backgrounds in either contemporary neuroscience or population/data science. For example: PhD graduates or candidates in Epidemiology, Neuroscience, Information Science, Biostatistics, Biomedical informatics and MD/DO graduates with training in Neurology, Psychiatry, Geriatric medicine, and related disciplines. Please contact stc15@pitt.edu with questions.
Additional Program Details
Predoctoral program information and application
Postdoctoral position information and application