For fellows on the research track, the Clinical Research Enhancement through Supplemental Training (CREST) program was developed to enhance strategies required for productive years in laboratory research. The curriculum is designed with courses given over two years. It is comprised of eight modules which cover the principles of epidemiology, biostatistics, patient-oriented research (two modules each), health services/outcomes research, and data management/informatics (one module each). The program also includes professional development seminars that are offered throughout the two years and focused on key elements including grant writing, scientific communication, research management and time management. Course costs are covered by the T32 grants.

Program Details 

General Structure: 

• Duration: Fellows qualify for the 48-credit version of the MPH program, which can be completed in 1 year. However, fellows have the flexibility to spread the coursework over 2 years. 
• Credits Required: 
  • Base MPH program: 48 credits (includes 8 credits of research/capstone, which likely overlaps with ongoing fellowship research). 
  • MPH with concentration (e.g., Epidemiology, Health Behavior, Technology & Precision Health): 52 credits(requires 4 additional credits). 
• Course Load: 
  • Fellows can take more credits in the  first year (32-36 credits) and use the second year to focus on the thesis/capstone and practicum requirements. 
  • First Quarter Requirements: Fellows take three 4-credit introductory courses (Epidemiology, Biostatistics, Health Behavior) for a total of 12 credits. 
  • From the second quarter onward, there is significant flexibility to design the schedule around fellowship commitments. 

Course Logistics: 

• Each course is approximately 4 credits, with 3 hours per week of in-person classes held at the UCSD MET campus. 
• Credits can be completed part-time during the fellowship term. 
• Concentration-Specific Courses: 
  • Epidemiology and Biostatistics courses are offered in the second quarter for fellows pursuing an Epidemiology concentration. 

Application Process: 

• Timeline: 
  • Applications open: Early September 
  • Application deadline: February 
  • Enrollment notifications: April/May 
  • Program start: Fall Quarter (September) 
• UCSD Internal Fellows: 
  • Late applications are accepted into the summer for UCSD internal candidates. 
• More Information: 
  • Visit the UCSD MPH website Curriculum tab. 
  • Additional resources can be found on the Prospective Students page. 

Infectious disease fellows who are interested in receiving a fully funded MPH and applied training in public health and preventive medicine may join a 4 year pathway, in which half of their MPH is completed during their infectious disease fellowship and the remaining is completed during a preventive medicine year. Fellows in this pathway go through applied experiences in public health through the San Diego Health and Human Services. Training will allow fellows to board certify in Preventive Medicine in addition to Infectious disease. Fellows will have the opportunity to focus their preventive medicine year on any public health and preventive medicine area of their choosing, including addiction, obesity, public health and infectious disease surveillance, maternal health, community medicine, informatics and lifestyle medicine, which have pre-existing tracks. Fellows may choose to defer preventive medicine training till after the conclusion of their ID fellowship which may extend the pathway to 5 years but allow for more in depth training.