Biostats--Vanderbilt and University of Texas Health Science Center

[lisa8191]

Hi all,

 

So I got accepted into University of Texas Health Science Center and will have a campus visit to Vanderbilt in next few weeks. I haven't heard from other schools yet so I'm not making any decision. However, I just need some opinions on these two schools. I had a phone interview with Vandy yesterday. Although they are a newer program, it seems like they have multiple research opportunities and they have well-established courses planning. However, I don't know much about  University of Texas Health Science Center although it was on the Biostats ranking as #15. I was wondering if anyone can give me an advice on these two schools...(i.e. research opportunities, grads outcomes or even location matters...?)

 

*I applied for MS Biostats not PhD and I think Vandy offered 80% tuition waiver for Master and I haven't heard of funding decision for U. or T but likely none.

Edited February 11, 2015 by lisa8191

[Biostat_Assistant_Prof]

Both should be about equal, especially for an MS. My advice would be to go to whichever will be the cheapest for you. Vandy waives 80% tuition, but I think UT has RAships for MS students up to $15k/year. 

 

I will point out, if you're interested in cancer research, then look into see if students at UT have opportunities to work with the biostat division at MD Anderson. If they do, then there are is arguably no better place you could go for cancer biostatistics research, especially if you're interested in cancer clinical trials. 

[lisa8191]

Both should be about equal, especially for an MS. My advice would be to go to whichever will be the cheapest for you. Vandy waives 80% tuition, but I think UT has RAships for MS students up to $15k/year. 

 

I will point out, if you're interested in cancer research, then look into see if students at UT have opportunities to work with the biostat division at MD Anderson. If they do, then there are is arguably no better place you could go for cancer biostatistics research, especially if you're interested in cancer clinical trials. 

Thanks for the reply! Do you happen to know anything about Biostats program in Duke? I didn't see lots of discussion about this topic.

 

Thanks,

[Biostat_Assistant_Prof]

The biostat department there is pretty new. The MS degree was implemented within the past 5 years I believe, and the PhD program just in the past year.

 

From what I've heard, it's pretty strong for a new program. Couple Duke's med school reputation with their Statistics reputation, then I can only assumed their MS biostats program would be a solid choice.

 

Honestly, looking at your list of schools... an MS from any of them would probably be about equal for an industry job. All things equal, I'd suggest going to a program based on where you'd like to most easily be able to find a job near when you graduate. So if you want to make a life in North Carolina after finishing, go to Duke or UNC if you are accepted. 

 

However, if you want to do a PhD, it matters a bit more. From that list - UNC would be the strongest, then UC Berkeley, and then I'd say the rest are about equal, i.e. choosing between them should really come down to specific faculty within department, or at least more specific research focused areas. 

[gradbio2015]

Hey- I don't know about vanderbilt, but I don't think the UTHSH biostat department has a good culture (not really social or collaborative unless you're Chinese, because American students seem to be the minority). Just chiming in with that.

[lisa8191]

 

Honestly, looking at your list of schools... an MS from any of them would probably be about equal for an industry job. All things equal, I'd suggest going to a program based on where you'd like to most easily be able to find a job near when you graduate. So if you want to make a life in North Carolina after finishing, go to Duke or UNC if you are accepted. 

 

 

Thanks for your reply. I'm thinking of getting into industry right after MS program. I know hat NC is a big place for Biostats. However, I'm just wondering if I'm willing to move, will it be easier for students graduated from Vanderbilt (TN state) to be able to land a job out of state? I'm just not sure that if the companies in a state will be more willing to hire students graduated from that state instead of out of state. If so, I def think NC is a better place to go to school than TN. (I'm not sure, please correct me if I'm wrong.)

[ar_rf]

Thanks for your reply. I'm thinking of getting into industry right after MS program. I know hat NC is a big place for Biostats. However, I'm just wondering if I'm willing to move, will it be easier for students graduated from Vanderbilt (TN state) to be able to land a job out of state? I'm just not sure that if the companies in a state will be more willing to hire students graduated from that state instead of out of state. If so, I def think NC is a better place to go to school than TN. (I'm not sure, please correct me if I'm wrong.)

 

I think, pretty much regardless of industry, there's always going to be a significant local recruiting advantage. I don't think it'll be an issue to land an out-of-state job, but it's going to be significantly easier to do so with a more local company. This is probably even more true for internships that you might be able to do during your MS, which often lead to job offers once you graduate.

[lisa8191]

If I want to land an industry job after MS. Would you think the cost of the program matters a lot? Let's say if I get into both Duke and Vanderbilt. Duke will not likely offer any scholarship. It's possible to get RA jobs but not sure. However, based on the previous graduates, they seems to land an internship and a industry job easily.( NC state is hot for biostats) . I also really like their curriculum emphasis on technical field. For Vanderbilt, they offer 80% tuition waiver for the program. However, it's also new program and they only admitted 4 MS each year so they don't really have lots of data for the students' outcomes. I talked to my post-doc colleague and she said that once I got an industry job, it's easier to pay off the loans. (around $30K) 

I'm wondering what's people's opinions on these kind of factors.