The Department of Biostatistics was established in 1989 when the School of Public Health reorganized into five departments from a single school-wide departmental structure. To develop biostatistical research programs responsive to the scientific problems encountered in public health and biomedicine. To actively collaborate with investigators at UCLA and worldwide in the solution of health problems. The Department today is a leader in the training of biostatisticians for universities, government and industry. Its research programs in quantitative AIDS epidemiology, exact inference in multivariate discrete data, optimal design theory and multivariate survival models are well-respected nationally and internationally.
Faculty members collaborate with investigators in an extremely large number of diverse disciplines.
Five of the original faculty in the department retired, and three faculty holding joint appointments with other departments also retired. Unlike many departments our Department makes full use of all faculty, irrespective of faculty series, in teaching, thesis direction, advising, and committee membership. The Department of Biostatistics closely collaborates with the School of Medicine departments in the recruitment, mentoring and evaluation of biostatisticians. We have had several visiting faculty during the past three years, usually coming here to work with particular faculty members in the Department. The master's degrees require the passing of a comprehensive examination together with course and grade requirements.