Our brand-new Aberdeen Short Course in Epidemiology is an online intensive course which provides a complete overview of key considerations in epidemiological research methods.
Held remotely over three weeks, this course will furnish you with the skills and knowledge that you need to undertake study in the field of epidemiology. Upon completion you will be able to better understand epidemiological research methods, aspects of descriptive epidemiology, study design, analysis, and how to successfully conduct your study.
Based on our well-established Intensive Course in Applied Epidemiology, the course draws on the expertise and knowledge of course organisers Professors Gary Macfarlane and Gareth Jones, who have over 50 years' combined of experience in epidemiology teaching.
No prior epidemiological training is required, and the course aims to take delegates up to the level of epidemiological module within a typical MPH programme.
Course registration will open on 01 September 2025. If you would like to sign up to be notified when booking opens, please complete our online pre-registration form to receive the latest updates:
If you have any questions about the course please contact epidemiology@abdn.ac.uk
Our team also have extensive experience running face-to-face courses. If you would like to discuss delivery of a bespoke course for your organisation, please find further details on our Bespoke Courses page.
Find out more about ASCE 2026
- Who is our course for?
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This course is for anyone looking to ground themselves in the key concepts, study design and methodological considerations in epidemiological research.
While we will cover the principles of epidemiological analysis, how different approaches should be employed for different study designs, and how these should be interpreted, it does not cover advanced statistical analysis techniques.
The course covers methods common to all chronic disease epidemiology, although is particularly suited to clinicians, researchers and other practitioners in pain and musculoskeletal disease, due to the specific research expertise of our faculty members.
- What you'll learn
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What the course covers
The course covers all the key skills you will need to embark upon epidemiological research, including:
- Measuring incidence and prevalence of disease within a chosen population
- Study design, including cohort studies, case-control studies, randomised controlled trials, as well as case-crossover and case-cohort studies
- Key methodological issues, including how to make sure your study data is valid and reliable, and how to minimise bias and avoid or assess confounding.
- How to incorporate qualitative research methods into your epidemiological studies and how they can enhance understanding of quantitative data.
- Assessment of causation from associations
- How to bring your theoretical knowledge and skills together to put them into practice
Key skills
The course will equip you with key skills in epidemiological research, including how to:
- Choose the right study design
- Measure disease in a population
- Understand methodological issues such as validity, reliability and bias and confounding
- Incorporate qualitative and mixed-methods approaches within your study
- Infer causation from associations
- Put your theoretical knowledge and skills into practice
- Fees and registration
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Course fees
Fees for the 2026 course will be as follows:
- Standard rate: £1450
- University researcher / healthcare professional discount: £1150
- PhD student / early career researcher* discount: £950
Other discounts (e.g. for multiple bookings) maybe be available upon request. Please contact us to discuss further.
*Early career defined as less than three years (or part-time equivalent) post-award of doctorate
Registration
Course registration will open on 01 September 2025. If you would like to sign up to be notified when the course opens please complete our online pre-registration form to receive the latest updates:
If you have any questions about event registrations please contact epidemiology@abdn.ac.uk