PHTH 6800 — Causal Inference in Public Health Research
3 semester hoursGraduateLectureusually offered: springtypical days: WBostonTraditional
Exposes students to causal inference approaches, including causal diagrams and counterfactual theory. Students are also asked to draw upon their own research experiences and prior epidemiology training to evaluate public health studies. Covers how to apply the fundamental concepts of counterfactuals and causal diagrams; assess threats to validity in study designs and analysis, including confounding, selection bias, and measurement error/misclassification; evaluate the validity of a public health research study’s design and analysis with respect to addressing causal questions; and critically analyze scientific literature and apply findings to clinical or policy decisions. Offers students an opportunity to think critically and rigorously about the implications of study design and analysis toward addressing public health questions.
Prerequisites
- PHTH 6202 (min C-)
Offering history
| Term | Sections | Enrolled | Capacity | Full | Open seats/section |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spring 2024 | 1 | 9 | 15 | 60% | 6.0 |
| Spring 2025 | 1 | 7 | 15 | 47% | 8.0 |
| Spring 2026 | 1 | 17 | 19 | 89% | 2.0 |
Snapshots from scheduled scrapes — not live seat availability. "Full" can exceed 100% when sections over-enroll.
Meeting times
Share of recent sections by weekday: M 27% · T 0% · W 73% · Th 0% · F 0%
Common patterns: W (73% of sections), M (27% of sections) — in patterns, R means Thursday
Professors
Spring
- Louisa Smith (79% of students) · reviews
- Larry Han (21% of students) · reviews
Percentages are each professor's average share of the season's enrolled students in recent terms.
Unlocks
Courses that list PHTH 6800 in their prerequisites.
Links
Official catalog (PHTH course descriptions) · Student reviews on RateMyHusky · All PHTH courses · Plan it at numap.app
More
{
"retired": true,
"retiredSince": "2026-09-03"
}