Certificate Program

TEPHI has developed a certificate program in pandemic preparedness and response. The certificate, launched in spring 2022, is designed for Public Health and Healthcare professionals, community change agents, and any Texas resident interested in preparedness. All courses are offered online.

There are four courses in the certificate program, plus a capstone tabletop exercise. If you have already taken an epidemiology course, you can choose not to take the certificate program’s 1st course, Fundamentals of Epidemiology. You can instead choose to begin with the 2nd course, Foundations of Infectious Diseases. The 3rd course, Surveillance of Infectious Diseases, will be offered in December and the 4th, Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response, in the spring of 2023. All participants are required to take courses 2- 4, and complete the Capstone Tabletop Exercise, to achieve successful completion of the certificate program. Once all courses are available, they will be offered simultaneously, four times a year. Course are meant to be taken asynchronously. We anticipate 1 – 1.5 years to complete the certificate program.

The courses in the order they should be taken are:

• Fundamentals of Epidemiology. This course is an overview of the causes of health outcomes and diseases in populations, including disease distribution, determinants, control, and prevention
• Foundations of Infectious Diseases. This course covers the biology and epidemiology of infectious diseases, including emerging and re-emerging diseases. It also covers the use of epidemiologic methods to investigate outbreaks.
• Surveillance of Infectious Diseases. This course provides learners with an introduction to the characteristics of surveillance systems and how data from these systems are used to detect infectious disease outbreaks and other threats to public health.
• Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response. This course introduces learners to the key concepts of emergency preparedness and response, and includes the National Incident Management System (NIMS) training.
• Capstone table top exercise. Learners combine their new knowledge and skills to detect and respond to a simulated public health emergency.

Please complete the certificate interest form. You will receive an email with details on the course and how to register, as well as the learning management system we use (Canvas).

Texas residents with at least a high school diploma are eligible to sign up for this course.

The courses are offered free of cost and e-textbooks are provided.

Yes, they are only available online.

• Fundamentals of Epidemiology - Epidemiology 101, 2nd Edition by Robert Friis.
• Foundations of Infectious Diseases course - Foundations of Infectious Disease: A Public Health Perspective, David Adams, Jones and Bartlett Learning.
• Surveillance of Infectious Diseases - Monitoring the Health of Populations by Tracking Disease Outbreaks: Saving Humanity from the Next Plague, Rigdon and Fricker, CRC Press.
• Pandemic Preparedness and Response - No textbook (this course will rely on individual readings).

It is estimated that you will spend approximately four hours each week for 16 weeks. You will be able to take courses at your own pace and participate at whatever time of day suits your schedule.

Courses are offered at the undergraduate level. There will be Knowledge Checks at the end of every module to ensure that participants have mastered the material.