Case Study: University at Albany School of Public Health achieves higher graduate job placement in biostatistics and epidemiology with SAS

How a University at Albany public health professor turns students on to the value of SAS

The University at Albany School of Public Health, led by Assistant Professor Mike Zdeb, faced the challenge of preparing graduate students for careers in biostatistics and epidemiology when many lacked practical data-analysis skills. Employers and internship sites frequently use SAS, so the school needed a way to give students hands-on experience beyond the limited exposure offered in typical statistics classes.

Zdeb developed a three-credit introductory SAS course (with a one-credit advanced option) centered on Base SAS and SAS/GRAPH, real-world examples from his public health career, and practical skills like data merging and certification preparation—plus ongoing alumni support. As a result, students become more competitive in interviews, perform well in internships, handle large population datasets, earn jobs worldwide, and in many cases pass SAS certification.

University at Albany School of Public Health

Mike Zdeb

Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics