Racial and Ethnic Diversity Among Students,Graduates,and Faculty in Biostatistics and Epidemiology,2010-2020

Abstract

Objective:

This study is a follow-up to a study in 2020 that reviewed changes in the racial and ethnic composition of public health students, graduates, and faculty among Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH)–member institutions. In the current study, we evaluated how the racial and ethnic composition among biostatistics and epidemiology students, graduates, and faculty changed from 2010 to 2020.

Methods:

We analyzed data on race and ethnicity of enrolled graduate students, graduates (master’s and doctoral), and faculty at ASPPH-member institutions by using institutionally reported data from the ASPPH Data Center. We tabulated frequencies, percentages, and percentage-point changes by race and ethnicity. We measured differences between groups by using a test for difference in 2 proportions.

Results:

The number of enrolled students, graduates, and faculty in all departments increased during the study period, while the number of tenure-track faculty in biostatistics decreased. The percentage of enrolled Hispanic/Latino biostatistics graduate students increased from 5.6% in 2010 to 10.2% in 2020 (P = .007), and the percentage of epidemiology graduates increased from 8.8% to 13.8% (P = .008). We found no differences among other underrepresented racial and ethnic groups. Most biostatistics and epidemiology professors at all ranks were non-Hispanic White, despite substantial decreases. The percentage of underrepresented racial and ethnic minority biostatistics and epidemiology professors was constant across all ranks.

Conclusion:

Although more Hispanic/Latino students are enrolled in and graduating from biostatistics and epidemiology departments at ASPPH-member institutions, we found no change among faculty. More work is needed to recruit and retain other (American Indian/Alaska Native, Black or African American, Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander) underrepresented students and faculty.

Keywords

biostatistics epidemiology racial composition racial and ethnic diversity student diversity

Some of the major challenges in public health in the United States are the social and economic health disparities seen between groups.¹ Several of these disparities are strongly associated with race and ethnicity.^2-5 To address the persistent racial and ethnic disparities in health outcomes and increasing diversity of the US population, many people have advocated for a more racially and ethnically diverse workforce.^6-8 Non-Hispanic Black or African American, Hispanic/Latino, Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander (NH/OPI), and American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) are racial and ethnic groups that have been historically underrepresented in the public health professions compared with the general US population.^2,5 Racial and ethnic minority public health graduates are more likely than graduates in other racial and ethnic groups to work in racial and ethnic minority communities and with racial and ethnic minority populations.⁹ As a bridge between the public health field and their communities, they have community and cultural literacy, which allows them to serve as trusted agents. As such, they can develop interventions, policies, and programs that address disparities and improve the overall population health in their communities.^9-11

A seminal article in 1999 analyzed the racial and ethnic makeup of public health faculty and students and concluded that a substantial need existed to train more racially and ethnically underrepresented students in public health.¹² A 20-year update in 2020 showed an increase in the proportions of underrepresented racial and ethnic minority graduate students and faculty.¹³ The 2020 update also demonstrated a need to increase the representation of these underrepresented groups among the faculty in schools and programs of public health. We hypothesized that trends in the quantitative specialties of public health (epidemiology and biostatistics) may not mirror the trend described in the 20-year update. Historically, biostatistics and epidemiology have been less racially and ethnically diverse than other public health disciplines. However, during the past 20 years, efforts have been made to increase the number of racially and ethnically diverse students. The aim of this study was to evaluate the change between 2010 and 2020 in racial and ethnic representation of graduate students and faculty in biostatistics and epidemiology among Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH)–member institutions.

Methods

For our analyses, we used 2010 and 2020 data from the ASPPH Data Center.¹⁴ We used data on graduate students (enrolled during fall 2010 and fall 2020 and graduating in academic years 2009-2010 and 2019-2020) and faculty in the biostatistics and epidemiology departments at ASPPH-member institutions that reported in both 2010 and 2020. Graduate students, including master’s and doctoral students, were categorized as enrolled and graduating. Faculty were categorized by academic rank: professor, associate professor, and assistant professor. Tenure-eligible faculty were also evaluated by the proportion of tenured faculty and the proportion of tenure-track faculty. Data on the following racial and ethnic groups were collected: Hispanic/Latino, AI/AN, Asian, Black, NH/OPI, and non-Hispanic White (hereinafter, White). Faculty or students whose race and ethnicity were unknown, who were not US citizens, or who indicated >1 race group were categorized as “unknown.” Given that the number of ASPPH-member institutions increased during the study period, we used data only from institutions that reported data in both years, 2010 and 2020 (n = 40 institutions for biostatistics and n = 41 institutions for epidemiology).

We tabulated the number and percentage of graduate students (master’s and doctoral level) by discipline (biostatistics and epidemiology) and race and ethnicity for years 2010 and 2020 separately. We also calculated the change in percentage points between 2010 and 2020. We examined the difference in racial and ethnic proportions over time by using a 2-sample test for proportions. We repeated the same procedures for faculty and tenured faculty at all ranks. We created a current snapshot that expanded beyond the cohorts that were compared (n = 40 for biostatistics and n = 41 for epidemiology) to the full sample of institutions that reported in 2020 (students: n = 68 for biostatistics and n = 88 for epidemiology; faculty: n = 67 for biostatistics and n = 90 for epidemiology). We used Stata version 17 (StataCorp LLC) to perform statistical analyses. All tests were 2-sided, and P < .05 was considered significant.

Results

We found increases in the number of graduate students, faculty, and tenured professors at institutions that reported data in 2010 and 2020. Throughout this 10-year period, enrollment in biostatistics and epidemiology graduate programs increased by 24% (from 514 to 635 students) and 19% (from 936 to 1114 students), respectively (Table 1). Similarly, the overall number of graduating students in biostatistics and epidemiology grew by 38% (from 240 to 330 students) and 33% (from 491 to 651 students), respectively. We found increases at each faculty rank in both academic disciplines, although the gains were larger in epidemiology departments. The number of professors increased by 63% in epidemiology departments and 45% in biostatistics departments (Table 2). The proportion of associate professors grew by 51% in epidemiology departments and 19% in biostatistics departments. At the assistant professor level, the proportion increased by 49% in epidemiology departments and by 13% in biostatistics departments. When we examined the data by tenure status, both disciplines increased their number of tenured faculty by 30%. The number of tenure-track faculty increased by 11% in epidemiology departments and decreased by 18% in biostatistics departments (Table 3).

Table 1.

Change in the number and percentage of graduate students at schools and programs of public health, by department, race and ethnicity, and student status, 2010-2020^a

Race and ethnicity	Students enrolled				Graduating students
Race and ethnicity	2010, no. (%)	2020, no. (%)	Percentage-point difference	P value^b	2010, no. (%)	2020, no. (%)	Percentage-point difference	P value^b
Biostatistics (n = 41 reporting institutions)
Total	514 (100.0)	635 (100.0)	—	—	240 (100.0)	330 (100.0)	—	—
American Indian/Alaska Native	2 (0.4)	1 (0.2)	−0.2	.44	2 (0.8)	0	−0.8	.10
Asian	103 (20.0)	123 (19.4)	−0.6	.78	40 (16.7)	51 (15.5)	−1.2	.70
Hispanic/Latino^c	30 (5.8)	65 (10.2)	4.4	.007	9 (3.8)	24 (7.3)	3.5	.08
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander	7 (1.4)	0	−1.4	.003^d	3 (1.3)	0	−1.3	.04^d
Non-Hispanic Black or African American	30 (5.8)	46 (7.2)	1.4	.34	8 (3.3)	12 (3.6)	0.3	.85
Non-Hispanic White	152 (29.6)	166 (26.1)	−3.5	.20	72 (30.0)	96 (29.1)	−0.9	.81
Unknown	190 (37.0)	234 (36.9)	−0.1	.97	106 (44.2)	147 (44.5)	0.3	.93
Epidemiology (n = 45 reporting institutions)
Total	936 (100.0)	1114 (100.0)	—	—	491 (100.0)	651 (100.0)	—	—
American Indian/Alaska Native	16 (1.7)	14 (1.3)	−0.4	.40	4 (0.8)	6 (0.9)	0.1	.85
Asian	147 (15.7)	179 (16.1)	0.4	.82	82 (16.7)	95 (14.6)	−2.1	.33
Hispanic/Latino^c	110 (11.8)	149 (13.4)	1.6	.27	43 (8.8)	90 (13.8)	5.0	.008
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander	8 (0.9)	4 (0.4)	−0.5	.14	8 (1.6)	0	−1.6	.001^d
Non-Hispanic Black or African American	121 (12.9)	146 (13.1)	0.2	.90	57 (11.6)	76 (11.7)	0.1	.97
Non-Hispanic White	234 (25.0)	259 (23.2)	−1.8	.36	158 (32.2)	184 (28.3)	−3.9	.15
Unknown	300 (32.1)	363 (32.6)	0.5	.80	139 (28.3)	200 (30.7)	2.4	.38

Abbreviation: —, does not apply.

Data source: Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health.¹⁴ Percentages may not total to 100 because of rounding.

P values determined by test for difference in 2 proportions; P < .05 considered significant.

Includes Hispanic Black or African American and Hispanic White.

P value should be interpreted with caution because of the value of zero in 2020.

Table 2.

Change in the number and percentage of professors at schools and programs of public health, by department, race and ethnicity, and rank, 2010-2020^a

Race and ethnicity	Full professor				Associate professor				Assistant professor
Race and ethnicity	2010, no. (%)	2020, no. (%)	Percentage-point difference	P value^b	2010, no. (%)	2020, no. (%)	Percentage-point difference	P value^b	2010, no. (%)	2020, no. (%)	Percentage-point difference	P value^b
Biostatistics (n = 38 reporting institutions)
Total	218 (100.0)	316 (100.0)	—	—	149 (100.0)	178 (100.0)	—	—	174 (100.0)	196 (100.0)	—	—
American Indian/Alaska Native	0	1 (0.3)	0.3	.41	0	0	0	—^c	0	1 (0.5)	0.5	.35
Asian	38 (17.4)	91 (28.8)	11.4	.003	42 (28.2)	60 (33.7)	5.5	.28	68 (39.1)	75 (38.3)	−0.8	.87
Non-Hispanic Black or African American	1 (0.5)	4 (1.3)	0.8	.34	4 (2.7)	4 (2.2)	−0.5	.80	5 (2.9)	7 (3.6)	0.7	.71
Hispanic/Latino^d	13 (6.0)	18 (5.7)	−0.3	.90	16 (10.7)	13 (7.3)	−3.4	.28	8 (4.6)	4 (2.0)	−2.6	.17
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander	0	1 (0.3)	0.3	.41	0	0	0	—^c	0	1 (0.5)	0.5	.35
Non-Hispanic White	165 (75.7)	167 (52.8)	−22.9	<.001	86 (57.7)	81 (45.5)	−12.2	.028	89 (51.1)	87 (44.4)	−6.7	.19
Unknowne	1 (0.5)	34 (10.8)	10.3	<.001	1 (0.7)	17 (9.6)	8.9	<.001	4 (2.3)	20 (10.2)	7.9	.002
Epidemiology (n = 45 reporting institutions)
Total	361 (100.0)	590 (100.0)	—	—	260 (100.0)	393 (100.0)	—	—	279 (100.0)	416 (100.0)	—	—
American Indian/Alaska Native	0	1 (0.2)	0.2	.43	1 (0.4)	1 (0.3)	−0.1	.77	0	0	0	—^c
Asian	16 (4.4)	53 (9.0)	4.6	.009	25 (9.6)	62 (15.8)	6.2	.023	45 (16.1)	61 (14.7)	−1.4	.60
Non-Hispanic Black or African American	6 (1.7)	17 (2.9)	1.2	.23	14 (5.4)	25 (6.4)	1.0	.61	29 (10.4)	35 (8.4)	−2.0	.38
Hispanic/Latino^d	34 (9.4)	46 (7.8)	−1.6	.38	25 (9.6)	27 (6.9)	−2.7	.20	19 (6.8)	20 (4.8)	−2.0	.26
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander	0	0	0	—^c	0	0	0	—^c	0	0	0	—^c
Non-Hispanic White	303 (83.9)	394 (66.8)	−17.1	<.001	195 (75.0)	233 (59.3)	−15.7	<.001	182 (65.2)	222 (53.4)	−11.8	.002
Unknowne	2 (0.6)	77 (13.1)	12.5	<.001	0	44 (11.2)	11.2	<.001	4 (1.4)	73 (17.6)	16.2	<.001

Abbreviation: —, does not apply.

Data source: Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health.¹⁴ Percentages may not total to 100 because of rounding.

P values determined by test for difference in 2 proportions; P < .05 considered significant.

No data reported for 2010 or 2020.

Includes Hispanic Black or African American and Hispanic White.

Includes those who identified as multiracial: biostatistics: associate professor (n = 3; 1.7%), assistant professor (n = 1; 0.5%); epidemiology: full professor (n = 2; 0.3%), associate professor (n = 1; 0.3%), assistant professor (n = 5; 1.2%).

Table 3.

Change in the number and percentage of faculty at schools and programs of public health, by department, race and ethnicity, and tenure status, 2010-2020^a

Race and ethnicity	Tenured				Tenure track
Race and ethnicity	2010, no. (%)	2020, no. (%)	Percentage-point difference	P value^b	2010, no. (%)	2020, no. (%)	Percentage-point difference	P value^b
Biostatistics (n = 38 reporting institutions)
Total	242 (100.0)	314 (100.0)	—	—	142 (100.0)	117 (100.0)	—	—
American Indian/Alaska Native	0	0	0	—^c	0	0	0	—^c
Asian	60 (24.8)	115 (36.6)	11.8	.003	65 (45.8)	50 (42.7)	−3.1	.62
Non-Hispanic Black or African American	3 (1.2)	5 (1.6)	0.4	.73	5 (3.5)	5 (4.3)	0.8	.75
Hispanic/Latino^d	28 (11.6)	27 (8.6)	−3.0	.24	6 (4.2)	2 (1.7)	−2.5	.24
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander	0	1 (0.3)	0.3	.38	0	0	0	—^c
Non-Hispanic White	151 (62.4)	146 (46.5)	−15.9	<.001	63 (44.4)	54 (46.2)	1.8	.77
Unknown	0	20 (6.4)	6.4	—^c	3 (2.1)	6 (5.1)	3.0	.19
Epidemiology (n = 45 reporting institutions)
Total	362 (100.0)	472 (100.0)	—	—	207 (100.0)	230 (100.0)	—	—
American Indian/Alaska Native	1 (0.3)	2 (0.4)	0.1	.72	0	0	0	—^c
Asian	19 (5.2)	57 (12.1)	6.9	<.001	39 (18.8)	48 (20.9)	2.1	.60
Non-Hispanic Black or African American	10 (2.8)	25 (5.3)	2.5	.07	18 (8.7)	26 (11.3)	2.6	.37
Hispanic/Latino^d	52 (14.4)	58 (12.3)	−2.1	.38	16 (7.7)	11 (4.8)	−2.9	.20
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander	0	0	0	—^c	0	0	0	—^c
Non-Hispanic White	280 (77.3)	310 (65.7)	−11.6	<.001	133 (64.3)	130 (56.5)	−7.8	.10
Unknown	0	18 (3.8)	3.8	—^c	1 (0.5)	12 (5.2)	4.7	.004

Abbreviation: —, does not apply.

Data source: Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health.¹⁴ Percentages may not total to 100 because of rounding.

P values determined by test for difference in 2 proportions; P < .05 considered significant.

No data reported for 2010 or 2020.

Includes Hispanic Black or African American and Hispanic White.

Enrolled Students

The racial and ethnic composition of enrolled graduate students was stable during the study period (Figure S1A and S2A). The proportion of Hispanic/Latino students enrolled in biostatistics increased by 4.4 percentage points from 2010 to 2020, from 5.8% to 10.2% (P = .007) (Table 1). The number of NH/OPI biostatistics students dropped from 7 (1.4%) in 2010 to zero in 2020 (P = .003). The proportions of AI/AN (0.4% to 0.2%), Asian (20.0% to 19.4%), Black (5.8% to 7.2%), White (29.6% to 26.1%), and unknown race and ethnicity (37.0%) students were consistent from 2010 to 2020. We observed no significant changes in students across all races and ethnicities in epidemiology departments.

We found no significant differences when comparing the racial and ethnic composition of biostatistics and epidemiology doctoral students between 2010 and 2020. At the doctoral level in both disciplines, the percentages of the following races and ethnicities were consistent during the 10-year period (<4.5 percentage-point difference): AI/AN, Asian, Hispanic/Latino, NH/OPI, Black, and White (Table 4). We saw relatively similar patterns at the master’s level except for a significant (P = .008) increase in Hispanic biostatistics students from 6.0% to 11.9% (Table S1).

Table 4.

Change in the number and percentage of doctoral students at schools and programs of public health, by department, race and ethnicity, and student status, 2010-2020^a

Race and ethnicity	Students enrolled				Graduating students
Race and ethnicity	2010, no. (%)	2020, no. (%)	Percentage-point difference	P value^b	2010, no. (%)	2020, no. (%)	Percentage-point difference	P value^b
Biostatistics (n = 41 reporting institutions)
Total	213 (100.0)	240 (100.0)	—	—	73 (100.0)	87 (100.0)	—	—
American Indian/Alaska Native	1 (0.5)	0	−0.5	.29	0	0	0	—^c
Asian	41 (19.2)	43 (17.9)	−1.3	.72	14 (19.2)	10 (11.5)	−7.7	.18
Non-Hispanic Black or African American	12 (5.6)	15 (6.3)	0.7	.78	3 (4.1)	2 (2.3)	−1.8	.51
Hispanic/Latino^d	12 (5.6)	18 (7.5)	1.9	.43	1 (1.4)	4 (4.6)	3.2	.24
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander	3 (1.4)	0	−1.4	.07	0	0	0	—^c
Non-Hispanic White	61 (28.6)	58 (24.2)	−4.4	.28	18 (24.7)	27 (31.0)	6.3	.37
Unknown	83 (39.0)	106 (44.2)	5.2	.26	37 (50.7)	44 (50.6)	−0.1	.99
Epidemiology (n = 45 reporting institutions)
Total	357 (100.0)	400 (100.0)	—	—	101 (100.0)	154 (100.0)	—	—
American Indian/Alaska Native	7 (2.0)	7 (1.8)	−0.2	.83	0	0	0	—^c
Asian	51 (14.3)	63 (15.8)	1.5	.57	15 (14.9)	20 (13.0)	−1.9	.67
Non-Hispanic Black or African American	46 (12.9)	48 (12.0)	−0.9	.71	8 (7.9)	10 (6.5)	−1.4	.66
Hispanic/Latino^d	41 (11.5)	41 (10.3)	−1.2	.59	5 (5.0)	18 (11.7)	6.7	.07
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander	2 (0.6)	2 (0.5)	−0.1	.91	1 (1.0)	0	−1.0	.22
Non-Hispanic White	91 (25.5)	97 (24.3)	−1.2	.69	43 (42.6)	51 (33.1)	−9.5	.13
Unknown	119 (33.3)	142 (35.5)	2.2	.53	29 (28.7)	55 (35.7)	7.0	.24

Abbreviation: —, does not apply.

Data source: Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health.¹⁴ Percentages may not total to 100 because of rounding.

P values determined by test for difference in 2 proportions; P < .05 considered significant.

No data reported for 2010 or 2020.

Includes Hispanic Black or African American and Hispanic White.

Graduating Students

The percentage of Hispanic/Latino students graduating with a biostatistics degree increased from 3.8% to 7.3% (P = .08) (Table 1; Figure S1B). By degree level, among Hispanic/Latino students, the proportion rose from 4.8% to 8.2% at the master’s level (P = .17; Table S1) and from 1.4% to 4.6% at the doctoral level (P = .24; Table 4); we found slightly larger increases in epidemiology departments overall: from 8.8% to 13.8% (P = .008), master’s level from 9.7% to 14.5% (P = .03), and doctoral level from 5.0% to 11.7% (P = .07). The number of NH/OPI graduates from 41 biostatistics departments decreased from 3 (1.3%) in 2010 to zero in 2020 and from the 45 epidemiology departments decreased from 8 (1.6%) in 2010 to zero in 2020. The percentage of graduating students in biostatistics (Figure S1B) or epidemiology (Figure S2B) who identified as AI/AN, Asian, Black, White, or unknown race was consistent (<2.5 percentage-point difference) from 2010 to 2020 (Table 1).

Faculty by Rank

Between 2010 and 2020, most biostatistics and epidemiology professors at all ranks (full, associate, and assistant) were White; however, their proportions fell considerably (Table 2). In biostatistics, the percentage of White professors decreased from 75.7% to 52.8% (P < .001), associate professors from 57.7% to 45.5% (P = .03), and assistant professors from 51.1% to 44.4% (P = .19). In epidemiology, the percentage of White professors decreased from 83.9% to 66.8% (P < .001), associate professors decreased from 75.0% to 59.3% (P < .001), and assistant professors decreased from 65.2% to 53.4% (P = .002). The percentage of Asian biostatistics professors increased from 17.4% to 28.8% (P = .003), epidemiology professors increased from 4.4% to 9.0% (P = .009), and epidemiology associate professors increased from 9.6% to 15.8% (P = .02). The percentage of professors at all ranks in biostatistics and epidemiology who identified as AI/AN, Black, Hispanic/Latino, and NH/OPI did not change from 2010 to 2020 (P > .05 for all).

Tenured/Tenure-Track Faculty

From 2010 to 2020, the proportion of tenured Asian biostatistics professors increased from 24.8% to 36.6% (P = .003), and the proportion of tenured Asian epidemiology professors increased from 5.2% to 12.1% (P < .001) (Table 3). For tenured White faculty, the percentage fell in both disciplines: biostatistics from 62.4% to 46.5% (P < .001) and epidemiology from 77.3% to 65.7% (P < .001). The percentage of tenured professors in biostatistics and epidemiology who identified as all other races and ethnicities was consistent from 2010 to 2020. There were no AI/AN and NH/OPI tenure-track professors in biostatistics or epidemiology in 2010 or 2020. The racial and ethnic composition of tenure-track faculty in biostatistics and epidemiology was consistent from 2010 to 2020 (Table 3).

Racial and Ethnic Composition of Faculty During 2010-2020

In overall faculty composition, most biostatistics (Figure S3A) and epidemiology (Figure S3B) professors at all ranks (full, associate, and assistant) were White; however, the percentage decreased during the 10-year period. In biostatistics, the percentage of White faculty decreased from 61.6% to 50.6%. In epidemiology, the percentage of White faculty decreased from 75.2% to 58.2%. These declines were due in part to an increase of Asian professors from 28.3% to 30.3% in biostatistics and from 9.7% to 11.9% in epidemiology. However, the largest increases were in the unknown race category from 1.3% to 11.6% in biostatistics and from 1.1% to 18.0% in epidemiology. Between 2010 and 2020, the percentage of biostatistics and epidemiology faculty who identified as AI/AN (<1%), Black (2% in biostatistics; 5% in epidemiology), or NH/OPI (<1%) was constant. However, we found a small decrease among Hispanic/Latino biostatistics (7.9% to 4.6%) and epidemiology (8.7% to 6.6%) faculty from 2010 to 2020.

Enrolled and Graduating Students in 2020

When we examined the racial and ethnic landscape of ASPPH-member institutions in 2020—which includes institutions that may not have been part of ASPPH in 2010—we observed findings similar to those of the compared cohorts: unknown race, White, and Asian were the largest racial and ethnic groups.

Sixty-eight biostatistics departments enrolled 839 students in fall 2020 and graduated 453 students during the 2019-2020 academic year (Table 5). Of the 839 students, 27.1% were White, 19.5% were Asian, 9.5% were Hispanic/Latino, 7.2% were Black, 0.2% were AI/AN, 36.5% were unknown race and ethnicity, and none were NH/OPI students. Of the 453 biostatistics graduates, 29.8% were White, 14.8% were Asian, 6.8% were Hispanic/Latino, and 4.2% were Black. There were no AI/AN or NH/OPI biostatistics graduates, and 44.4% were categorized as unknown race and ethnicity.

Table 5.

Number and percentage of students, faculty, and tenured faculty at schools and programs of public health, by department and race and ethnicity, 2020^a

Race and ethnicity	Graduate student, no. (%)		Professor, no. (%)			Tenure status, no. (%)^b
Race and ethnicity	Students enrolled	Graduating	Full	Associate	Assistant	Tenured	Tenure track
Biostatistics^c
Total	839 (100.0)	453 (100.0)	382 (100.0)	227 (100.0)	255 (100.0)	379 (100.0)	174 (100.0)
American Indian/Alaska Native	2 (0.2)	0	1 (0.3)	0	2 (0.8)	0	1 (0.6)
Asian	164 (19.5)	67 (14.8)	125 (32.7)	82 (36.1)	99 (38.8)	144 (38.0)	80 (46.0)
Non-Hispanic Black or African American	60 (7.2)	19 (4.2)	4 (1.1)	7 (3.1)	10 (3.9)	6 (1.6)	9 (5.2)
Hispanic/Latino^d	80 (9.5)	31 (6.8)	19 (5.0)	13 (5.7)	5 (2.0)	27 (7.1)	2 (1.2)
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander	0	0	1 (0.3)	0	1 (0.4)	1 (0.3)	0
Non-Hispanic White	227 (27.1)	135 (29.8)	192 (50.3)	101 (44.5)	110 (43.1)	177 (46.7)	72 (41.4)
Unknown	306 (36.5)	201 (44.4)	38 (10.0)	21 (9.3)	27 (10.6)	22 (5.8)	10 (5.8)
Multiracial	0	0	2 (0.5)	3 (1.3)	1 (0.4)	2 (0.5)	0
Epidemiology^e
Total	1628 (100.0)	940 (100.0)	702 (100.0)	504 (100.0)	521 (100.0)	587 (100.0)	309 (100.0)
American Indian/Alaska Native	21 (1.3)	8 (0.9)	1 (0.1)	1 (0.2)	0	2 (0.3)	0
Asian	261 (16.0)	136 (14.5)	90 (12.8)	87 (17.3)	89 (17.1)	82 (14.0)	66 (21.4)
Non-Hispanic Black or African American	221 (13.6)	118 (12.6)	19 (2.7)	29 (5.8)	44 (8.5)	29 (4.9)	31 (10.0)
Hispanic/Latino^d	203 (12.5)	118 (12.6)	49 (7.0)	29 (5.8)	27 (5.2)	61 (10.4)	15 (4.9)
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander	6 (0.4)	4 (0.4)	1 (0.1)	0	0	0	0
Non-Hispanic White	380 (23.3)	270 (28.7)	450 (64.1)	304 (60.3)	278 (53.4)	383 (65.3)	180 (58.3)
Unknown	536 (32.9)	286 (30.4)	89 (12.7)	51 (10.1)	78 (15.0)	26 (4.4)	14 (4.5)
Multiracial	0	0	3 (0.4)	3 (0.6)	5 (1.0)	4 (0.7)	3 (1.0)

Abbreviation: —, does not apply.

Data source: Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health.¹⁴ Percentages may not total to 100 because of rounding.

Among schools that offer tenure.

68 schools reported graduate student data; 67 schools reported faculty data.

Includes Hispanic Black or African American and Hispanic White.

88 schools reported graduate student data; 90 schools reported faculty data.

In epidemiology, 88 departments submitted data on 1628 students in fall 2020 and 940 graduates during the 2019-2020 academic year. The composition of graduate students was 23.3% White, 16.0% Asian, 13.6% Black, 12.5% Hispanic/Latino, 1.3% AI/AN, and 0.4% NH/OPI; 32.9% had unknown race and ethnicity. For graduating epidemiology students, the breakdown was almost identical to that for graduate students: 28.7% White, 14.5% Asian, 12.6% Black, 12.6% Hispanic/Latino, 0.9% AI/AN, 0.4% NH/OPI, and 30.4% unknown race and ethnicity (Table 5).

Faculty by Rank in 2020

In biostatistics, 43.1% of assistant professors, 44.5% of associate professors, and 50.3% of professors were White, compared with 53.4% of assistant professors, 60.3% of associate professors, and 64.1% of full professors in epidemiology (Table 5). In biostatistics, 38.8% of assistant professors, 36.1% of associate professors, and 32.7% of full professors were Asian. In epidemiology, 17.1% of assistant professors, 17.3% of associate professors, and 12.8% of full professors were Asian. In biostatistics, 2.0% of assistant professors, 5.7% of associate professors, and 5.0% of full professors were Hispanic/Latino. In epidemiology, 5.2% of assistant professors, 5.8% of associate professors, and 7.0% of full professors were Hispanic/Latino. In biostatistics, 3.9% of assistant professors, 3.1% of associate professors, and 1.1% of full professors were Black. In epidemiology, 8.5% of assistant professors, 5.8% of associate professors, and 2.7% of full professors were Black. AI/AN, Black, Hispanic/Latino, and NH/OPI each constituted fewer than 10% of the population at each rank across disciplines.

Tenured/Tenure-Track Faculty in 2020

In the 67 biostatistics departments, White professors accounted for 46.7% of the tenured faculty and 41.4% of the tenure-track faculty. Asian professors accounted for 38.0% of the tenured faculty and 46.0% of the tenure-track faculty. In the 90 epidemiology departments, White professors composed 65.3% of the tenured faculty and 58.3% of the tenure-track faculty, while Asian professors composed 14.0% of the tenured faculty and 21.4% of the tenure-track faculty. Every other racial and ethnic group (AI/AN, Black, Hispanic/Latino, NH/OPI, and unknown race) each represented less than 11% (Table 5).

Discussion

We examined trends in race and ethnicity in epidemiology and biostatistics departments at ASPPH-member institutions that reported data in 2010 and 2020. The number of enrolled students, graduates, and faculty in all departments increased during the study period, while the number of tenure-track faculty in biostatistics decreased. Given the increasing size of departments, a small or no increase in the percentage is an increase in the number of students, graduates, and faculty. Between 2010 and 2020, we found an increase in the percentage of Hispanic/Latino biostatistics students, from 6% to 10%; however, we found no change in the proportion of Hispanic/Latino faculty in biostatistics or epidemiology.

Successful interventions to foster diversity at the undergraduate level can be extended to graduate public health training. Many ongoing efforts (eg, summer programs, workshops, mentoring programs) are underway by schools and programs of public health and professional societies to foster diversity in biostatistics and epidemiology, some of which focus on undergraduate students and encourage graduate training. While these programs nurture small groups of students, they have demonstrated consistent impact. Scaling up these efforts to form a consortium of existing and new programs could help create cohorts of diverse students prepared for graduate training in biostatistics and epidemiology.^15,16 Postbaccalaureate programs can prepare students for graduate work supplementing courses missing from undergraduate training, particularly in biostatistics, where students may not have taken calculus and/or linear algebra.^17-21 Similarly, summer “bootcamps” (before the first year of graduate school) can help prepare students for the transition to graduate coursework and supplement their skills (eg, statistical programming, linear algebra, biology).

Adoption of interventions to enhance the racial and ethnic diversity of enrolled students and graduates in biostatistics and epidemiology is necessary to create a diverse pool of potential faculty. In addition, faculty interventions may include postdoctoral fellowships (2-3 years) that transition into assistant professor faculty positions, with the goal to provide trainees with the skills they need to be successful (eg, mentorship from senior racial and ethnic minority faculty, grant writing workshops, seminars on how to create and manage a productive research laboratory).²² A consortium of postdoctoral programs across schools and programs of public health would allow for the development of a community of practice focused on faculty diversity.^23-25

A previous study showed that the total number of public health degree conferrals increased from <5000 in 1992 to >12 000 in 2016, whereas the proportion of White graduating public health students has been decreasing continuously since 1996.²⁶ The proportion of non-White racial and ethnic minority public health students (AI/AN, Black, Hispanic/Latino, and NH/OPI) increased from 1992 to 2016.²⁶ In our study, the proportion of enrolled White students in biostatistics and epidemiology decreased from 2010 to 2020, which is consistent with these previous studies. The proportion of Hispanic/Latino graduate students enrolled in biostatistics and those graduating in epidemiology increased significantly. However, the percentages of enrolled and graduating students in biostatistics and epidemiology were consistent for AI/AN, Black, Asian, and NH/OPI students from 2010 to 2020. These findings are consistent with previous research indicating that underrepresented racial and ethnic minority students are less likely than students from other racial and ethnic groups to choose epidemiology and biostatistics as their major.²⁷ The enrolled graduate students in public health who were from underrepresented racial and ethnic minority groups increased by <5 percentage points from 1996 to 2016, and Asian faculty increased the most (by 8 percentage points) from 1997 to 2017.¹³ The outcome of our study was similar. Asian people were the fastest-growing racial and ethnic minority group among faculty: we found a 5 percentage-point increase in biostatistics and a 3 percentage-point increase in epidemiology. The proportions of all other racial and ethnic minority groups were stable during the study period.

Limitations

Our study had several potential limitations. First, it was conducted without adjusting for age, and this limitation is important because the younger generations are more diverse than the older generations. Second, data were reported at the institutional level, which may have led to inconsistencies in how racial and ethnic data were collected and reported. However, ASPPH and its member institutions use the National Center for Education Statistics standards for reporting race and ethnicity.²⁸ A third limitation was the heterogeneity of Asian and Hispanic/Latino groups. Some Asian and Hispanic/Latino subgroups may be over- or underrepresented, and the experience of each subgroup may not be consistent with the experience of the overall group. Racial and ethnic categories used in this analysis were based on the US social construction of race, which has evolved, creating the potential for measurement error in this variable due to misclassification. Fourth, missing data (on race and ethnicity and lack of institutional reporting) was a major limitation. We addressed institutional missingness by using a comparable cohort of institutions that reported in both 2010 and 2020. We found only 7 instances of institution-level missingness among the institutions in the compared cohort from 2010 to 2020. The unknown race and ethnicity category in our samples of biostatistics and epidemiology students, graduates, and faculty comprised 3 groups: non–US citizens (17%-38%), US citizens who identify as ≥2 races (0%-8%), and those who were missing data on race and ethnicity (1%-17%).

Conclusion

The disproportionate morbidity and mortality among racial and ethnic minority populations are aligned with the social determinants of health. Large-scale interventions are needed to increase pathways into public health fields for diverse students and faculty. However, a focus on retention is also needed. This focus will require creating welcoming environments in which to learn and work, appropriate curriculums for diverse learning needs and interests, and resources for recruitment and retention programs.

Supplemental Material

sj-docx-2-phr-10.1177_00333549221097653 – Supplemental material for Racial and Ethnic Diversity Among Students, Graduates, and Faculty in Biostatistics and Epidemiology, 2010-2020

Supplemental material, sj-docx-2-phr-10.1177_00333549221097653 for Racial and Ethnic Diversity Among Students, Graduates, and Faculty in Biostatistics and Epidemiology, 2010-2020 by Melody S. Goodman, Jemar R. Bather, Xiangying Chu, Marcello Pagano, Christine M. Plepys and Ronnie A. Sebro in Public Health Reports

Supplemental Material

sj-xls-1-phr-10.1177_00333549221097653 – Supplemental material for Racial and Ethnic Diversity Among Students, Graduates, and Faculty in Biostatistics and Epidemiology, 2010-2020

Supplemental material, sj-xls-1-phr-10.1177_00333549221097653 for Racial and Ethnic Diversity Among Students, Graduates, and Faculty in Biostatistics and Epidemiology, 2010-2020 by Melody S. Goodman, Jemar R. Bather, Xiangying Chu, Marcello Pagano, Christine M. Plepys and Ronnie A. Sebro in Public Health Reports

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iD

Melody S. Goodman, PhD

Supplemental material

Supplemental material for this article is available online.

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