The Master’s Programme in Biostatistics for medical research and scientific reporting provides a solid theoretical and practical training for healthcare professionals, enhancing their skills in statistical analysis and the dissemination of results. It also promotes a more appropriate use of scientific language and improves the ability to communicate effectively with expert biostatisticians
The course units of the Master’s Degree in Biostatistics for medical research and scientific reporting include the following main topics: research methodology, basic statistical methods for observational and experimental studies, linear and logistic regressive models, survival analysis, cost-effectiveness assessment for healthcare interventions, study planning and sample quantity, drafting of scientific articles according to international guidelines, systematic reviews and meta-analysis.
The Master’s Degree in Biostatistics for Medical Research and Scientific repoting is aimed at forming a professional profile geared toward scientific research methodology, by acquiring competencies in study planning, data analysis, and scientific result publishing. This profile can be applied to any health-scientific research context, and to a clinical setting in particular.
Trained figures can find professional placement as: participants to the clinical research team established by healthcare institutions, research assistants, participants to interdisciplinary clinical and healthcare research groups belonging to public or private bodies as author/co-author of scientific reports/publications, interlocutors with pharmaceutical companies and CRO, and reviewers for professionals scientific magazines. These professional profiles can be placed in private or public facilities with research and/or scientific research support purposes (companies, hospitals, universities, labs, contract-based research organizations).
Since it is a first-level short specialisation degree, it is accessible to graduates and Bachelor’s degree holders, within the fields specified in the official call.
Module 1: Methodology in Scientific Research
This module outlines the scientific method and its historical evolution, explaining how science builds knowledge through inductive and deductive approaches. It covers hypothesis corroboration as well as the logical and operational phases of research.
Module 2: Data Collection, Monitoring, and Storage
This module introduces information systems and IT tools, with particular focus on the role of databases in data management. It also presents tools for data generation, quality control, and storage, along with principles of data security and processing.
Module 3: Basic Statistical Methods
This module introduces modern methods for data description, analysis, and modelling, which are essential for organizing and interpreting information in a structured way. It presents the main approaches and tools used to represent data and support analysis and decision-making processes.
Module 4: Study Design
This module introduces the development and definition of study designs.
Module 5: Outcome Measures in Observational and Experimental Studies
This module explores the analysis and description of outcome variables—both categorical and quantitative—in observational studies and clinical trials. It presents the main methods for interpreting and presenting research results.
Module 6: Cost-Effectiveness Evaluation of Clinical and Healthcare Interventions
This module introduces the analysis and assessment of cost-effectiveness in clinical and healthcare studies, providing tools to evaluate the efficiency and economic impact of interventions. It also presents methods for interpreting data and supporting evidence-based decision-making.
Module 7: Sample Size Calculation
This module explains how to determine sample size and assess statistical power, providing tools for planning reliable and meaningful research. It introduces methods to ensure valid and generalizable results.
Module 8: Research Protocol in Observational and Experimental Studies
This module provides guidelines for drafting research protocols in observational and experimental studies, explaining how to clearly and rigorously plan objectives, methods, and analyses. It includes tools to ensure quality, consistency, and reproducibility.
Module 9: Guidelines for Writing Reports and Scientific Articles
This module presents guidelines for preparing research reports and scientific articles, highlighting methods and tools to ensure clarity, rigor, and reproducibility.
The Master is online, and it can be followed also by people working full time, since it is provided on-demand, through UniPD’s multimedia Moodle platform.
It has been designed for students and professionals who want to combine other professions and activities with the need to qualify or further specialize. There will be a frequent and easy interaction between students and professors, through Moodle’s Forum.
The course is annual and video-lessons will be issued between November and May. The course is divided into several 4-week modules; at the end of each module, attendees will have the chance to review their video-lessons and complete their homework (in asynchronous mode) to ascertain the competencies they’ve acquired.
The project work to discuss the final exam in September will be drafted between June and July, and it may include cases that specifically interest the student, as agreed with the tutor.
The final exam is always discussed online, on the Zoom platform.
For more information on the Directors and Professors, and for useful insights on the Master’s Degree in Biostatistics for Medical Research and Scientific Publication, here’s the presentation video: Biostatistics for Research and Scientific Publication | Department of Cardiothoracic-Vascular Sciences and Public Healthcare | University of Padua (unipd.it)
The general ranking of merit for the academic year 2026/27 will be published on the Italian page of this Master according to the timing provided in the Call.
Information
FAQ
There will be no traineeship, as they are deemed irreconcilable with the profile of the Master’s attendees. However, students will have the chance to tackle actual scientific matters and databases, proposed by the Direction during the lessons and the project works. There will be a final project work that can be completed also on the student’s workplace analysis and data. The topic will be agreed with the course’s professors.
The selection is based on qualifications only. The procedures are described in the Master’s application notice that you can find on the University of Padua website.
The Master does not include an internship or traineeship: at the end of the course students will work on a Project Work regarding a a topic covered during the Master. The paper will be discussed online in front of an evaluation committee.
Attendance at the Master is mandatory; to obtain the degree and the certificate of attendance at the Master, it is compulsory to attend at least 70% of the online lessons.
- Exemption for students with disabilities
There is no registration fee for candidates with a certified disability and a disability between 66% and 100%, or for those in possession of a certification pursuant to Law no. 104. These students will only have to pay the pre-registration fee, insurance and stamp duty.
- Public Administration employees
Public Administration employees who enroll in the Master’s program benefit from a discount of 330 euros on the second installment of the registration fee.
- Registration for University staff
The possibility of supernumerary registration is foreseen for University staff in order to allow continuous and permanent updating. The registration fee for the technical-administrative staff of the University is equal to 20% of the expected quota. In the event that the technical-administrative staff possesses the admission requirements for the Course, once the course has been completed, they will be able to obtain a diploma or the relevant certificate. If they do not possess the admission requirements, they may be admitted as auditors and obtain a certificate of participation.
- Registration fee for auditors
The registration fee for auditors is equal to 50% of the course registration fee. At the end of the course, the auditor who has fulfilled the minimum attendance requirement may be issued a certificate of participation by the course director