Familiar Heron

No problem! I think that if a place wants a prior MPH, it's usually because they want to ensure that students have a core understanding of statistics, health policy, etc. I don't know what your program would entail, but if you could pick up some of those classes on the side (or even part time after earning your master's), that could suffice.

Disclaimer: not a DrPH student or prospective applicant, but a number of my friends/colleagues have a DrPH, are in a program, or will apply in the coming season. The short answer is "no." A relevant master's is preferred, and most successful applicants will have an MPH or MSPH, but many will enter with another type of master's degree (some of my friends/colleagues have an MS, MBA, etc.). However, the more important facet of the application is experience. Do you have professional experience in healthcare? Do you intend on returning to the workforce after the genetic counseling program and before applying for a DrPH program? Since DrPH programs tend to recruit mid-career professionals who intend to use the degree as a stepping stone, applying without much working experience may diminish your chances. I don't know your age or your experience, but if you're pretty young (<30 years) and looking to apply right away, don't rule out the PhD entirely! Of course, I would recommend contacting a few schools that interest you, talk to their professors, and gauge their reaction. Good luck!

It's not typical for students to be kicked out. Period. Echoing Eigen, there is no code word for expulsion for a research group until the PI notifies you directly. Moreover, all that we know is that you broke the equipment and that it's being repaired in-house. This doesn't give us any information regarding cost of the equipment, the potential hazards of your oversight, what protocol was ignored, etc. What sticks out to me is your paraphrase that the accident was "symptomatic of lack of attention and unsafe lab practice." Do you have any history of unsafe lab practices? If so, have you faced disciplinary action as a consequence of unsafe practice?

I looked at a lot of schools, and while most of them recommended having a master's degree (or being on track to having a master's degree prior to enrollment), none required it. Also, I think the recommendation is targeted at younger applicants with modest or no professional experience. Having a master's degree may be negligible if you have a decent amount of years in the field (5+ years). With that said, find the schools with professors whose interests align with yours, and reach out to them. Not having a master's will not put you out of the running, even if you don't have much experience.

Hey, glad to hear that you're considering graduate programs in HSR! Just to provide some context to my answer, I'm only a few years out of undergrad, I recently earned my MS in a health services-related field, and I will begin a PhD program in HSR in the fall. From my discussions with program staff, faculty, and students, admissions committees like to see some combination of relevant education and experience. If you're a young applicant with little to no professional experience, a master's degree (ideally in public health or a related discipline) goes a long way. If you have worked in a healthcare sector for several years, previous graduate education is not that important. The former demonstrates competencies in baseline health services coursework (for example, such as biostatistics), whereas the latter indicates first-hand knowledge of operations in the field. Obviously having both is ideal, but having one is good enough. With that said, applying to a HSR PhD program without graduate education or professional experience puts you at a non-insignificant disadvantage to your competition. It's not so severe that applicants in your position never receive admission (some do, but it's much harder). Reach out to faculty early in the application cycle (like in August and September), express your enthusiasm for their work, and ask them for what they want from an applicant who is fresh out of undergrad. If you can identify two or three professors with whom you really connect, then lack of experience may have less weight in their decision. Good grades, killer GREs, a compelling statement, and exquisite letters are generally par for the course (especially at top schools like Michigan, NYU, Minnesota, and Emory), so don't just rely on those. I recommend applying to the fellowship at Columbia before applying to PhD programs. You seem passionate about the topic, but – who knows? – maybe your interests will change. And if you get in, it will also give you a competitive edge when you apply to graduate programs. Good luck!

Applied: Dartmouth College (HPCP), Harvard U. (PHS), U. Michigan (HSOP), U. Minnesota (HSRPA), U. Wisconsin (PHS) Admitted: U. Minnesota, U. Wisconsin (top choices for research fit!) Rejected: Harvard U., U. Michigan Withdrawn: Dartmouth College -- I'll decide after I visit Minnesota, although I'm leaning towards Wisconsin at this point.

In general, later notifications are more likely to be rejections than acceptances or waitlists. This is particularly true for large programs that want several students to matriculate in the fall. It wouldn't make sense to notify one batch of admitted students at one point, and then to notify more admitted pool of applicants later on, given that students have visit schools, turn down offers, organize funding (if needed), etc., all by April 15. However, I know that some smaller programs that allow rolling admissions and have soft funding (that is, students are funded by faculty grants, not by the school itself) do admit, waitlist, and reject students irregularly throughout the process.

Congrats! I was admitted as well, and I figured out funding if I decide to attend Wisconsin. Just trying to gauge who else is seriously considering the program.

It's great to see all of the good news in this thread! Did anybody else apply to Wisconsin's Population Health PhD program?

Rejected from Michigan's HSOP program! It's a bummer, but with two admits in the bag, I'm not too worried. (Also, congrats on the recent acceptances/waitlists!)

Sorry to hear about your troubles. Unfortunately, I don't think that this is a question that we can answer. Contact SOPHAS and your schools of interest by phone and see if you can work something out. Depending on the submission dates, you may be okay. It may not be a big deal if this is for master's programs, but if it's for doctoral programs, my guess is that you're out of luck. EDIT: I just wanted to clarify the point regarding master's programs. These are generally professional programs that can take in a large cohort of students. As such, submitting a late application may not exclude you from the running if the program has more room, especially if your a strong candidate. That said, you probably will not be offered funding (although such support tends to be pretty meager at master's programs, anyhow).

This is correct. The international/domestic student quota for graduate programs are pretty variable across schools, and it also depends on the type of program (doctoral vs. masters). I think that your best bet is contacting the schools and asking for information that is specific to international applicants.

Consider my input with a grain of salt, but here are my thoughts: You should consider studying again for the GREs with particular emphasis on the quantitative test. Most epidemiology programs want students who can conduct statistical research. While I don't know of your coursework, your GRE quantitative score does not corroborate your preparedness for graduate level statistics classes. Since you have a TOEFL score, I assume that English is not your first language, so your verbal and writing scores should be passable. I don't think that you're totally out of luck, but considering the average competing applicant, I do think that your GRE quantitative score may give the committee an easy reason not to admit you (at least for this application cycle). That said, do not be discouraged. You seem to have a great portfolio otherwise, and improving your GRE score is almost certainly the most feasible way to enhance your application. Good luck!

No worries, and I hope that I'm not sounding like a downer! Harvard hasn't notified me, so I'm pretty sure that I'm in the rejection pool. It sucks to see the acceptances, but there are other options, thankfully.

I also applied to the SBS track, but my guess is that Harvard already notified all admitted and waitlisted students. Any number of reasons could explain this (more faculty demand for epi track students compared to other subfields, epi applicants more likely to post here, etc.).