DrJackPhD(c)

I've had a few accepted. I'm at about a 60% acceptance rate. TBH, in retrospect they were pretty much crap. I wouldn't worry about it. Just make sure it is clear, concise, and has no spelling/grammatical errors. Honestly, most people I know have at least gotten their abstracts for posters in.

I suggest everyone get a Masters before pursuing a public health PhD. That aside, my masters was in Public Policy and Administration. I chose to go into health policy (PhD) to further specialize in my specific field of interest. Most of my cohort and those who followed have MPH's though. This can be both a good and a bad thing. Good: You get people who already have experience and training public health from which they can draw on in their future research. Bad: It leads to a bit of an echo chamber. Many MPH programs are focused on getting people PH jobs. They don't spend much time on research methodology. A strong foundation in research methodology is a necessity in any PhD program. If your program offers econometrics or any other research methodology coursework as an elective. TAKE IT! It will make your application if you decide to go for a PhD that much stronger. The reason that Public Health PhD programs benefit from cohorts with a broad base of education and experience is that the field needs those diverse perspectives. Regarding my future career plans: I do not plan to go for a career in academia. My goal is to enter the professional workforce and teach as an adjunct professor from time to time. I want to keep my foot in the door of the ivory tower, but don't want to have to deal with the politics of it. Publishing is a bit of a pyramid scheme IMHO

That's a good question. I'd probably want to look into seeing where graduates of the program are now. How many are in academic positions? How many are at research universities? How many stayed in the private sector? You can "sort of" do a search like that on LinkedIn to see where they are. One thing I didn't consider was looking at faculty turnover. Has the majority of faculty been there for a while or is it mostly staffed by newbs. Faculty turnover can affect both morale and make it difficult to hold onto an advisor that will stick with you through your dissertation.

For me, my choice of schools was for the following reasons: 1. Concentration I'm interested in. "Health Policy" 2. Cost of living (I'm raising a family) 3. Financial assistance in the form of scholarships and graduate assistantships 4. Faculty that fit my research interests. Regarding advisors: For every school that fit within my parameters, I looked through the faculty listings on the school website. I looked at the classes they taught and their publications. I would introduce myself to those faculty members that fit and started conversations with them. Some of them were more than happy to talk. You can get a general feel of how the faculty member will fit with you after a few emails or phone conversations. Even if your have matching interests, the faculty member could rub you the wrong way. It helps to get that sorted out before you oblige yourself to four to five years of working with that person.

I wish there was a thread like this 4 years ago when I was posting on here with a bunch of questions about programs and applications. Anyways, I'm a third year PhD student in public health (Health Services Policy & Management). Feel free to ask questions and I'll try to give my best answers. I don't know about all the public health schools or their specific quirks, so I can't answer about specific admission requirements or where to find faculty to meet your research focus. Other than that! Fire away!

Since you have multiple questions here, let's break it down one at a time 1. Yes. Health policy is closer to health economics because part of developing policy and selecting best alternatives is to know the cost effectiveness. Policymakers care about cost effectiveness. You're not going to see much use for that in Health Promotion or Global Health. 2. Then you're all set. If you know R and Stata, you're steps ahead of your competition. SAS is nice, but it's not necessary. Handy to have though because it does have its applications. BTW, I've never seen anyone in public health use SPSS. 3. That's a negative on the machine learning. Maybe something in survival analysis or biostats if available. If you have an understanding of econometrics, can handle large datasets, and know how to both set up and interpret different approaches in it to answer specific questions, you're doing well.

A health policy program will focus on health policy in the United States. Global health takes a global perspective. For example, one might conduct a study of HIV interventions in Rwanda with a concentration in global health. Population health is kind of vague, but definitely has an epidemiology focus. I'd suggest a health policy program. For example mine is "Health Services Policy and Management." Health economics is one concentration available (it's what I'm doing). What can you do to bolster your application? Take some graduate econometric coursework that gives you experience with large datasets, and software like Stata, SAS, or R. The more you round out your quantitative training, the better. (BTW, if you become proficient in R, it's the equivalent of god-like powers in the eyes of employers)

Honestly, you're already qualified. Public Health programs are looking for people with a range of experiences. Some people think they need a background or education in public health before attending. I can tell you that a background in economics is pure gold. Health economists are highly employable and it is a sought after qualification. Edited to add: Look into a program in health policy.

Be prepared to suffer if spelling and grammar are important to you. My semester as a GTA for a graduate level class was pain. .... use active voice.... don't start a sentence with a conjunction... I said use active voice, weren't you paying attention the last five of your papers I graded?!?!??!?!... sentence fragment... weasel words... what are you even saying here? and so on....

I was in a professional masters program (MPPA) that happened to be thesis based. I am currently in a PhD program in a similar field which required everyone who entered already have a masters of one sort or another. I can tell you that the thesis better prepares you for a PhD program if you decide to do it later. Non-thesis masters are fine, but the students I have met who had professional-non-thesis-masters are struggling in the quantitative and qualitative analysis coursework. If you have no intention of going into a PhD program, then a non-thesis professional masters may be right for you. It won't shut the door on a PhD, but it will make it easier if you decide to go. Oh.. one more thing.. finishing a thesis provides a lot more personal satisfaction.. you truly will feel like an expert in whatever it is you research. IMHO, of course