MoreSchoolLessStress

Hello! Congrats on your acceptances- it sounds like you have 2 great options. In this case- a hard decision is actually a good thing I would encourage you to consider your career path after PhD to help you make your decision. Obviously the networks you will build during either program will be vastly different (Public Health setting vs. Psychology)- so will that impact you? Do you see yourself working more with PH or Psych collaborators on future projects? From my perspective, the Developmental Psych route would give you more versatility in the long run (especially if you also do your MPH). While the PH route would give you more hands-on community program experience quickly. Another important factor to evaluate- which program would give you more exposure to the populations/types of programs you're interested in? (i.e. kids, adults, nutrition, cancer-prevention, sexual health, substance use, etc) I have my MPH and strongly considered a PhD in public health but ended up going the Clinical Psych route because I valued the flexibility. I was also fortunate to find a lab that matched my research interests and uses some population/ecological variables in their psych studies- so it really does feel like a mix of both disciplines (which I love!). But in your case, I think it depends on what you hope to get out of the program and your post-PhD goals. Best of luck in making your decision! It sounds like you can't go wrong either way.