Chrish0204

I just spent like 45 minutes pouring over every word on this thread! I had actually forgotten the fact that the results were coming back soon until this morning and decided to see if people were talking about it. I am glad I didn't see this thread last week because I would have just been thinking about it non-stop.... I am applying for a fellowship for Mandarin in China and a project about Chinese attitudes and norms regarding health care delivery. I didn't get the letter about my budget -- I am hoping this just means I was specific enough in the original application. I have a pretty extensive Chinese background so I am hoping this helps. My degree is in nursing: AFAIK I am the first person to do this since I had to specifically e-mail the Boren people to add that option to the drop down menu on the application. I am thinking this is either going to really help me or really hurt. Either way, should be finding out tomorrow....

Thanks for all the informative responses. Any degree in a public health field would be a few years in the future for me, but these responses actually helped clear some things up for me. Mostly I am interested in epidemiology (infectious disease, hospital infection control, social determinants of the spread of disease, etc.) and I could see myself being happy working for the EIS or something similar. Seems like nurses need an MPH or greater to work with them. Does anyone know the relative merit of getting a highly regarded degree (either MPH or PhD)? Do organizations like the CDC, WHO, etc. care a great deal that you went to the very top public health schools?

Hey all, I'm seeking some advice about entering public health. I am considering applying for some sort of public health program in the next few years but I am not sure what is right for me. I have a couple of questions: 1) Do many people start with an MPH and then go on to get a PhD? Would this be a waste of time and would I be better off just going straight for a PhD, or is there some value in getting an MPH first? 2) What are the pros and cons of a PhD vs. a DrPH? I realize that the former is more research-focused and the other is more "practice" oriented, but what does this translate into as far as jobs go? Is choosing one or the other going to significantly alter my job prospects, or is there some blurring of the lines, so to speak? Are there any types of jobs you simply can't get with a PhD that you can get with a DrPH, and vice versa? 3) Is the DrPH degree respected / valued in the public health community? In my own field (nursing) there is a practice doctorate as well (DNP), but it is controversial and some people do not respect that degree (with some good reasons). I have heard of PA doctorate degrees that do not significantly improve clinical skills and mostly just focus on "fluff." Is the DrPH seen as a light-weight degree that is the result of "degree inflation", or is it truly challenging and respected? 4) If anyone here applied for / is applying to a DrPH or PhD, can you explain the reasons you chose one over the other? Thanks for anyone that can answer any of these questions.

I'm interested in the same kind of thing, also from an RN perspective. I was hoping to find some kind of compbined MPH / MA in anthropology. UW in Seattle has an MPH / Anthro PhD program (which I am vaguely considering). In any case, it seems like there are quite a few MPH programs out there with "global health" or "health inequality" focuses, but a) I don't know how to differentiate all these programs and I am tempted to just go for an epi or biostats track, since I've heard that many other tracks are viewed as the "liberal arts" of MPH. Any thoughts.