derp
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Everything posted by derp
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McGill's MPH is really an MSc. (that's what it will say on your degree). Many students were not aware of this when they began a few years ago. MSc isn't considered the same as an MPH even if it IS an MSc. in public health. Good luck
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Yes - my colleague at UofT has a sub 3.0 GPA, otherwise very exceptional though.
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Huge pushback from the HP faculty and PHSA. Plus it's harder to mark HP stuff since it's all essays. Epi is doubling, and HP is doubling/tripling (not this year) but may split into different sub-streams (eg. social science, ecosystem health). There may still be some opportunities for engagement as the larger cohorts will be split into sections, but in my experience it's like a factory already at 35 people/class.
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Yes for epi this year, but not for health promotion. Next year though, all programs will be increasing in size. There's a lot of controversy about it but the school director Dr. Hu was brought on for that mandate (and it's all part of the publicly available strategic plan). Since universities get funding per student, there's always a push to increase enrolment Classes are already huge so you sit there with 35 others lecture-style just like undergrad. If you are interested in getting into medical school, or work in public health it's a good name to have, but it's basically a job-training camp and if you're interested in learning/engaging in ideas or discussing them, you'll be disappointed. If I could choose again, I'd go to LSHTM.
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Same for health promotion on all counts. We do have more flexibility though (fewer required classes) and so can take things that allow for more 1-1 instruction (reading courses with 1 prof or independent research). I found out about UBC last year on the last day of Feb. They're the earliest I think. I'm in UofT HP. I found out last year in late March. I got an entrance scholarship so presumably was among the first round of offers.
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Hey all - I'm in the MPH Health Promotion program at UofT in the global health focus (there is no global health stream here...the focus just means a core GH course, a GH elective, and one practicum oriented towards GH). Anyway, I'd be happy to answer any of your questions about the program, the DLSPH, the school, etc... Good luck !
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Salut! You need to make yourself standout, so I am referring to reflecting your understanding in the letter. You should write a very focused, very careful letter citing exact reasons why UofTs HP program is a good fit for you, and they will want to know how well you have looked into the program as that indicates your interest and how much thought you have put into it. Good luck!
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Hi Carolyn, I was accepted this year to the MPH health promotion program at UofT. My impression is you're not yet competitive - they really stress relevant public health/social justice/social & behavioural health experience as part of their application. Also HP is as competitive as epi, accepting just under 1 in 10 people. You might have enough time to prepare. Make sure that you carefully read up on the program to find out what makes it unique (eg. 2 practica allowing you to experience a research and professional setting, or have double experience in one), obtain excellent letters, and really good experience! Try coordinating research at a public health unit or hospital full-time if you can, or working with a big-name organization. You need to make yourself standout. Apply to OGS, CIHR, and any other big scholarships you can so you can say you applied on your application, which will remind them of your good grades. Also, the November deadline is for PhD, there's no advantage to submitting before Jan. That gives you about 6 months to make your application competitive - good luck:)
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Hey SMK17, it means you are in for sure, welcome:) When you're recommended you have to be approved by the SGS and they issue the official offer letter. When they approve your file (as they almost always do when you've been recommended by the dept.), they issue a conditional acceptance based on the condition of seeing your official transcripts before classes begin. You'll get an official letter in the mail in a few days or you can email Sandra Lang and she will send you a .pdf of the package. You have to sign something saying you'll go and send your official transcripts. But you're in! See you in Sept!
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Hah I knew you'd go for UofT. See you there:) I will be rejecting UBC, LSHTM, and Oxford for those wait-listed. Best of luck!
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Hey all - finally received my official acceptance from UofT today, with funding! I will be going there for sure so I will be turning down UBC's offer (so someone is going to get a sweet entrance scholarship and someone else will be accepted off the waitlist) and LSHTM. Best of luck to all still waiting:)
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Thanks bre...! Are you in hp too? I'm a bit confused since I got the unofficial acceptance April 2nd and they told me that was the first round. But that was less than a month ago. Are you in Epi? I'm somewhat anxious since in the original email they stressed that we have to respond to the official offer within 2 weeks that they mail it out, and apparently they sent them out before Easter.
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...still haven't received my official acceptance for UofT health promotion and it's been more than 2 weeks since I got the unofficial email. My mailing address is in Montréal so it should have arrived by now. I've called 2 or 3 times in the last few days but no one ever picks up, and they haven't answered my emails either. Anyone in a similar situation? Has anyone received their official offer for hp in the mail? I know they are busy but....they did receive almost 40 grand from application fees alone for hp. One would think they could put them to good use and communicate with us:)!
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Has anyone else who has been accepted to UofT for health promotion received their official letter/package from SGS yet? Or an official offer by other means (email). I received my unofficial acceptance email about 10 days ago and haven't heard anything since. UofT epi people: how long did you have to wait between unofficial and official offers? Good luck everyone!
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Congratulations mmmph! See you there? I stick out, I´m really tall. I`m ecstatic. To those asking, I´m not comfortable posting stats for all to see but if you´re interested PM me and I would be happy to share them:)
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Hey all, I just received informal acceptance to UofT´s MPH in Health Promotion. They haven`t yet asked for my official transcripts and my online status hasn´t changed. They emailed me. Here´s the email: Dear dr.p; Congratulations! On behalf of the Admissions Committee in the Division of Social and Behavioural Sciences, I am pleased to inform you that you have been recommend admission into the Master of Public Health Program (Health Promotion) at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto. This is not an offer as the final decision has to be made by School of Graduate Studies. Within the next two weeks, you should receive an official notification of our offer from the University of Toronto. You will be required to return your official confirmation form to the Graduate Department of Public Health Sciences, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, within two weeks from the date on which the official notice of our offer is mailed. We very much hope that you will accept our offer. We are confident that you have a great deal to contribute to our program, in addition to benefiting from the time you spend with us. However, if you choose to make other plans, we would appreciate your letting us know as soon as possible, as there are many other applicants who are anxious to enroll in our program. It would be ideal if you could let me know your intentions via e-mail upon receipt of this message at 416-978-7086 or (s.lang@utoronto.ca Regardless of your decision, I want to congratulate you on being selected. Given that more than 310 applications for 35 openings in our MPH Program, you have placed in the top 10 percent of applicants. Further details will be sent to you in the coming months regarding registration, background reading and other preparations for the new academic year. We look forward to meeting you in the Fall. Sincerely, Sent on Behalf of Ted Myers Head, Division of Social and Behavioural Health Sciences Sandra Lang Dallla Lana School of Public Health University of Toronto 155 College Street, Suite 508 Toronto, ON M5T 3M6 T: 416-978-7086 F: 416-978-2087 www.phs.utoronto.ca
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Yeah that is very typical, SGS has to check that you meet school-wide minimums and that they didn't make a mistake with your application. For such a competitive program you shouldn't have anything to worry about. Last year (and this year) for me at least, the SGS email arrived about 4 days after the departmental one. Official acceptance is the paper letter though, that comes about a week later, depending on where you live.
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Most schools or at least programs will probably be accredited in the future, although you should know that if you graduate before this occurs, you can't say you graduated from an accredited program. If it's accredited within 3 years of graduation though, you can still write the public health practitioner test that the US has, if you'd like to work there as a public health practitioner (whatever that is). SFU is much more established, smaller, and will probably give you more personal attention. That said, at the graduate level it matters a lot more what 'brand' of school you attend, for future jobs or more school. Bigger schools like UofT and UBC will certainly also have more professional connections and affiliations.
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Accreditation just takes a long time and public health is a fairly new field in Canada. UofT is seeking CEPH accreditation but won't get it before we'd graduate, it takes at least 2 years from the date of submission to CEPH and they haven't yet submitted. In a study they released, their school was still deficient in things like health policy and global health, which they are working on now. I don't know about UBC's status or if they are seeking accreditation.
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Last year I just accepted UBC's offer as their deadline to respond was more than a month before I heard back from other schools (although they will give you more time if you ask...but still not enough time), and later very politely rejected them when I got into my preferred schools. It felt shitty but you do what you have to do, and I wrote them a nice letter to explain myself. It doesn't seem to have affected things since they accepted me again this year. Toronto is probably better for epi if that's your thing, and CEPH accrediation may add some value to your degree. Without having graduated from a CEPH accredited program I don't think you can get into a DrPH program later, at least not at Harvard. UdeM's program is also accredited, and I believe UofA's whole school is set to be accredited this fall. That said, Toronto and UBC are way better schools than SFU, and consequently your degree will be more widely recognised. Good luck!
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Hey there - last year I was accepted on Feb. 28 to UBC and then I saw some people getting accepted on March 1st on gradcafé's results search page. So it may actually take them a few days to roll them all out.
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Just under $5000.00. SFU comes soon, and UofT in mid- to late-April (I know from last year). Thanks! PM me for details about my background, but UBC is an upper midrange pick for me I think. Vancouver is a huge draw but I think I'm just more interested in other places. Problem is I won't hear back from them before mid-March!
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Hey Lilac, What McGill calls an MPH is actually an MSc. (in public health) and MSc. is what you'd get on your degree/transcripts. But that wasn't the problem I had with the program. There were only 10 of us in the first cohort, and most were unhappy. For the first year, we take all but 1 of the same courses as the epidemiology (thesis) students, all together. This may seem like an okay idea since McGill's epi program is very well-regarded, but it had several problems: Being the original epi thesis courses, they was geared towards preparing students to conduct their own epi research for their theses. This meant they were very methodology- and biostastics-oriented, with very little practical information for us practicum-based MSPH students. So we'd all be sitting there learning all this information much of which was not relevant to what we would be doing. On a more personal note, I am interested in things like health policy, social determinants of health, health ethics, etc... There is a severe paucity of relevant coursework in these subjects because McGill's MScPH is so new, and since they aren't a school of public health they don't have the resources. The courses that were available were actually in other departments like sociology or poli sci. So when we'd get around to taking them in the second year, they wouldn't be through the department, and there was a big risk they wouldn't actually be that relevant. The course is so new there really are a lot of kinks. Profs address the class as 'epi' students, there is very little support for practica, McGill's program won't be accredited by CEPH for at least another 3-4 years, etc... There are a lot of other problems, PM me if you have more questions. That said, McGill is the top school in medical sciences, the faculty are great, tuition is very cheap etc... if you have a strong interest in biostats/methodology/epi to the exclusion of the other topics under the aegis of public health, it may be the course for you
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Hey all, I've been around since last year - I began graduate study in McGill's new MSc. Public health program but was very disappointed with it and consequently have applied to programs that appear a better fit this year. I wanted to say I was just offered a place at UBC's MPH program for fall 2012, with a deadline to reply by March 16, with funding. I know they have a small waitlist since a friend of mine was accepted off of it last year, but offers to top ranked students are now out. Good luck for this cycle to all!
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Salut! When I was wait-listed for UofT's (Epi) MPH, they emailed me and stated they admit roughly 1/10 across their departments (with epi and health promotion being the most competitive). This is in line with other schools; McGill was about 1/15 and UBC 1/12 this year for MPH programs. From what I understand if you've been waitlisted they would have emailed you, although it's possible that you're still in the running and that the waitlist moved a lot this year (which would delay rejection letters since they don't want to reject people they might end up taking last minute) - so don't lose hope:) As for me, I've accepted McGill's offer yesterday and will be attending this fall. Good luck to everyone and thank you for your advice!