[PhD vs. DrPH vs. MPH]

I think MPHs are a waist of time for multiple reasons. The first being many major universities' mph programs are diploma mills for MDs or residents so the quality of education is poor, especially at the big names in pub. health e.g., johns hopkins, harvard, berkley etc.

If you cannot get into a PhD program today, I would suggest getting a master's degree in a math/statistics/science type discipline. Do NOT get a master's in something like nursing or kinesiology or nutrition. These majors are for people who cannot do science and they generally end up in very remedial schools, if they choose to transfer over to pub health later in life.

I know a few Dr. PHs and they are very smart but have very limited skill sets. They have not brought in any dollars from research grants at least not from NIH which is very important to do especially if you want promotions and tenure. Dr. PHs are more analysts than anything else. They do a lot of consulting and generally teach data analysis courses to MPH students, if they have to teach at all.

Pub Health is one of the best disciplines in academia, if you are good at what you do. You have opportunities to help people at a mass level and the opportunity to earn a very comfortable salary.

This was not a very nice thing to say. I have a Bachelors of Science in Biology (GPA: 3.9); Masters of Business Administration (GPA: 4.0); Master of Exercise Science (similar to i.e. Kinesiology)(GPA: 3.87); Doctor of Public Health degree candidate (GPA: 3.84). I stated my GPA at the end of each program to emphasize the fact that Kinesiology and other allied health professionals are not ignorant or less competent. Many chose those fields of study because that is what they enjoy doing. I personally chose that degree because it was free for me and I am a proponent of healthy living and exercise. Also, many of the community interventions I do involve physical activity, nutrition & obesity and chronic disease prevention. I have taken almost every science class there is to take on both the undergrad and graduate levels. And I made straight A's in almost all of my sciences. My alma matters are all well renowned schools and scored in the top 25 schools according the the U.S. News. Please do not make insulting insinuations about people like that. It's not right.

In addition to this I also currently work at the CDC in the department of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity. There are plenty of health scientists with both PhD's and DrPH degrees who contribute valuable research to the overall field of knowledge.

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.

Hi there,

There are quite a few people I work with who did not have an MPH and obtained either a PhD or DPH (DrPH) degree from a CEPH accredited school. From personal exerience, I do not have an MPH but a MS and MBA (neither in public health). However, many DPH (DrPH) degree programs do require a graduate degree related to administration or health.

As far as which degree is better.....in my experience, both degrees are highly valued and respected. There are PhD and DrPH's at the CDC who do similar research. I will say that each school's curriculum varies so be sure to find out as much about the program as possible before enrolling. It is good to have a strong research base regardless of the degree you choose. Right now, if you searched DrPH jobs on Google you would see all sorts of job listing pop up, from academia to community health. There is definitely a place for all practicing and research oriented professionals.

I hope this helps.