UNC (MPH/RD) or Umich (MPH) or Columbia Univ TC (MS-NPH)

[Michelle Xu]

The tittle shows the masters programs I enrolled recently, and I'm having trouble finding the best one for me. 

Personal interests: Maternal and child nutrition, want to become a registered dietitian and work in either a hospital/ places like a maternal and child care center. Or I might go to get a PhD degree if the professor I met has research going on that interest me.

 

Pros and cons of each program:

UNC: (40 credits)

pros: can take the RD exam after finishing 2 years of study with the lowest cost. There are 3 professors that have similar research interest as my personal interest.

cons: It's in suburban area so it could mean a lower chance of getting a job in the local area as well as restricted internship sites. I've also heard that UNC is not a good place for minority groups that you might get bullied because of it and the faculties would do nothing. So, as an international student, I'm very concerned about this. I'm worried the chance of me getting a internship or job would be even lower in that case because people might be mean to me.

 

U Mich: (60 credits)

pros: The program has a concentration of maternal and child nutrition, which is my favorite. It's in urban area so the job opportunity is sightly higher than UNC. The DI program is separate from the program I enrolled so I have a chance to take it somewhere else (such as Seattle, which means I can live in my aunt's house to save some housing fee)

Cons: I need spend about 2 years and 8 month to be qualified taking the RD exam because the program I enrolled itself is a 2 year program and is does not include DI (dietetic internship), I need to apply for the DI separately. The number of credits of this program is the greatest, so this program has the highest cost among all.

 

Columbia U Teachers College: (50+8 credits)

pros: can take the RD exam after finishing 2 years of study. It's in New York so it means the highest chance of getting a job? (I suppose) 

Cons: daily expenditure is the most expensive among these 3. And I saw there is only 10 faculties in the nutrition department (not sure if it's real, if it is, it's definitely not and ideal situation for students). There are advertisement of this Teachers College which made me felt this is not as credible/ authentic as other programs I enrolled. 

 

Things that I don't know: I'm not sure what are the criteria the HR in nutrition field use to find the employee. Which one of these programs is the most credible program that an HR would favor?  Also, how strong is the Alumni network among all these schools, I think that's also and important factor to look into. (I asked the admission office and of course they all say their Alumni is very strong, i'm not sure how to check whether it's true or false) Please give some advice! I would appreciate it very much!!!

 

[NonTradGrad]

Go to Michigan!