PhD / DrPh Fall 2022

[medception]

1 minute ago, Ehphd said:

Yes, it is UCLA Epi. And thank you so much for the detailed reply!

She said she has "no fellowships to offer": does this include TA/RA positions? And "IF" I could get funding from here and there, would it be enough to support me throughout the program..? I don't know how much I should expect as an expense per month in LA. I studied in Europe and the TA/RA positions would support 1000 euros, tops. 

110% do not do an un-funded Ph.D. You will regret it foreverrrrrrrr

[DrPH Hopeful 2022]

2 hours ago, manny2022 said:

Hi Everyone, newbie here, I had an interview with GWU last week, hoping it went well. Fingers crossed! Does BU send out interviews for their DrPh? Also waiting on JHU and Loma Linda DrPh. 

BU does interview for their DrPH. I interviewed a couple of weeks ago. When they sent the link to pick a time/date, it looked like they had interview openings until February 11th. 

[BossMomDrPH]

2 hours ago, manny2022 said:

Hi Everyone, newbie here, I had an interview with GWU last week, hoping it went well. Fingers crossed! Does BU send out interviews for their DrPh? Also waiting on JHU and Loma Linda DrPh. 

Good day,  I am not familiar with BU DrPH, however I did just receive an email from Loma Linda last week, as a check-in while waiting for the application deadline. From our conversation, applications will not be reviewed until after March 1st, and interviews will be conducted as standard. Hope this is helpful. Best of luck to you!

[Ehphd]

6 minutes ago, medception said:

110% do not do an un-funded Ph.D. You will regret it foreverrrrrrrr

I feel you! I mean, I am not used to this concept of un-funded PhD at all. In EU they seem to really see PhD students as an employee. How do students actually survive with an un-funded Ph.D.? Only the wealthy ones?

[PH2022]

3 hours ago, DrPHPlans said:

AAARRGGGHHHHHHH Congrats!! That's huge. Seriously, that program is incredible and the admissions criteria are steep. ***checks spam and refreshes email every 5 seconds*** ?

Thank you! Given how selective this program is I feel very fortunate to get that invite. Sending positive vibes that you'll get good news soon!

[FuturePhDPls]

15 minutes ago, Ehphd said:

Yes, it is UCLA Epi. And thank you so much for the detailed reply!

She said she has "no fellowships to offer": does this include TA/RA positions? And "IF" I could get funding from here and there, would it be enough to support me throughout the program..? I don't know how much I should expect as an expense per month in LA. I studied in Europe and the TA/RA positions would support 1000 euros, tops. 

No problem! I honestly would recommend asking your POI these questions! I think they would be transparent about their funding capabilities and it's a good sign that she said you both can come up with a plan together! I attended an info session last Nov and the department coordinator said that they typically help students apply for funding -- so I would definitely confirm with your POI and the graduate director after receiving your offer! 

[CamilleBackman]

Also received notification of admission from U Minnesota today (PhD in health policy). Funding wasn’t discussed in letter. 
 

Received notification of admission at U Maryland yesterday (I think I saw some mention of them a while back) 

As far as the funding discussion going on, personally I wouldn’t be able to accept an unfunded position and I think most programs don’t expect you to. But again, programs do vary a lot! 

[medception]

14 minutes ago, CamilleBackman said:

Also received notification of admission from U Minnesota today (PhD in health policy). Funding wasn’t discussed in letter. 
 

Received notification of admission at U Maryland yesterday (I think I saw some mention of them a while back) 

As far as the funding discussion going on, personally I wouldn’t be able to accept an unfunded position and I think most programs don’t expect you to. But again, programs do vary a lot! 

Yes I noticed the same thing in the offer letter haha. I likely won't attend unless they can guarantee funding.

[Ehphd]

6 minutes ago, FuturePhDPls said:

No problem! I honestly would recommend asking your POI these questions! I think they would be transparent about their funding capabilities and it's a good sign that she said you both can come up with a plan together! I attended an info session last Nov and the department coordinator said that they typically help students apply for funding -- so I would definitely confirm with your POI and the graduate director after receiving your offer! 

Right, thank you for your kind advices! It really helps :-)

Just to clarify one more point, "they typically help students apply for funding":

Is this expected to happen after the acceptance and before the Fall semester? I mean, I can't just fly out and expect help from the department waiting for the funding while being in LA..

I am so confused with scholarships' timeline, I mean, I still don't get how securing a funding prior to an application works, and that's why I missed out on FullBright. I know it is a competitive scholarship, but in a million cases, if one ends up getting accepted to no where, does it end up being ghost money?

[FuturePhDPls]

4 minutes ago, Ehphd said:

Right, thank you for your kind advices! It really helps :-)

Just to clarify one more point, "they typically help students apply for funding":

Is this expected to happen after the acceptance and before the Fall semester? I mean, I can't just fly out and expect help from the department waiting for the funding while being in LA..

I am so confused with scholarships' timeline, I mean, I still don't get how securing a funding prior to an application works, and that's why I missed out on FullBright. I know it is a competitive scholarship, but in a million cases, if one ends up getting accepted to no where, does it end up being ghost money?

Yeah, it's very confusing ? I'm not sure about the timeline, or when they would help students secure funding, but I think talking to current students (I always reach out to them via LinkedIn or find their emails on the department websites) to see where they receive funding + asking your POI + asking the department coordinator would be the best way to go about it. Better to get a solid sense of funding then wait! 

[Ehphd]

7 minutes ago, medception said:

Yes I noticed the same thing in the offer letter haha. I likely won't attend unless they can guarantee funding.

Wow okay, so they do send out unfunded positions... This is so new to me ? I thought I read $3000~3500 stipend from some other schools I applied to, so I guess I assumed this was the norm...!
Fingers crossed that we could all hear from well-funded programs soon!!

[DrPH_Star]

Hello Everyone! I’ve been lurking for a whileeeeeee. 

I had a question, did anyone apply to a 100% online Public Health PhD program or know of any? Asking for a friend! 

[Ehphd]

I received an unconventional email from PI at Stanford Epi to discuss further research fit, so *I should* request Adcomm to schedule an interview (?).

I thought applicants get a scheduled interview invite from the faculty, not the other way around, so yet another confusing email...!

[lattemuwood]

12 minutes ago, Ehphd said:

I received an unconventional email from PI at Stanford Epi to discuss further research fit, so *I should* request Adcomm to schedule an interview (?).

I thought applicants get a scheduled interview invite from the faculty, not the other way around, so yet another confusing email...!

I received a formal email last week from the education manager to confirm interview times with faculty.

[Ehphd]

25 minutes ago, lattemuwood said:

I received a formal email last week from the education manager to confirm interview times with faculty.

Ah okay, may I ask how it works? Like, did the manager specify PI you will be talking to, or were there slots you could choose?

[A0315]

Saw someone reported an acceptance for Harvard’s PHS, SBS program in the results page. Would love to hear more! Were you interviewed? Did you get an email to check portal? 

[XXXXXXphd2021]

3 hours ago, Ehphd said:

Yes, it is UCLA Epi. And thank you so much for the detailed reply!

She said she has "no fellowships to offer": does this include TA/RA positions? And "IF" I could get funding from here and there, would it be enough to support me throughout the program..? I don't know how much I should expect as an expense per month in LA. I studied in Europe and the TA/RA positions would support 1000 euros, tops. 

This is sth to clarify with the POI. 

Usually the funding would be either a fellowship (which means no work requirement), TA/RAships at a certain % efforts that give you tuition waiver and a survivable stipend, or in more rare scenarios from external sources such as government scholarship. Sometimes the RAship will not be directly tied to your primary mentor, it is just a work exchange type of situation. This is very common for public health programs because many programs hope students to apply for a government training grant by year 3 to be more independent on funding, which international students do not qualify for. In many scenarios, students have to actively search for such RA/TAships and won't secure a position until close to the new semester. I am not sure how many would have to pay out of pocket. For UCLA, I knew someone who got admitted a few years ago with a clear funding mechanism because his POI had the money, he said not everyone was admitted with a funding package attached. It seems that you would need to figure it out with your POI/the department. 

I am an international student. This is my second season applying. UCSF Epi says they will not admit anyone they could not figure out a clear funding strategy. Then I was waitlisted ? . From past year stats, they would receive about half of applications from international students but enroll maybe one international student. I have a friend (international student) got admitted to UPitts Epi last season and they have to secure their own funding through searching for TA/RAships, he told me that his POI blatantly told him they were asked to prioritize US students so eventually he did not find any funding and deferred the admission. This season he reached out to a few professors at UPitts Epi and no one replied (but he got many interviews at private universities so I think he would be fine).

Well I learned my lessons and this year I applied to more PhD programs housed at private university medical schools that will have more guaranteed funding.  

Edited February 2, 2022 by XXXXXXphd2021

[Ehphd]

23 minutes ago, XXXXXXphd2021 said:

This is sth to clarify with the POI. 

Usually the funding would be either a fellowship (which means no work requirement), TA/RAships at a certain % efforts that give you tuition waiver and a survivable stipend, or in more rare scenarios from external sources such as government scholarship. Sometimes the RAship will not be directly tied to your primary mentor, it is just a work exchange type of situation. This is very common for public health programs because many programs hope students to apply for a government training grant by year 3 to be more independent on funding, which international students do not qualify for. In many scenarios, students have to actively search for such RA/TAships and won't secure a position until close to the new semester. I am not sure how many would have to pay out of pocket. For UCLA, I knew someone who got admitted a few years ago with a clear funding mechanism because his POI had the money, he said not everyone was admitted with a funding package attached. It seems that you would need to figure it out with your POI/the department. 

I am an international student. This is my second season applying. UCSF Epi says they will not admit anyone they could not figure out a clear funding strategy. Then I was waitlisted ? . From past year stats, they would receive about half of applications from international students but enroll maybe one international student. I have a friend (international student) got admitted to UPitts Epi last season and they have to secure their own funding through searching for TA/RAships, he told me that his POI blatantly told him they were asked to prioritize US students so eventually he did not find any funding and deferred the admission. This season he reached out to a few professors at UPitts Epi and no one replied (but he got many interviews at private universities so I think he would be fine).

Well I learned my lessons and this year I applied to more PhD programs housed at private university medical schools that will have more guaranteed funding.  

Wow thanks for the explanation in detail! I guess it makes sense for a public uni to have tighter budgets smh.. 

[XXXXXXphd2021]

2 minutes ago, Ehphd said:

Wow thanks for the explanation in detail! I guess it makes sense for a public uni to have tighter budgets smh.. 

Yep the struggle is real but we'll survive ?  It's a good sign that your POI said you guys should come up with a plan together! 

[FuturePhDPls]

was wondering if anyone applied to UC Irvine and has heard anything back? 

[HOPEFULLPHD2022]

58 minutes ago, FuturePhDPls said:

was wondering if anyone applied to UC Irvine and has heard anything back? 

I got interviewed last week and is waiting for response now

[offersmakeitrain]

2 hours ago, XXXXXXphd2021 said:

This is sth to clarify with the POI. 

Usually the funding would be either a fellowship (which means no work requirement), TA/RAships at a certain % efforts that give you tuition waiver and a survivable stipend, or in more rare scenarios from external sources such as government scholarship. Sometimes the RAship will not be directly tied to your primary mentor, it is just a work exchange type of situation. This is very common for public health programs because many programs hope students to apply for a government training grant by year 3 to be more independent on funding, which international students do not qualify for. In many scenarios, students have to actively search for such RA/TAships and won't secure a position until close to the new semester. I am not sure how many would have to pay out of pocket. For UCLA, I knew someone who got admitted a few years ago with a clear funding mechanism because his POI had the money, he said not everyone was admitted with a funding package attached. It seems that you would need to figure it out with your POI/the department. 

I am an international student. This is my second season applying. UCSF Epi says they will not admit anyone they could not figure out a clear funding strategy. Then I was waitlisted ? . From past year stats, they would receive about half of applications from international students but enroll maybe one international student. I have a friend (international student) got admitted to UPitts Epi last season and they have to secure their own funding through searching for TA/RAships, he told me that his POI blatantly told him they were asked to prioritize US students so eventually he did not find any funding and deferred the admission. This season he reached out to a few professors at UPitts Epi and no one replied (but he got many interviews at private universities so I think he would be fine).

Well I learned my lessons and this year I applied to more PhD programs housed at private university medical schools that will have more guaranteed funding.  

Hey you mentioned you interviewed with UCSF Epi, do you know if they already sent out all the interviews? Thank you!

[XXXXXXphd2021]

28 minutes ago, offersmakeitrain said:

Hey you mentioned you interviewed with UCSF Epi, do you know if they already sent out all the interviews? Thank you!

On 1/26/2022 at 7:04 PM, XXXXXXphd2021 said:

I applied last cycle and also got an interview invite. A few weeks after my invite there were a few folks posting 'interview' status on the results section, but it was hard to tell whether they received invites on that day. They only do one-on-one interviews so interviews might spread out a few weeks apart depending on faculty availability. The email I received this cycle says interview will take place by Feb 18 with early March decisions.

[offersmakeitrain]

17 minutes ago, XXXXXXphd2021 said:

 

I see....the waiting game is still ongoing....hopefully will hear some good news soon?

[NervousPotato]

Hi! I've heard good things about WashU and I applied to the Brown School for this cycle. Their admissions director is such a joy to chat with, but haven't received similarly warm feedback (if at all) from their doctoral programs coordinator. Keeping fingers crossed.