choosing a biostats program: Brown vs. Duke vs. Emory?

[vanny777]

I have been accepted to  these three MS programs and really struggling in the decision making. Personally I would prefer to go to work after finishing the degree. Any advice or thoughts about these programs are very much appreciated! 

Edited March 28, 2013 by vanny777

[Biostat_Assistant_Prof]

Duke is very new, while Emory and Brown are more established.. Unless Duke is offering you funding for an MS and the other two are not, then I think you should choose between Emory and Brown... With that said, both are good programs, but I think Emory may hold a a little more prestige in Biostats... Again, unless there are funding offers to aid in the decision, I would choose Emory because I think the degree would be equally respected, but the cost of living in Atlanta is less than Providence.

Edited March 28, 2013 by Noco7

[vanny777]

Duke is very new, while Emory and Brown are more established.. Unless Duke is offering you funding for an MS and the other two are not, then I think you should choose between Emory and Brown... With that said, both are good programs, but I think Emory may hold a a little more prestige in Biostats... Again, unless there are funding offers to aid in the decision, I would choose Emory because I think the degree would be equally respected, but the cost of living in Atlanta is less than Providence.

Thanks a lot for your reply... Duke offers me a scholarship which is $6000 for the 2013-2014 academic year, and Brown gives me a 25% tuition scholarship. whereas Emory didn't give me anything... However, unlike Brown, where the tuition is based on how many credit hours are taken (and usually the students take three classes each semester), Emory and Duke both charge for semester, which means I could take more classes. Nonetheless, there are not many differences in terms of tuition (Emory costs most but they are all still expensive... )

 

I agree that living in Atlanta costs less than Providence. But I was also wondering since Providence is close to Boston, would it be more advantageous in terms of finding a job?

Edited March 28, 2013 by vanny777

[Biostat_Assistant_Prof]

Again, this is your choice and knowing of the funding situation, my recommendation now changes. With a Masters degree, school rank matters less for a career in industry and I think Duke would be a fine (smart) choice if it comes out to be significantly cheaper than the other two.

As for location and job prospects, I'm not completely sure, but I would guess you wouldn't have a problem in any one of these. Brown would open up career opportunities in New England, but Atlanta is the largest city in the Southeast, the CDC is headquartered there (and I know that Emory students have opportunities at the CDC) and I also know there are employment opportunities for biostatisticians in the Atlanta area, including in clinical trials (I know all this because I was raised in the Atlanta area, still currently go to school here and have talked with statisticians/biostatisticians about employment in the area)... Also, Duke, being located in North Carolina, is near the research park triangle, where there are plenty of pharmaceutical companies, and I would guess good opportunities for employment as well...

Again, don't take what I say as fact, but nevertheless, in my personal opinion, you shouldn't have a problem finding a job in any of these locations

Edited March 28, 2013 by Noco7

[vanny777]

Again, this is your choice and knowing of the funding situation, my recommendation now changes. With a Masters degree, school rank matters less for a career in industry and I think Duke would be a fine (smart) choice if it comes out to be significantly cheaper than the other two.

As for location and job prospects, I'm not completely sure, but I would guess you wouldn't have a problem in any one of these. Brown would open up career opportunities in New England, but Atlanta is the largest city in the Southeast, the CDC is headquartered there (and I know that Emory students have opportunities at the CDC) and I also know there are employment opportunities for biostatisticians in the Atlanta area, including in clinical trials (I know all this because I was raised in the Atlanta area, still currently go to school here and have talked with statisticians/biostatisticians about employment in the area)... Also, Duke, being located in North Carolina, is near the research park triangle, where there are plenty of pharmaceutical companies, and I would guess good opportunities for employment as well...

Again, don't take what I say as fact, but nevertheless, in my personal opinion, you shouldn't have a problem finding a job in any of these locations

OMG Sorry i meant to say" NOT many differences in tuition"  but I skipped the key word "NOT"...

 

Thank you so much for sharing your opinion. Speaking of clinical trials, I was told that CDC does not do clinical trials...so I would assume maybe Duke has more research in clinical trials since it has the top medical school/center?

Edited March 28, 2013 by vanny777

[Penguin123]

Duke and the triangle area definitely have a lot of clinical trial research opportunities, and plenty of jobs too. However, keep in mind that that area is full of PhDs in statistics, biostatitics, and other scientists, so you will be competing against other PhDs for the same jobs as a masters. But Duke has a very strong and reputable program, so I think you will still be well trained. Hope that helps!

[vanny777]

Duke and the triangle area definitely have a lot of clinical trial research opportunities, and plenty of jobs too. However, keep in mind that that area is full of PhDs in statistics, biostatitics, and other scientists, so you will be competing against other PhDs for the same jobs as a masters. But Duke has a very strong and reputable program, so I think you will still be well trained. Hope that helps!

Thanks for your reply. And I really agree that the area is full of competitive PHDs in terms of finding jobs.  One thing I am worrying about Duke is that its program is so new... and there has not been any record about where their graduates go because they will not have any graduates until this spring... Also, would it be somehow disadvantagous regarding applying for a PHD program (although I prefer to go to work... just want to know more...), since not many people know much about their program?

 

Any thoughts about the other two programs want to share?

[Penguin123]

Thanks for your reply. And I really agree that the area is full of competitive PHDs in terms of finding jobs.  One thing I am worrying about Duke is that its program is so new... and there has not been any record about where their graduates go because they will not have any graduates until this spring... Also, would it be somehow disadvantagous regarding applying for a PHD program (although I prefer to go to work... just want to know more...), since not many people know much about their program?

 

Any thoughts about the other two programs want to share?

 

I'd love to help but I know nothing about Brown or Emory to comment, plus I am applying for masters in Stats, not Biostats. However, since the masters program should be taught by the same faculty as the PhD, I can't imagine the masters to have a drastic difference in reputation since Duke is highly respected and selective. I would guess that the masters is probably just the first year or two of the PhD curriculum, but you have to pay instead of them paying you, just IMO. Do you know if this is the case? Have you looked at the curriculum of the 3 programs?