Harvard, Johns Hopkins or Columbia?

[Zeenah]

I am having a hard time choosing from the following degrees in these colleges:

Harvard School of Public Health: M.Sc. in Society, Human Development, and Health

Johns Hopkins School of Public Health: MHs in Health Behavior & Society

Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health: MPH in Sociomedical Sciences with a concentration in Health Promotion

I guess that the real choice is between HSPH and JHSPH, does anyone know more about the best program?

Appreciating your help!

[juilletmercredi]

I'm currently at Columbia's MSPH. Unless they have offered you substantial funding or there are people here doing what you would really love to do in research, I would say that your choice is between Johns Hopkins and Harvard. (I've heard that socially these are not necessarily the best places to be, or the best places to be in the long-term, but I don't know the validity of these statements and both are highly-ranked schools so for a master's degree, it doesn't even matter.)

I mean, the difference between Hopkins and Harvard are negligible -- Hopkins is 1 and Harvard is 2, and they have similar resources and facilities. One difference is location -- Harvard is in Boston and Hopkins is in Baltimore, which is closer to D.C. if you'd like to do any kind of government internships, but I would assume that both students get Washington jobs fairly easily. I think at this point it comes down to cost (anyone giving you any grants?) and fit (where do you feel more comfortable?)

Columbia is a great school as well, don't get me wrong. I love it here, and I chose it over Hopkins (largely because of the location and the fact that I got into a Ph.D program here). I didn't even apply to Harvard because I didn't want to go there. But if you're getting a master's and your focus is on jobs after school, those places may be the best, even though Columbia's MSPH alumni network is rock solid.

[ratonlaveur]

I'm in a similar confused mess w/ other schools but I guess you should ask yourself:

- Where do you want to live?

- Which school has more research opportunities for your specific area(s) of interest?

- What faculty share your research interests and what is the impression you have of them after contacting them (if you have)?

- How important a factor is cost?

- Also, I'm not sure w/ your specific programs, but are they 1 or 2 year?