Harvard SM2 vs. Emory MSPH vs Yale MPH

[mojodreams]

I am interested in getting my PhD. Can anyone compare these programs?

[emeyeseekayeewhy]

Same schools I am considering! Would love to hear other's input as well!

[It's A Mystery!]

Well - I will say this about HSPH's culture: I asked if I could correspond with a current student in a couple of the concentrations that I'm looking at in the SM2 program and...wait for it...they said no!  hahaha - nothing like that warm fuzzy atmosphere where future colleagues are encouraged to collaborate

[ASA15]

Well - I will say this about HSPH's culture: I asked if I could correspond with a current student in a couple of the concentrations that I'm looking at in the SM2 program and...wait for it...they said no!  hahaha - nothing like that warm fuzzy atmosphere where future colleagues are encouraged to collaborate 

 

 

Yikes! While I was applying, I looked some current students up on the website and emailed them straight out, and they were both very nice! One asked if it would be possible to skype for him to better be able to answer my questions! So... the HSPH culture might not be warm and fuzzy, but the students themselves can still be great!

 

However, I'm off to Emory MSPH next year!

Edited March 19, 2014 by Asavink

[nalevunim]

Hi I am applying for MPH in Aug, 2014. I want to know is CEPH accreditation for a college is important? Can I study in a university without that accreditation, what will happen? I am looking for university with fee less than 18,000 or 18,000/yr. Please help

[mojodreams]

After I was accepted, a student actually reach out to me - and I found her to be very helpful. It is unfortunate that Harvard hasn't offered any scholarships as it is very expensive. I will hear about my funding package from Yale on Friday I think, but I am leaning towards Harvard right now. I think Harvard will open the most doors and give me the greatest flexibility in case I ever want to switch careers. The thought of living and experiencing the Boston scene is exciting...and come on, it is Harvard!! They have AMAZING speakers and stuff going on.

[It's A Mystery!]

I studied in Boston for undergrad and it really is a very vibrant academic city.  The schools are very collaborative allowing students to cross-register and engage in faculty exchanges.  My fear is that, in choosing Harvard's school of public health over a joint-degree with a foreign affairs school, I'm sort of pigeon-holing myself - but then, it's not really the school that makes the career, it's the person...doesn't make deciding all that much easier, does it?

 

Asavink: why'd you choose Emory?

 

Mojo: why're you leaning towards Harvard? Is it just the name?

[niihla08]

Well - I will say this about HSPH's culture: I asked if I could correspond with a current student in a couple of the concentrations that I'm looking at in the SM2 program and...wait for it...they said no!  hahaha - nothing like that warm fuzzy atmosphere where future colleagues are encouraged to collaborate

 

They said this to me too!!! I applied to 4 other schools and all the rest of them were more than happy to put me in touch with a current student!

[sharonnyc]

That's weird, I asked to be put in touch with a current student (epi ScD) at HSPH and was contacted by a student with very similar interests to my own within a day.  Meanwhile I asked to be put in touch with a student at Hopkins (sent the email twice after receiving my admission offer) and got no response either time.  Maybe it depends on the concentration?

Well - I will say this about HSPH's culture: I asked if I could correspond with a current student in a couple of the concentrations that I'm looking at in the SM2 program and...wait for it...they said no!  hahaha - nothing like that warm fuzzy atmosphere where future colleagues are encouraged to collaborate

[ASA15]

Asavink: why'd you choose Emory?

 

 

I wasn't accepted to HSPH regardless, so my options were a bit different from yours, but even before hearing back from Harvard I was leaning towards Emory. I liked the way they treat their masters students, and I have heard that at Harvard it can be difficult to be a masters student because so much focus is put on doctoral candidates and more high-profile programs. I also spent my undergrad years in Boston and absolutely loved it and would have been happy to go back, but I think it is a better choice for me to spend some time in a different region and different city (I was also accepted to BU with merit so this is a decision I had to think carefully about). Emory's ties to the CDC are also quite enticing... it will be great to have a chance to work there during the year. All in all, I have liked everything I have heard about Emory, while getting slightly mixed results on Harvard (though, I mean,.. It's HARVARD). 

[It's A Mystery!]

That's weird, I asked to be put in touch with a current student (epi ScD) at HSPH and was contacted by a student with very similar interests to my own within a day.  Meanwhile I asked to be put in touch with a student at Hopkins (sent the email twice after receiving my admission offer) and got no response either time.  Maybe it depends on the concentration?

 

I took another person's advice and went searching on the website to find contact information for any currently enrolled students and was able to make contact with some wonderful people in just the last day.  Still, what a wonderful story.

 

I also have horror studies from JHU Bloomberg; guess they didn't get to be good schools by being friendly

[mojodreams]

I studied in Boston for undergrad and it really is a very vibrant academic city.  The schools are very collaborative allowing students to cross-register and engage in faculty exchanges.  My fear is that, in choosing Harvard's school of public health over a joint-degree with a foreign affairs school, I'm sort of pigeon-holing myself - but then, it's not really the school that makes the career, it's the person...doesn't make deciding all that much easier, does it?

 

Asavink: why'd you choose Emory?

 

Mojo: why're you leaning towards Harvard? Is it just the name?

The name is powerful, yes. For what I want to do, the name will actually really help. Will I be able to do it in other ways...and maybe at Emory? Sure. But it will be easier at Harvard. I do not want to work for the CDC or any of those organizations. I am interested in mental health -- specifically acute pscyhiatric care faciliites. To change something like psychiatry - without a medical degree - I need to go about this in a really pragmatic way and I think Harvard and Yale will help me reach my goals. Yale is definitily still in the running. I might actually be happier at Yale and they seem to have more psychiatric research going on. It will come down to money. I don't know what Yale is going to offer me (I think I find out on Friday).