Help! I'm new.

[♀HealthMatters]

Hi everyone, my name is Rachel. I'm not new to the website, but new to the Public Health threads. I've got a BA double major in PoliSci and History (2009), a graduate certificate in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies (2010) which was done while working in a doctor's office and interning at Planned Parenthood, and an MA in history, with 130 page thesis on malaria protocols during WWII (2013). I know, why am I here, get a job already. Well, turns out I want to get my MPH or MsPH. I can't decide which. I took the basic college math as required and geology with lab (woo for As) as an UG. I also have two publications in health/medicine.

 

I'm hoping to start in the Spring 2015. I know most of you have now been accepted and are getting ready to start your programs. I was just wondering if you have any advice now that you're on the other side of the admissions process. Should I enroll in the Bio/Chem courses for science majors at the community college this fall? What about A&P? Should I "forget" to mention my grad certificate on my apps? 

[mojodreams]

Hi! 

Welcome! To be honest, I think that you are more than qualified. I would not worry about picking up any additional courses. Now, what do you want to concentrate in? Personally, I was accepted into a Social and Behavioral Sciences program, which appears to be aligned with your credentials and might be a good fit. But it depends on what you want to do. I also applied to some policy and management programs, because those are also a good fit for me, and then had to make the decision once I received my acceptances. You could always apply to many programs. 

 

From what I have been told, there isn't much of a difference between a MPH and a MsPH in the work world. The MsPH at Emory is much more research heavy, so it might be a good option for those considering a PhD. I was admitted to the program and was strongly considering it since my cohort would be comprised of only 12 other students, but I ended up deciding on Harvard due to the resources (also, I am interested in mental healthcare reform, so finding an internship with a progressive agency/hospital is easy in Boston). Now, Harvard's degree is an MS, but I think my cohort is primarily comprised of individuals who want to go into industry in some way, and they have been reassured that the MS will be just as good as the MPH and some students even write MPH or MsPH on their resume. If you want to get a PhD, Harvard does have a nice streamline process from what I can tell, and I personally do want a PhD. 

 

It depends on what your goals are! And it will depend on funding maybe. If you want to go into academia, and know what you want to study, I would actually suggest applying to some PhD programs! Don't waste your time taking more courses. What pubic health programs are looking for, in my opinion, is passion. You have to sell your passion, along with your credentials and skills...but passion is the key. Best of luck to you!

[♀HealthMatters]

Thank you so much for your help, Mojodreams! Unfortunately for me, Gmail didn't tell me your replied and it took me until today to see the response.

 

I don't want to shock you, or anyone else reading, but I'm fairly certain that I want to focus on reproductive epidemiology. The question is if I should apply to better programs for maternal and child health, or lesser-ranked programs for epidemiology. I only took one math class in college and my lab science was rocks for jocks. Currently, my local community college is only allowing me to enroll in general (science major) biology lab, which most programs require. I initially crossed Harvard off the list because the MPH required an MD, and since they do not recognize my M.D. from the University of Google, I moved on. I will look into the MS now. 

 

Interesting idea to just apply directly to the doctoral level programs. Again, I read the MD requirement for the MPH and moved on. It looks like I've got some research to do! I don't know that I necessarily want to stay in the academy, but I do want a doctoral degree. So many choices!

[themmases]

You are qualified to start applying to at least masters degrees. I have a similar background to yours (history major, basic college math and geology only, work/publications in medicine) and did not have a problem getting into epidemiology MS programs. I took a semester of basic biology and chemistry, but at the time I did my applications I didn't even know what specific courses I would get into and just told my schools I'd be taking something in that vein.

 

Different schools-- even different CEPH accredited schools-- sometimes categorize their public health degrees differently, but this is a really good guide to the general differences between them and matches what I was told by admissions people at schools of public health:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/the-public-health-degrees-mph-ms-ph-drph-phd-scd.644314/

Harvard and a couple of other schools reserve their MPH for people with doctoral degrees and funnel others into an MS or MSPH program, but they are the exception to the rule. In general, you should look at MPH programs if you want to do an internship and go into public health practice, an MS if you want to do a thesis and stay in academia or research, and accept that at some schools that are otherwise great your degree name will be unusual.

 

You definitely should not "forget" to mention your graduate certificate. Women's health and maternal and child health are important areas of public health and your interest in that topic would make you a great fit for some programs. You also don't need to choose between epidemiology (which is a marketable concentration and something to strongly consider if you're interested in it) and maternal/child health. Some schools of public health allow you to choose an interdisciplinary concentration on top of your major, and maternal/child health is a popular one. Just that I know of, UIC and Harvard do this.

 

I would recommend reading the accepted/rejected threads here and at Student Doctor to get a sense of what other applicants are like. They can be weighted towards people who are very concerned about rankings-- both the schools' and their own-- and type A enough to assume the process must be hyper-competitive. But if you don't let that scare you those threads are full of lovely complete information about people's backgrounds and where they were successful. It never hurts to contact a department directly and ask if you would make a strong candidate, too.