PhD/DrPH in Epidemiology - School suggestions

[rodeoclowns]

What are some top tier, mid-level, and safety schools to apply to for an Epi PhD/DrPH? I honestly have no idea where to start!

[juilletmercredi]

We cannot really answer that question for you, because the programs are going to be guided by your research interests.  The concentrations at some epi programs are going to be different than others - so if you are interested in psychiatric epidemiology, you might choose different programs than if you were interested in cancer epidemiology.

 

But I can point you to some places to start.

 

The Association of Schools & Programs in Public Health (ASPPH) has a program finder website that helps you find a general list of programs in your area: http://www.aspph.org/program-finder/.  Select an area of study and degree level and you'll get a list of a whole lot of epidemiology programs.  You can also use the CEPH website to search for CEPH-accredited PhD/DrPH/DPH programs in epidemiology: http://ceph.org/accredited/search/.

 

U.S. News & World Report publishes a ranking of schools of public health (http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-health-schools/public-health-rankings?int=992108).  I wouldn't put too much stock in it, since it ranks schools instead of programs, and most of the focus is going to be on the MPH programs.  The quality of the epidemiology PhD programs are going to vary widely, and exact numerical rankings aren't very helpful anyway (it's better to think in clusters, like top 25).  Still, this gives you a rough idea of the well-respected SPHs in the field - and also an idea of where a lot of the top scholars and resources are going to be.  Harvard, JHU, Columbia, Michigan, Minnesota, UCLA, etc. - those are going to have top scholars, lots of research funding, lots of research infrastructure, training grants, and all kinds of other resources to help ensure student success.  While you could probably also get a good education at Loma Linda or St. Louis U, they're not going to have the same kinds of resources, so their PhD programs will be less competitive.

 

After you take a look at the list, you're going to have to go through and look at webpages to see what schools have researchers/faculty that are doing research that's interesting to you.  There's really no other way around it.  You can also read interesting journal articles and see where those people are currently teaching and doing research.  But visiting the webpages and taking a look at the faculty profiles on the epidemiology department will be helpful, too, in identifying potential research mentors.

 

As a final note - in doctoral admissions, there's really no such thing as a safety school.  "Safety" school theoretically means a school that you are almost guaranteed admission to, and the school that you would attend if no other programs admit you; it often connotes (but does not necessarily mean) a program that is less desirable to you, that you'd only attend in a pinch.  Number one, there are no PhD programs that one can be virtually guaranteed admission to.  All programs are pretty competitive.  But two, graduate school is completely optional - and career-wise, it doesn't necessarily make sense to attend whatever program is willing to admit you.  Instead, you want to be purposeful about the programs you select and apply to, and only attend a program that is going to help you make it to your career goals.

[rodeoclowns]

We cannot really answer that question for you, because the programs are going to be guided by your research interests.  The concentrations at some epi programs are going to be different than others - so if you are interested in psychiatric epidemiology, you might choose different programs than if you were interested in cancer epidemiology.

 

But I can point you to some places to start.

 

The Association of Schools & Programs in Public Health (ASPPH) has a program finder website that helps you find a general list of programs in your area: http://www.aspph.org/program-finder/.  Select an area of study and degree level and you'll get a list of a whole lot of epidemiology programs.  You can also use the CEPH website to search for CEPH-accredited PhD/DrPH/DPH programs in epidemiology: http://ceph.org/accredited/search/.

 

U.S. News & World Report publishes a ranking of schools of public health (http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-health-schools/public-health-rankings?int=992108).  I wouldn't put too much stock in it, since it ranks schools instead of programs, and most of the focus is going to be on the MPH programs.  The quality of the epidemiology PhD programs are going to vary widely, and exact numerical rankings aren't very helpful anyway (it's better to think in clusters, like top 25).  Still, this gives you a rough idea of the well-respected SPHs in the field - and also an idea of where a lot of the top scholars and resources are going to be.  Harvard, JHU, Columbia, Michigan, Minnesota, UCLA, etc. - those are going to have top scholars, lots of research funding, lots of research infrastructure, training grants, and all kinds of other resources to help ensure student success.  While you could probably also get a good education at Loma Linda or St. Louis U, they're not going to have the same kinds of resources, so their PhD programs will be less competitive.

 

After you take a look at the list, you're going to have to go through and look at webpages to see what schools have researchers/faculty that are doing research that's interesting to you.  There's really no other way around it.  You can also read interesting journal articles and see where those people are currently teaching and doing research.  But visiting the webpages and taking a look at the faculty profiles on the epidemiology department will be helpful, too, in identifying potential research mentors.

 

As a final note - in doctoral admissions, there's really no such thing as a safety school.  "Safety" school theoretically means a school that you are almost guaranteed admission to, and the school that you would attend if no other programs admit you; it often connotes (but does not necessarily mean) a program that is less desirable to you, that you'd only attend in a pinch.  Number one, there are no PhD programs that one can be virtually guaranteed admission to.  All programs are pretty competitive.  But two, graduate school is completely optional - and career-wise, it doesn't necessarily make sense to attend whatever program is willing to admit you.  Instead, you want to be purposeful about the programs you select and apply to, and only attend a program that is going to help you make it to your career goals.

Thank you! That was very helpful and gives me a place to start .