Distance/Online/Part-time MPH for someone with a humanities background trying to change careers

[aglaya]

Hi All,

 

Heads up: this post has a ton of questions!

 

I was wondering what advice you would had for someone who has international development experience and a humanities background. I'm considering an MPH to further/change my career path, but I'm not sure if I am competitive to even apply for online or part-time programs. 

 

Background:

BA  in history, Russian from University of Wisconsin -- coursework in women's health and the history of public health. Overall GPA was 3.828

Masters in Russian and Eurasian Studies from Georgetown -- coursework in demography in Russia and Eurasia, and wrote my capstone on social factors leading to the rise of MDR TB in Russia. Overall GPA was 3.715.

 

GRE:

V:  690 (old version)/165

Q: 750 (old version)/ 159

 

Professionally, I work at an international development consultancy that contracts with USAID, and I've got experience in program management, budgeting, evaluation, and proposal writing. I'm currently on an HIV/AIDS proposal, and I've been able to travel abroad to do recruiting for it. 

 

My goal is to ultimately move from being an operations/program manager to more of a technical advisor, and I believe I would need to get an MPH to do so. I'm interested in staying in international development, and have the management background to support a career in development. With regard to going back to school, I'm not financially stable enough to drop everything and go back to school full time, so I'm considering online/part-time programs. I've been doing research on the LSHTM's distance program along with other part-time programs, and I'm currently learning towards LSHTM's distance program because of how affordable it is. 

 

My main questions are:

1. Have any of you heard of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine's Distance Program and have any comments on it? 

2. For those of you who work full time and did an MPH, how did you get around the practicum requirement?

3. Is there anyone out there with a similar background to mine that did an MPH to futher/change their careers? 

 

Many thanks in advance for your insights and comments! 

Edited January 2, 2015 by aglaya

[AlphacentauriC]

- I have heard about the school, it's one of the best in the world. I would conjecture that their program is sweet, respected all over.

[jonathanb715]

There are several good online programs out there.  I'm in UC Berkeley's, and I come from an accounting/finance background in another industry.  The workload is comparable to that of the part time MBA I did at NYU back in the early 90's - tough, but not overwhelming.  UC Berkeley does have an on-campus requirement - about 1 week a year in the Summer, and it takes 2 years plus one semester to finish.  No practicum requirement for this program.  There are people from all the world in the program.

 

http://onlinemph.berkeley.edu/

[IntriguedStudent]

Hi All,

 

Heads up: this post has a ton of questions!

 

I was wondering what advice you would had for someone who has international development experience and a humanities background. I'm considering an MPH to further/change my career path, but I'm not sure if I am competitive to even apply for online or part-time programs. 

 

Background:

BA  in history, Russian from University of Wisconsin -- coursework in women's health and the history of public health. Overall GPA was 3.828

Masters in Russian and Eurasian Studies from Georgetown -- coursework in demography in Russia and Eurasia, and wrote my capstone on social factors leading to the rise of MDR TB in Russia. Overall GPA was 3.715.

 

GRE:

V:  690 (old version)/165

Q: 750 (old version)/ 159

 

Professionally, I work at an international development consultancy that contracts with USAID, and I've got experience in program management, budgeting, evaluation, and proposal writing. I'm currently on an HIV/AIDS proposal, and I've been able to travel abroad to do recruiting for it. 

 

My goal is to ultimately move from being an operations/program manager to more of a technical advisor, and I believe I would need to get an MPH to do so. I'm interested in staying in international development, and have the management background to support a career in development. With regard to going back to school, I'm not financially stable enough to drop everything and go back to school full time, so I'm considering online/part-time programs. I've been doing research on the LSHTM's distance program along with other part-time programs, and I'm currently learning towards LSHTM's distance program because of how affordable it is. 

 

My main questions are:

1. Have any of you heard of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine's Distance Program and have any comments on it? 

2. For those of you who work full time and did an MPH, how did you get around the practicum requirement?

3. Is there anyone out there with a similar background to mine that did an MPH to futher/change their careers? 

 

Many thanks in advance for your insights and comments! 

 

1. I can't speak for their distance program specifically, but The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine is an excellent school and widely considered to be the one of the top (if not THE top) school for public health in the world. 

2. I am not doing an online/distance MPH, but from what I've come across during my search, there are some programs out there that do not have a practicum requirement or allow you to use your current position (if applicable to public health). 

3. Not applicable to my situation. 

[hopkinsnerd1]

My supervisor when I was working at Johns Hopkins was a Russian literature professor and was only a defense away from her PhD but both her advisors died and she ended up in healthcare. She got her MSPH at Hopkins and is well known in our field. Her history and literature background is what helped get my department grants because grant writing and editing came easy. Don't worry, all the skills you've acquired will help. Articulating how your skills can work in the health arena is really all you'll need given everything else you've posted.

Edited January 22, 2015 by hopkinsnerd1