Help! Clinical Psychology vs. MPH/PhD Public Health

[Applicant03]

I am having a very difficult time deciding between a PhD in Clinical Psychology and the PhD in Public Health route.

I am in my mid-20's and received a BS in Sociology from a small, liberal arts school and then a MS in Counseling and Psychology (2010) from a very distinguished state school in the South. I have some research experience (research coordinator, master's paper, pubs, presentations, etc.). I am currenlty a RA for HIV/AIDS research at a university. I'm involved in both domestic and international studies. In the last few months, I have become increasingly interested in the Public Health field, particularly HIV/AIDS research and health disparities.

I am postiive I do not want to pursue a career in psychotherapy, however, I do like mental health assessments/evaluations aspect. On the other hand, I could honestly see myself working in research, maybe for the CDC in Atlanta or another research job for the federal government. I feel like a public health degree is extremely marketable and the doors are wide open for you career wise.

I'm looking for any advice regarding pursuing a PhD in Public Health (particularly Health Behavior or Mental Health focus). What is the funding like? Career options? Admissions criteria? etc. ANY insight would be most appreciated!!

Thanks!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[waystinthyme]

although you may receive some answers here, you'll probably have better luck at the grad cafe (http://forum.thegradcafe.com/). their forum is more focused on PHD applicants/students, while this forum is mostly focused on master's applicants/students.

-waystinthyme

 

[Applicant03]

Thanks so much!

although you may receive some answers here, you'll probably have better luck at the grad cafe (http://forum.thegradcafe.com/). their forum is more focused on PHD applicants/students, while this forum is mostly focused on master's applicants/students.

-waystinthyme

 

[SMUrandy]

I am having a very difficult time deciding between a PhD in Clinical Psychology and the PhD in Public Health route.

I am in my mid-20's and received a BS in Sociology from a small, liberal arts school and then a MS in Counseling and Psychology (2010) from a very distinguished state school in the South. I have some research experience (research coordinator, master's paper, pubs, presentations, etc.). I am currenlty a RA for HIV/AIDS research at a university. I'm involved in both domestic and international studies. In the last few months, I have become increasingly interested in the Public Health field, particularly HIV/AIDS research and health disparities.

I am postiive I do not want to pursue a career in psychotherapy, however, I do like mental health assessments/evaluations aspect. On the other hand, I could honestly see myself working in research, maybe for the CDC in Atlanta or another research job for the federal government. I feel like a public health degree is extremely marketable and the doors are wide open for you career wise.

I'm looking for any advice regarding pursuing a PhD in Public Health (particularly Health Behavior or Mental Health focus). What is the funding like? Career options? Admissions criteria? etc. ANY insight would be most appreciated!!

Thanks!

Greetings,
Depending on your research focus of interest, there are some great programs that focus on health behavior. If you know already that you do not want to pursue psychotherapy, it might be in your interest to then balance yourself with a degree that focuses in the methodology of public health/health behavior. I was in your shoes not too long ago! What I actually did was review some of the literature on researchers that I admire and usually continue to cite in my own explorations. From there, I tried to see if their CV was online and what departments they were linked to. You'll find some great prorgrams that really address the interplay of the psychosocial and health (e.g., Michigan, Emory, Indiana, NYU, Columbia, etc). My peers that have gone into the field of health behavior research have all received almost full assistantships at their respective institutions. If you want, feel free to drop me a pvt message if I can be of any additional help.

 

[364462]

I am having a very difficult time deciding between a PhD in Clinical Psychology and the PhD in Public Health route.

I am in my mid-20's and received a BS in Sociology from a small, liberal arts school and then a MS in Counseling and Psychology (2010) from a very distinguished state school in the South. I have some research experience (research coordinator, master's paper, pubs, presentations, etc.). I am currenlty a RA for HIV/AIDS research at a university. I'm involved in both domestic and international studies. In the last few months, I have become increasingly interested in the Public Health field, particularly HIV/AIDS research and health disparities.

I am postiive I do not want to pursue a career in psychotherapy, however, I do like mental health assessments/evaluations aspect. On the other hand, I could honestly see myself working in research, maybe for the CDC in Atlanta or another research job for the federal government. I feel like a public health degree is extremely marketable and the doors are wide open for you career wise.

I'm looking for any advice regarding pursuing a PhD in Public Health (particularly Health Behavior or Mental Health focus). What is the funding like? Career options? Admissions criteria? etc. ANY insight would be most appreciated!!

Thanks!

Hi, I'm now getting a doctoral in clinical psychology (more clinical, less research). I am completing it in the next year, and in fact, will be starting my pre-doc internship at Harvard. After, I plan to pursue the MPH in social/behavioral health with some interdisciplinary training in HIV/AIDS (where some of my practica has been a focus).

Anyway, why not do both, in your case? Perhaps you can do a doctorate in psych and an master in public health?

Just a thought

 

[Applicant03]

Hi! Thanks for the thought. I think my problem is whether or not I actually want to pursue a PhD in clinical psychology. I certainly do not want to apply again (this year I was rejected/waitlisted everywhere) and possibly get in and go through 5+ years of school when I am uncertain about it all. In the last few months, I've become very interested in the public health field and my experiences/research are somewhat public health oriented.

I know I want to be involved in research. It's just a matter of me figuring it all out...I may be questioning the whole Clinical Psych avenue because I have been rejected, therefore, I feel quite defeated. This is so stressful....

Hi, I'm now getting a doctoral in clinical psychology (more clinical, less research). I am completing it in the next year, and in fact, will be starting my pre-doc internship at Harvard. After, I plan to pursue the MPH in social/behavioral health with some interdisciplinary training in HIV/AIDS (where some of my practica has been a focus).

Anyway, why not do both, in your case? Perhaps you can do a doctorate in psych and an master in public health?

Just a thought

 

[RebecaB]

Hi Applicant03! I completely understand where you're coming from. After 3 years as a psych research assistant and coordinator at a university hospital, I applied to psych PhD programs this year too and was waitlisted/rejected across the board. I also applied to MPH programs in the behavioral/social science areas and was accepted to a bunch of programs for that. Like you, I'm more drawn to mental health research than I am to clinical work, and have been realizing more and more that public health may be a better fit for me than psychology -- even though I am definitely still sore from the psych rejections.

I agree with others on the board that it really comes down to what you want to do. Either degree will allow you to do mental health research. So if you are sure you don't want to do clinical work, why spend the extra time getting (and paying for) that training? I decided to do the MPH and then see where I stand. Maybe I'll apply to PhD programs in PH, maybe to PhD programs in Psych, or maybe I'll decide the MPH is all I need and stop there. Definitely do what SMUrandy suggests and look at what programs the researchers you admire went to. That's how I decided on the MPH!

 

[Applicant03]

Rebeca-Thanks so much for the support. If you don't mind me asking, what MPH program will you be enrolling at?

I'm also thinking the MPH route as well. I hear that the MPH is good enough to (given you have a nice CV and have done well in the program) to land a good job in the public health field. I really need to buckle down and start doing my research on the various programs out there.....

Hi Applicant03! I completely understand where you're coming from. After 3 years as a psych research assistant and coordinator at a university hospital, I applied to psych PhD programs this year too and was waitlisted/rejected across the board. I also applied to MPH programs in the behavioral/social science areas and was accepted to a bunch of programs for that. Like you, I'm more drawn to mental health research than I am to clinical work, and have been realizing more and more that public health may be a better fit for me than psychology -- even though I am definitely still sore from the psych rejections.

I agree with others on the board that it really comes down to what you want to do. Either degree will allow you to do mental health research. So if you are sure you don't want to do clinical work, why spend the extra time getting (and paying for) that training? I decided to do the MPH and then see where I stand. Maybe I'll apply to PhD programs in PH, maybe to PhD programs in Psych, or maybe I'll decide the MPH is all I need and stop there. Definitely do what SMUrandy suggests and look at what programs the researchers you admire went to. That's how I decided on the MPH!

 

[MolBio]

I'm really surprised no one has mentioned Hopkins. Besides Hopkins' overall PH ranking, as far as I know, they are the only school to have an actual department of mental health (i.e., a standalone dept) within a school of public health, or at least one of the only. There are several students in the dept who come from, or are going into, clinical psychology. As for funding, mental health has training grants for topic-specific research.