LOTS of MPH questions..please help

[mizzoudude]

I just got rejected by all the medical schools that I applied to and am planning to apply again. However, I have never really considered a career in PH until today. I have many questions...

-How long does an average MPH take to complete?
-What are the top MPH programs?
-Can one get a job in analyzing epidemiology with an MPH? Like an AIDS research project with the W.H.O? How hard is it to get these jobs?
-How much do these jobs pay?

Thank you all for the info...I am trying to scour through the net and this forum for more answers. Thanks again.

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[bbas]

I just got rejected by all the medical schools that I applied to and am planning to apply again. However, I have never really considered a career in PH until today. I have many questions...

-How long does an average MPH take to complete?
-What are the top MPH programs?
-Can one get a job in analyzing epidemiology with an MPH? Like an AIDS research project with the W.H.O? How hard is it to get these jobs?
-How much do these jobs pay?

Thank you all for the info...I am trying to scour through the net and this forum for more answers. Thanks again.

"How long does an average MPH take to complete?"
Most programs that I have seen are two years. There are a few which are only one year.

"-What are the top MPH programs?"
You can find the offical rankings on US news, but I'd say the best known programs are Johns Hopkins, Harvard, UMich, UNC, and Columbia.

As far as your last two questions, I know that most MPH programs allow you to specialize in epidemiology, but I'm really not sure how good the job market/salary is for these positions. I'm sure someone on this board knows more about it.

 

[LizzyM]

"-What are the top MPH programs?"
You can find the offical rankings on US news, but I'd say the best known programs are Johns Hopkins, Harvard, UMich, UNC, and Columbia.

As far as your last two questions, I know that most MPH programs allow you to specialize in epidemiology, but I'm really not sure how good the job market/salary is for these positions. I'm sure someone on this board knows more about it.

I would add U Minnesota and Yale as a top schools for epidemiology.

The salary for a Chief Epidemiologist in one southern state is posted at $50,000-80,000/yr, a grade 3 epidemiologist (MPH + 4 years experience) can make $40,000-73,000.

There is a split between infectious disease epidemiologists (many of whom work in government or do infection control in hospitals) and chronic disease epidemiology (cancer, heart disease, etc) which tends to be done with federal grant money by PhD epidemiologists in research universities. I think that the pay is similar to that shown above.

 

[epalantequevoy]

mizzou dude,
i feel for ya. if you're planning to apply again, are you sure you even want to do 2 years in an mph program? maybe you could find out what was wrong with your application the first time around and spend the next year strengthening that aspect significantly. if it was the mcat, study. if it was a lack of ex-currics, do something for a year. if it was a low gpa, then maybe some graduate (mph/postbacc) work is in order. but i would try and reflect on why you didn't get in this time. it sounds to me like medicine is what you really want to do...

 

[Brain]

I just got rejected by all the medical schools that I applied to and am planning to apply again. However, I have never really considered a career in PH until today. I have many questions...

-How long does an average MPH take to complete?
-What are the top MPH programs?
-Can one get a job in analyzing epidemiology with an MPH? Like an AIDS research project with the W.H.O? How hard is it to get these jobs?
-How much do these jobs pay?

Thank you all for the info...I am trying to scour through the net and this forum for more answers. Thanks again.

I have to warn you that the MPH is not a good stand-alone degree. There are jobs available with just a MPH, but there are not very many of them. The pay is about $40,000 a year but this varies according to location. Your job responsibilities will not be very exciting and there will not be very much room for advancement. I actually decided to apply to medical school after I was enrolled in a MPH program because of these issues. The MPH becomes more valuable when it is combined with a M.D. or D.V.M. or D.D.S. Getting this degree will also not help you get into medical school. . I know because I just went through the process. It was my undergrad grades and MCAT scores that got me in. In fact, I got repeatedly asked why I was getting the MPH before medical school as if it were a bad thing. It is considered by many to be a fluff degree.

 

[seabreeze811]

I just got rejected by all the medical schools that I applied to and am planning to apply again. However, I have never really considered a career in PH until today. I have many questions...

-How long does an average MPH take to complete?
-What are the top MPH programs?
-Can one get a job in analyzing epidemiology with an MPH? Like an AIDS research project with the W.H.O? How hard is it to get these jobs?
-How much do these jobs pay?

Thank you all for the info...I am trying to scour through the net and this forum for more answers. Thanks again.

I applied to NYMC School of Public Health and got accepted into the MPH program in International Health. The program is 2 years, no mcat or gre required. I believe the deadline is late and that you can still apply for fall 2005, im not sure though. There's also the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. I will be attending there doing a Master of Health Science (MHS) in Reproductive Biology. The MHS program is 1 year, however the deadline has passed so if you are interested in this one, then u can apply for next year's class. Hope this helps and good luck!!!

 

[mendel121]

I have to warn you that the MPH is not a good stand-alone degree. There are jobs available with just a MPH, but there are not very many of them. The pay is about $40,000 a year but this varies according to location. Your job responsibilities will not be very exciting and there will not be very much room for advancement. I actually decided to apply to medical school after I was enrolled in a MPH program because of these issues. The MPH becomes more valuable when it is combined with a M.D. or D.V.M. or D.D.S. Getting this degree will also not help you get into medical school. . I know because I just went through the process. It was my undergrad grades and MCAT scores that got me in. In fact, I got repeatedly asked why I was getting the MPH before medical school as if it were a bad thing. It is considered by many to be a fluff degree.

All due respect Brain, but I would have to disagree with some of this. Sure the advancement opportunities are not great with an MPH, althought there are lots of post-MPH training opportunities at the CDC in all branches of epid (ID, chronic, social, genetic, cancer, etc) that make people higly sought after, and many of these people march their way up the ranks of state epi departments - although there is a ceiling with just the MPH.

What I disagree with you about is the med school point, I was in a similar position to the OP, went and got an MPH at UMich, and then got into med school. I did well in my MPH, and it showed the adcom that I had corrected the problems that I had as an undergrad. An MPH is very valuable for an MD especially if research is an interest, and rather than waste a year to apply again, take two, do well in the MPH, and then re-apply, you'll be a beter candidate to adcoms, and you'll have taken a step forward in your career. I hadn't heard the MPH called a fluff degree, it certainly is not, and most see it for waht it is, a valuable tool for an MD to do research or to understand and apply research that has been done.

 

[Brain]

All due respect Brain, but I would have to disagree with some of this. Sure the advancement opportunities are not great with an MPH, althought there are lots of post-MPH training opportunities at the CDC in all branches of epid (ID, chronic, social, genetic, cancer, etc) that make people higly sought after, and many of these people march their way up the ranks of state epi departments - although there is a ceiling with just the MPH.

Yes, these programs exist that do make you quite marketable. However, there aren't that many of them. Emory alone gives out 300+ MPHs a year. Combine that with the number of other MPHs from other schools. The result is that there are a ton of new MPH graduates making these post-MPH opportunities extremely difficult to get. Check out the most popular site for posting public health related jobs:

http://cfusion.sph.emory.edu/PHEC/phec.cfm

It pretty dismal for having just the MPH alone.

What I disagree with you about is the med school point, I was in a similar position to the OP, went and got an MPH at UMich, and then got into med school. I did well in my MPH, and it showed the adcom that I had corrected the problems that I had as an undergrad. An MPH is very valuable for an MD especially if research is an interest, and rather than waste a year to apply again, take two, do well in the MPH, and then re-apply, you'll be a beter candidate to adcoms, and you'll have taken a step forward in your career. I hadn't heard the MPH called a fluff degree, it certainly is not, and most see it for waht it is, a valuable tool for an MD to do research or to understand and apply research that has been done.

I agree that the MPH is valuable when combined with a MD. I said that in my original post. Whether or not it really helps for medical school probably depends on the applicant. Most people who need to get a masters degree to apply to medical school do so because they did poorly in science courses and need to prove to adcoms they can do well in hard science courses. The MPH coursework is very far from that (Having just finished my MPH, I know). I've listened to talks by the dean of admissions for a couple of schools as well as spoke to pre-health advisors who have said just that. There are a couple of circumstances where it can help you. If you're lacking in the experience part of you application, the MPH does allow for certain volunteer activities that will help you stand out. Additionally, it can help if you think you want to do public health as a MD because you won't be fast-tracked through a program as you may be if you enter a combined degree program.

 

[mendel121]

[/QUOTE]I agree that the MPH is valuable when combined with a MD. I said that in my original post. Whether or not it really helps for medical school probably depends on the applicant. Most people who need to get a masters degree to apply to medical school do so because they did poorly in science courses and need to prove to adcoms they can do well in hard science courses. The MPH coursework is very far from that (Having just finished my MPH, I know). I've listened to talks by the dean of admissions for a couple of schools as well as spoke to pre-health advisors who have said just that. There are a couple of circumstances where it can help you. If you're lacking in the experience part of you application, the MPH does allow for certain volunteer activities that will help you stand out. Additionally, it can help if you think you want to do public health as a MD because you won't be fast-tracked through a program as you may be if you enter a combined degree program.[/QUOTE]


I think that we probably agree more than disagree in reality, however, I think that the program that I was in helped me get into med school more, than maybe yours did - UM has a Hospital and Molecular track to their epi MPH, which is very relevant to the MD - with courses on bacteriology, virology, parasitology, hospital infection control, and a strong molecular research component, in addition to the more standard epi courese so there are probably some programs that are better than others when it comes to preparing one for med school.