LSHTM: Questions on the British System & Distance Learning

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CarobPudding

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I'm in the process of looking into public health programs. My eventual goal is a doctorate, but I'm also looking at master's programs. The London School is supposed to be great for international work, which is what I'm interested in. However, I'm not familiar with the British system and have several questions. I hope someone on the board can shed some light on these...

First, the exam system: Can anyone speak from experience about what it is like to take a lot of modules in two separate academic terms, but then have all of the exams at the end of the year? I'm American-educated, so would be a huge departure in terms of what I'm used to. Do students work to retain the information over the entire year, or is it more typical to have a huge cram session in the weeks leading up to the exams?

Also, LSHTM has a lot of MSc degrees through distance learning. Maybe it's my age (mid-30s), but I've always been a little skeptical of online degrees. However, given that this would be a degree from arguably the best school of public health in the world, do you think that the MSc by distance learning would have the same value as one earned in London?

Finally, one more question about distance learning: does anyone on the forum know why the MSc earned in residence in London is a 1-year degree, but the equivalent degree earned through distance learning is a 2-year degree?

Thanks in advance for your help! This forum is a great place to learn about programs.

CP

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I graduated with my MSc in epidemiology from LSHTM external in 2009.I'll take a stab at your questions first, then pose a few for you.

The exam system
Exams are only offered once per year, roughly in early June. This made it impossible for me to go through the program fast as I'm simply not a great test taker. It might matter less to others. Exams were hard, 100% essay, timed and it took almost the entire 2.25 hours to complete an exam. I usually wrote between 7 to 14 pages depending on the material. My writing hand was dead after finishing. Also, your grades will be lower at LSHTM for work done in a regular US state school. It's not a bad thing but be prepared for it.

Some of the good things about their exam system is that it does allow one to learn at their own pace. There were some topics I picked up faster than others and some I had to work at harder. However I was never pressured to keep up. Also the exams are highly standardized and graded by two independent graders.

As far as cramming, yes I crammed from about April to June, if that can be called cramming.

Value of LSHTM Degree
You pose three questions here. Is the external degree valuable; is it as valuable as one earned on their campus; and is distance learning credible.

I do think the MSc that I got is valuable. The exam system ensures that only those who learn the material have any chance of passing. I talk with people with an MPH with a focus in epi who scored all A's here and they are simply behind my understanding and I was a "B" student (obviously this isn't always the case). Also, I was excepted into UIC's DrPH program this past year and while still an online program the cohort they put together is top notch and many people were not accepted. I have a good background for this program, but I have to think the MSc from LSHTM helped.

As far as the second question. You will have more opportunities to network with people, go to seminars, help with research, etc. if you are to do their on campus program. So in that sense the on campus one is more valuable. However the distance based program allows you to build a career, family, etc. at the same time. So I can see an argument on both sides.

As for the third question. I believe that distance learning is credible but definitely not for everyone. The LSHTM programs are very hands off. You learn largely by teaching yourself. You will usually have a lot of people in class but their is no requirement to participate in discussions. If you do the LSHTM program, participate! It will really help you learn.

One year vs. Two years
No clue, but I couldn't imagine doing the whole degree in only a year. Heck, two years would have been hard.

A few more words of advice.
If you do want to go down this route, great. I really learned a lot, but be prepared, it is very stressful. I wouldn't do the public health track. The epidemiology courses were structured much better and you got a lot more from them. Also, if you do epidemiology they teach Stata rather than SAS. So you'll be great with Stata but not so much with SAS. With that said you will know a large variety of statistical procedures so will simply need to learn the language. I'm going to take an introductory class this summer and they try to get certified later.

If you have further questions just send me a PM.
 
Hi Kevin36. Thank you for your detailed answer! The system of exams sounds absolutely grueling. Cramming for several months for high-stakes exams sounds like a big difference from the American system, where we have a lot of interim projects and quizzes.

It sounds daunting, but I'm still interested in the LSHTM programs (thanks for your insight on Epi versus Public Health, BTW). I noticed that they also just started a new external MSc in Global Health Policy (http://www.lshtm.ac.uk/prospectus/masters/pg_ghp.html) that looks really interesting.

If you or others on the forum have any tips or warnings about potential pitfalls in the British system, I'd love to hear them.
 
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No problem,

Having finished the program I think it's worth it. The tests are hard, but that is what makes it credible. They've been doing this a long time so they are probably the experts in distance learning.
 
hi kevin,
i have been accepted to the external LSHTM MSc in public health. I was sold cos of my interest in the health service management stream. Now i read your comment about the public helth track, should i be worried?
 
I'm not sure if you should be worried. My statements are based on one PH course that wasn't a requirement. Also, I took the course (analytical models for decision making) the first year that the Public Health Program had been offered. The course had a small amount of participants, so discussions weren't that in depth.

To me, the strength of the LSHTM distance degrees are that the exams are the same that they take on campus and they are standardized. They are hard enough so that you can't pass without knowing the material. With that said there is a lot of self teaching.

I don't think doing the LSHTM degree is a bad thing (I'm really glad I did it). One thing I would suggest however is that if you find that you don't have enough course materials (literature) go out and find a resource you like and can use better. I went out and bought a ton of epidemiology/statistics books that both elaborated on topics and I just understood more. Also, the internet is much more in depth now. I couldn't find a lot of resources to supplement my studies (for free) when I took this course 5 years ago. I've now looked in this subject area specifically and there are a lot.

You really do have to go above and beyond with the LSHTM to get A's. Knowing the material 100% will get you a B+.
 
Hey, I got an MSc in health policy, planning and financing from LSHTM....

In the field that I work in (mostly HIV prevention in developing countries), the school is considered top notch - on par with Hopkins.
Re. exams, it sucked having to study for old classed, etc, but it probably would have been ok but I couldn't study b/c I was working on 2 of the most difficult research papers ever. I worked non-stop. Consequently, I probably only studied for at most 1 day for each exam. I ended up failing Econ, even though I was ranked at the top of the class during the fall. Somehow I did fine on the others.

But HPPF is different - we took half our classes at LSE. These were much more demanding and harder (which surprised me). Don't get me wrong, the LSHTM classes were really hard during exams, they just didn't dominate my life for a year.

I wouldn't discourage anyone from going - I basically liked it. Today I was going through my old projects (i'm applying for jobs), and I was really impressed - I completely forgot I had learned so much.

The best part though was my dissertation. I received a grant to conduct research in Uganda on vaccine delivery. It was fantastic.... the prof ended up circulating it around to educate others faculty and MoH people in Uganda about access issues (this I knew about from work). Not trying to brag - it was just a great opportunity.

I loved living in London! I know nothing about online degrees, but I would think there are some big advantages to experience it in person. (Also I had several group projects).

The year is over before you know it. My only regrets are: it's annoying that most people have never heard of LSHTM. Superficially, I sometimes I wonder why I chose it over Hopkins - would be nice to have a respected/well-known school to mention...

Also, the problem with it being 1 year, is you don't have that gap summer, which would give you a great opportunity for an international internship to add to the CV.

(Last - the LSE thing was really hard, but it was also nice to have their research resources... and be able to stop by the on-campus pub at the end of a long day, and wish I was still 20, so I could flirt with all the hot guys.)

This is the longest friggin email. Sorry. Let me know if you have questions.

AR
 
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I graduated with my MSc in epidemiology from LSHTM external in 2009.I'll take a stab at your questions first, then pose a few for you.

The exam system
Exams are only offered once per year, roughly in early June. This made it impossible for me to go through the program fast as I'm simply not a great test taker. It might matter less to others. Exams were hard, 100% essay, timed and it took almost the entire 2.25 hours to complete an exam. I usually wrote between 7 to 14 pages depending on the material. My writing hand was dead after finishing. Also, your grades will be lower at LSHTM for work done in a regular US state school. It's not a bad thing but be prepared for it.

Some of the good things about their exam system is that it does allow one to learn at their own pace. There were some topics I picked up faster than others and some I had to work at harder. However I was never pressured to keep up. Also the exams are highly standardized and graded by two independent graders.

As far as cramming, yes I crammed from about April to June, if that can be called cramming.

Value of LSHTM Degree
You pose three questions here. Is the external degree valuable; is it as valuable as one earned on their campus; and is distance learning credible.

I do think the MSc that I got is valuable. The exam system ensures that only those who learn the material have any chance of passing. I talk with people with an MPH with a focus in epi who scored all A's here and they are simply behind my understanding and I was a "B" student (obviously this isn't always the case). Also, I was excepted into UIC's DrPH program this past year and while still an online program the cohort they put together is top notch and many people were not accepted. I have a good background for this program, but I have to think the MSc from LSHTM helped.

As far as the second question. You will have more opportunities to network with people, go to seminars, help with research, etc. if you are to do their on campus program. So in that sense the on campus one is more valuable. However the distance based program allows you to build a career, family, etc. at the same time. So I can see an argument on both sides.

As for the third question. I believe that distance learning is credible but definitely not for everyone. The LSHTM programs are very hands off. You learn largely by teaching yourself. You will usually have a lot of people in class but their is no requirement to participate in discussions. If you do the LSHTM program, participate! It will really help you learn.

One year vs. Two years
No clue, but I couldn't imagine doing the whole degree in only a year. Heck, two years would have been hard.

A few more words of advice.
If you do want to go down this route, great. I really learned a lot, but be prepared, it is very stressful. I wouldn't do the public health track. The epidemiology courses were structured much better and you got a lot more from them. Also, if you do epidemiology they teach Stata rather than SAS. So you'll be great with Stata but not so much with SAS. With that said you will know a large variety of statistical procedures so will simply need to learn the language. I'm going to take an introductory class this summer and they try to get certified later.

If you have further questions just send me a PM.
 
Thank you for this very thorough review, Kevin! Can you speak to how your degree in Epidemiology was received by potential employers? Were they familiar with LSHTM and did they regard the external version of the program as highly? I've emailed hiring personnel with organizations I'd be interested in working for but I haven't received any replies.
 
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