MPH from London??

[lallster]

I'm graduating this May with a BS in Public Healh from a university in the US and I've been pondering the idea of getting my MPH from a school in London. If I did so, would the MPH be worth any less than an MPH from the US?? Especially since I plan on working in the US afterwards, would I be less of a worthy candidate for jobs if my MPH was not from an American school?? I'm considering this option because an MPH program in London is only one year. TIA.

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[Waiting4Ganong]

Please, please, tell me you are joking...

 

[lallster]

Please, please, tell me you are joking...

Why?? I'd appreciate some advice or reasons as to why you think its not a good idea...not some lame, useless post.

 

[namazu]

Hi there,

The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine has an excellent reputation; I don't see why having a degree from that institution would hurt you in any way. I don't know anything about other programs in London that you might be considering.

There are also some 1-year MPH programs in the U.S. that you might want to investigate; several will accept students right out of undergrad. Some are outside of schools of public health, in schools of medicine, etc. The Dartmouth CECS MPH, for example, is a 9-month program that seems to be popular on this board; I'm sure others could provide more information about this and other ~1-year curricula.

May I ask why you want a 1-year program? (If it's purely financial, you might also consider looking into scholarships at 2-year programs; some have pretty good deals.)

Good luck!

 

[Waiting4Ganong]

Why?? I'd appreciate some advice or reasons as to why you think its not a good idea...not some lame, useless post.

Okay, here goes. Despite your "BS in Public Healh" (sic) you may be unaware of the origins, history or current status of public health, epidemiology and evidence based medicine and the role the UK plays in this. Here is some preliminary reading:

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/magazine/story/0,11913,1466699,00.html

www.cochrane.org

http://www.ph.ucla.edu/epi/snow.html

www.lshtm.ac.uk

England offers world leading training in public health - your post elsewhere admits to crappy grades and it seems you view the UK, as many North Americans do initially, as some kind of magic backdoor option. You then add insult to injury by asking would a UK degree stack up against a US one?

And then you wonder why UK people might be offended?

 

[lallster]

Hi there,

The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine has an excellent reputation; I don't see why having a degree from that institution would hurt you in any way. I don't know anything about other programs in London that you might be considering.

There are also some 1-year MPH programs in the U.S. that you might want to investigate; several will accept students right out of undergrad. Some are outside of schools of public health, in schools of medicine, etc. The Dartmouth CECS MPH, for example, is a 9-month program that seems to be popular on this board; I'm sure others could provide more information about this and other ~1-year curricula.

May I ask why you want a 1-year program? (If it's purely financial, you might also consider looking into scholarships at 2-year programs; some have pretty good deals.)

Good luck!

Hey!!

Thanks so much for your advice. I am actually right now looking into the London School of Hygiene and King's College Public Health programs. But I'm also looking into schools here in the US. One of the main reasons I'm looking into London is because I interned there a couple years ago and I loved it so much that really wanted to go back and experience it some more. However, financial reasons is also a concern and a one year program would save me money especially since my academic goal is to get a Ph.D in epidemiology and that would take me a good 3 yrs at least (...and lots of money if its from a very good school)

 

[lallster]

Okay, here goes. Despite your "BS in Public Healh" (sic) you may be unaware of the origins, history or current status of public health, epidemiology and evidence based medicine and the role the UK plays in this. Here is some preliminary reading:

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/magazine/story/0,11913,1466699,00.html

www.cochrane.org

http://www.ph.ucla.edu/epi/snow.html

www.lshtm.ac.uk

England offers world leading training in public health - your post elsewhere admits to crappy grades and it seems you view the UK, as many North Americans do initially, as some kind of magic backdoor option. You then add insult to injury by asking would a UK degree stack up against a US one?

And then you wonder why UK people might be offended?

First off I did not mean to "offend" you and I'm not looking into schools in London as some "magic backdoor option." As I stated in my above post, I love London very much and want to go back and experience it some more. And as far as my grades go, they're not "crappy" as you state, but rather not that great. I have a 3.2 cum GPA, with a 3.5 the last two years of college and a 4.0 my last year of college.

And the only reason I'm "stacking" up a UK MPH to a US MPH is because from my research it appears that a GRE score (or any other standardized test score for that matter) is not required to get into a MPH program in the UK whereas here in the US it is. To me it seems like one must work harder to get into an MPH program in US than the UK because of the GRE.

Once again I did not mean to "offend" you. However, not all Americans have a superiority tendency towards the UK as you seem to assume.

 

[Adcadet]

I've got to agree, public health training in the UK is probably boatloads better than in the US on average. When I think of premier places to study PH I think of Harvard, Hopkins, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and Oxford (though that's more for evidence-based medicine).

 

[varekai1018]

I'm graduating this May with a BS in Public Healh from a university in the US and I've been pondering the idea of getting my MPH from a school in London. If I did so, would the MPH be worth any less than an MPH from the US?? Especially since I plan on working in the US afterwards, would I be less of a worthy candidate for jobs if my MPH was not from an American school?? I'm considering this option because an MPH program in London is only one year. TIA.

Hi Lallster,

While the UK undoubtedly offers some fantastic programs, if you intend to work in the States once you obtain your MPH, I imagine it would be much easier for you to make contacts for future employment if you stay in the country for your degree. Many of my friends who already have their MPHs are currently employed by the agencies where they had an internship or carried out their practicum work. This, of course, depends a great deal on what type of organization you would like to work for, but networking is another factor to keep in mind. (I'm dealing with the same debate, albeit to a lesser degree, if that helps!)

Good luck!

 

[lallster]

I've got to agree, public health training in the UK is probably boatloads better than in the US on average. When I think of premier places to study PH I think of Harvard, Hopkins, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and Oxford (though that's more for evidence-based medicine).

Oh ya definately...but my only concern is that it seems like its tougher to get into a US MPH program because a good GRE score is required, obviously a decent GPA, and some related work experience. As I was looking into the various London MPH programs the only thing they seem to require is a bachelor's degree, references and work experience. Does anyone know what these schools in London are really looking for in their applicants?? How do they decide on who gets a place in their program w/o having a standardized test score or min GPA to compare their applicants to??

 

[lallster]

Hi Lallster,

While the UK undoubtedly offers some fantastic programs, if you intend to work in the States once you obtain your MPH, I imagine it would be much easier for you to make contacts for future employment if you stay in the country for your degree. Many of my friends who already have their MPHs are currently employed by the agencies where they had an internship or carried out their practicum work. This, of course, depends a great deal on what type of organization you would like to work for, but networking is another factor to keep in mind. (I'm dealing with the same debate, albeit to a lesser degree, if that helps!)

Good luck!

Hey!!

Thanks so much for your advice, I completely forgot about the networking opportunities. You're right it would be much easier to make contacts and possibly get a job quickly after graduation if I did do my MPH in the US. I am though looking at schools in the US as well so nothing is set in stone yet, but networking is definately something I will keep in mind.

 

[Waiting4Ganong]

it appears that a GRE score (or any other standardized test score for that matter) is not required to get into a MPH program in the UK whereas here in the US it is. To me it seems like one must work harder to get into an MPH program in US than the UK because of the GRE.

Once again I did not mean to "offend" you.

GRE is an American test. Why would UK schools expect it?

Your (two) posts were equiv. to a UK student saying:

"I've not done that well in undergrad and I'm looking for options outside the UK. Dear Americans, would Harvard take me? Would they ignore my A-level results? I can't help think Harvard must be easier than Kings to get into b/c they don't want my <country specific> test results" Would people look down on Harvard when I came back to the UK though? - because if so, then I'm probably not that interested in your schools."

Basically - you can take the offend out of quotation marks!

 

[lallster]

GRE is an American test. Why would UK schools expect it?

Your (two) posts were equiv. to a UK student saying:

"I've not done that well in undergrad and I'm looking for options outside the UK. Dear Americans, would Harvard take me? Would they ignore my A-level results? I can't help think Harvard must be easier than Kings to get into b/c they don't want my <country specific> test results" Would people look down on Harvard when I came back to the UK though? - because if so, then I'm probably not that interested in your schools."

Basically - you can take the offend out of quotation marks!

Excuse me but I have read your posts in this forum and you enjoy starting up arguments. I'm not here to argue with you. If you want to argue go to a political forum. My questions are legit. Stop being a jerk. I apologized and if you can't accept that than go troll around in another thread.

 

[Waiting4Ganong]

Excuse me but I have read your posts in this forum and you enjoy starting up arguments. I'm not here to argue with you. If you want to argue go to a political forum. My questions are legit. Stop being a jerk. I apologized and if you can't accept that than go troll around in another thread.

I didn't see the word apology once in your previous posts. Maybe I missed it. I accept your apology now though. I personally don't think it is being a jerk to point out cultural insensivity but there you go. We'll agree to differ.

 

[online_support]

I didn't see the word apology once in your previous posts. Maybe I missed it. I accept your apology now though. I personally don't think it is being a jerk to point out cultural insensivity but there you go. We'll agree to differ.

wow wasnt expecting a war in here

anyhoo, well Mr Gong he did actually apologize to u, albeit subtly, when he said he didnt mean to offend u...and i read his post and not once did i see a notion towards cultural insensitivity, all i saw was a crazy troll named Mr Gong...lall's questions were reasonable...i too am curious as to why a standardized test is required for grad school in the USA but not in the UK, but please dont answer that, i really dont want to see ur annoying post...and yes ur being a jerk when u hijack another thread with the intent of bashing.

lalster dont let trolls discourage you...from ur gpa you seem to be fine, ive seen people with lower gpas get into top tier schools (in there case they had good GREs)...work experience though seems to be a biggie in london so as long as you got that i think u'll be fine...networking is though BIGGGGG in public health and i highly encourage you to apply in the USA just for that reason, contacts in london wont get you anywhere in the USA

hope I helped some and good luck!!!

 

[Waiting4Ganong]

Thanks for your reply. The fact you are " curious as to why a standardized test is required for grad school in the USA but not in the UK" means you are missing the point as much as the OP.

I tried to make a sensible point here but it doesn't seem to have taken.

Whatever.