PhD admissions without a master's...

[saheckler]

I want to apply to PhD programs in public health but I don't have a master's degree and am worried about my undergrad grades. I have a bachelor's in nursing and Spanish with 9 years experience as an RN (6 years clinical, 3 years in health education and program planning). I had a 3.5 undergrad GPA with very inconsistent grades. Lots of As, but also a C+ in calculus, a C in stats (I just retook at a community college and got an A), a D in orgo (retook and got a B), and some Bs in other hard sciences. My issue in undergrad is I was struggling with depression and had no idea what I wanted to do and felt lost and my grades reflect that, but I don't think that explanation will sound very good to an admissions committee, especially when I'm competing against people with a master's and high GPA! My depression is controlled now and I am highly motivated and excited about pouring myself into research, but my grades don't necessarily reflect that I'm capable. I'm taking the GRE this month and am hoping to do really well, but am not sure how much that would redeem iffy grades.

I have a year of research experience with a public health faculty member at the University of Michigan studying PrEP adherence and HIV. I'll have a couple of articles published with her as well as a book chapter on LGBTQ+ policy in nursing and health (first author).

My favorite programs (of course) are Harvard, Yale, and Johns Hopkins because they are such a great match for my research interests (LGBTQ+ health disparities). Is it absolutely insane for me to apply without a master's and a pretty average GPA with some low grades in quant and hard sciences? I'm also applying to some PhD Nursing programs, but I think public health is a bit better fit. Thanks very much for your input and insight!

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[wwmmkk]

I'd recommend looking through the past couple year's thread on the GradCafe public health forum to compare your stats with people who have been accepted/rejected from programs you're interested in. There is more action regarding PhD admissions there; this forum is mostly Master's.

My understanding is that funded PhD programs in public health are highly competitive, and having an MS or MPH can really help at least in part because you can get a few publications in while you're there. If you're serious about public health and definitely going to apply to PhD programs, I'd recommending sending a few MS or MPH applications with your PhD applications as backups. You may get offered admissions to those programs anyway as a "soft rejection."

As an aside, I'm also interested in LGBT health and applying to PhD program this year! Feel free to PM if you want to talk more specifics. I'm actually found several big names in the field who teach in nursing programs and have nursing PhDs... it's honestly to the point where I wish I had a nursing degree so I could broaden my options for applications. I've been surprised by how much overlap there is between academic/research public health and nursing because there doesn't seem to be a lot in practice.