Programs outside the US?

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kcarlson518

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Hello all,

I'm American but I'm interested in MPH (or possibly or degree) programs outside the US. I'm interested for a few reasons: 1) cost, 2) I've lived abroad for 2+ years now and I'm quite fond of it.

However, when I try to research programs outside the US I've had a hard time discerning which ones are reputable. Many of them tend to have terrible or confusing websites or seem to be geared towards students from developing countries.

Specifically, I'm interested in population health and forced migration (refugees). While I am interested in some social research, I'm very not interested in anything clinical. I plan to work outside the US for another 15 or so years after getting my degree and then eventually coming back to the US for work.

Does it sound like an international program would be right for me? Are there any that come to mind that you would recommend?

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It sounds like a terrific idea to get your MPH abroad, especially since you're interested in refugee/global health. There are lots of good MPH programs all over the world. And there are schools that recruit students from the developing world, but that's probably a good thing for your education to have fellow students from all over. It's also good for networking if you want to work in the developing world after graduation. Also, if you think about it, a university that is actively looking for students that can't afford to pay their own tuition is probably the kind of reputable university you're looking for.

If you want to actually study in the developing world, I can recommend Mahidol University in Bangkok, Thailand. There are undoubtedly many other good schools in other developing countries, but Mahidol is the only I am familiar with (I did a DTM&H there and loved it).

UK, Australia and New Zealand have many good MPH courses. Most highly respected program worldwide is probably London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Also look at Kings College in London, University of Liverpool, and James Cook in Australia. I mention those 4 only because I've met people who went there. I didn't mention Canada because that's not really abroad, but I'm sure they have good programs there. Singapore and Hong Kong also have Universities where they teach in English.

If you're fluent in another language then you have even more options. But even if not, don't rule out non-English speaking countries in the EU - many graduate courses are taught in English (I think that's because English is so important for science careers). There are 2 English MPH programs just in Barcelona that I know of - ISGlobal and the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.

If you're mostly interested in research, you might want to look at doing your MPH abroad (where it's valuable experience, cheaper tuition, and probably looks cool on your CV) and come back to the US for a PhD (because the US you can probably get funded). I'd recommend talking to some Stateside PH doctoral programs and see what they think about the idea of getting your MPH abroad.

First step though would be to decide what part of the world you want to study in. Then can get into more specifics. And don't wait to put in applications, because that is going on now for the classes starting next Fall.
 
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Karolinska Institute, Stockholm has quite a reputation (Nobel Prize). I did part of my surgery rotation there and could not have been happier!
 
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It sounds like a terrific idea to get your MPH abroad, especially since you're interested in refugee/global health. There are lots of good MPH programs all over the world. And there are schools that recruit students from the developing world, but that's probably a good thing for your education to have fellow students from all over. It's also good for networking if you want to work in the developing world after graduation. Also, if you think about it, a university that is actively looking for students that can't afford to pay their own tuition is probably the kind of reputable university you're looking for.

If you want to actually study in the developing world, I can recommend Mahidol University in Bangkok, Thailand. There are undoubtedly many other good schools in other developing countries, but Mahidol is the only I am familiar with (I did a DTM&H there and loved it).

UK, Australia and New Zealand have many good MPH courses. Most highly respected program worldwide is probably London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Also look at Kings College in London, University of Liverpool, and James Cook in Australia. I mention those 4 only because I've met people who went there. I didn't mention Canada because that's not really abroad, but I'm sure they have good programs there. Singapore and Hong Kong also have Universities where they teach in English.

If you're fluent in another language then you have even more options. But even if not, don't rule out non-English speaking countries in the EU - many graduate courses are taught in English (I think that's because English is so important for science careers). There are 2 English MPH programs just in Barcelona that I know of - ISGlobal and the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.

If you're mostly interested in research, you might want to look at doing your MPH abroad (where it's valuable experience, cheaper tuition, and probably looks cool on your CV) and come back to the US for a PhD (because the US you can probably get funded). I'd recommend talking to some Stateside PH doctoral programs and see what they think about the idea of getting your MPH abroad.

First step though would be to decide what part of the world you want to study in. Then can get into more specifics. And don't wait to put in applications, because that is going on now for the classes starting next Fall.
Thanks for the advice! Sorry my reply is months late.

I'll look into that Mahidol University - It's good to hear personal recommendations, although I'm not sure if Thailand really interests me.

I'm not planning to do a PhD so the MPH would probably be my ending point. I'm planning on applying for Fall of 2018 though so I have some time.
 
It sounds like a terrific idea to get your MPH abroad, especially since you're interested in refugee/global health. There are lots of good MPH programs all over the world. And there are schools that recruit students from the developing world, but that's probably a good thing for your education to have fellow students from all over. It's also good for networking if you want to work in the developing world after graduation. Also, if you think about it, a university that is actively looking for students that can't afford to pay their own tuition is probably the kind of reputable university you're looking for.

If you want to actually study in the developing world, I can recommend Mahidol University in Bangkok, Thailand. There are undoubtedly many other good schools in other developing countries, but Mahidol is the only I am familiar with (I did a DTM&H there and loved it).

UK, Australia and New Zealand have many good MPH courses. Most highly respected program worldwide is probably London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Also look at Kings College in London, University of Liverpool, and James Cook in Australia. I mention those 4 only because I've met people who went there. I didn't mention Canada because that's not really abroad, but I'm sure they have good programs there. Singapore and Hong Kong also have Universities where they teach in English.

If you're fluent in another language then you have even more options. But even if not, don't rule out non-English speaking countries in the EU - many graduate courses are taught in English (I think that's because English is so important for science careers). There are 2 English MPH programs just in Barcelona that I know of - ISGlobal and the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.

If you're mostly interested in research, you might want to look at doing your MPH abroad (where it's valuable experience, cheaper tuition, and probably looks cool on your CV) and come back to the US for a PhD (because the US you can probably get funded). I'd recommend talking to some Stateside PH doctoral programs and see what they think about the idea of getting your MPH abroad.

First step though would be to decide what part of the world you want to study in. Then can get into more specifics. And don't wait to put in applications, because that is going on now for the classes starting next Fall.


I'm really interested in studying outside of the US as well and this thread definitely caught my eye with the programs in Barcelona. But let's say I get the degree in Barcelona for Public Health, if I try to come back to the US and use this degree, would employers consider the degree valid? Since it's not accredited by the CEPH. That's my main concern. I would still want to come back to the US and work with the degree I earned abroad. This would really be my deal breaker. Because if I can't use it back in the US, I don't really see why I would even go for it, for my personal interest per say. Does anyone know of people who have gotten their degree outside of the US and wanted to work within the states with the degree outside of the US? Any recommendations and information is greatly accepted. Thanks in advance!
 
I'm really interested in studying outside of the US as well and this thread definitely caught my eye with the programs in Barcelona. But let's say I get the degree in Barcelona for Public Health, if I try to come back to the US and use this degree, would employers consider the degree valid? Since it's not accredited by the CEPH. That's my main concern. I would still want to come back to the US and work with the degree I earned abroad. This would really be my deal breaker. Because if I can't use it back in the US, I don't really see why I would even go for it, for my personal interest per say. Does anyone know of people who have gotten their degree outside of the US and wanted to work within the states with the degree outside of the US? Any recommendations and information is greatly accepted. Thanks in advance!
I don't have an answer to this but I would like to know as well! My instinct is that it probably depends on the employer. Maybe government would be more hesitant to take it but non-profit and private organizations would?

There are also a handful of CEPH accredited schools outside the states. I'm now seriously looking at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon because I already speak Arabic (classes are in English but Arabic country) and its CEPH accredited. I noticed there is one in Mexico so if you're looking for a hispanic country you might want to check that one!
 
It sounds like a terrific idea to get your MPH abroad, especially since you're interested in refugee/global health. There are lots of good MPH programs all over the world. And there are schools that recruit students from the developing world, but that's probably a good thing for your education to have fellow students from all over. It's also good for networking if you want to work in the developing world after graduation. Also, if you think about it, a university that is actively looking for students that can't afford to pay their own tuition is probably the kind of reputable university you're looking for.

If you want to actually study in the developing world, I can recommend Mahidol University in Bangkok, Thailand. There are undoubtedly many other good schools in other developing countries, but Mahidol is the only I am familiar with (I did a DTM&H there and loved it).

UK, Australia and New Zealand have many good MPH courses. Most highly respected program worldwide is probably London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Also look at Kings College in London, University of Liverpool, and James Cook in Australia. I mention those 4 only because I've met people who went there. I didn't mention Canada because that's not really abroad, but I'm sure they have good programs there. Singapore and Hong Kong also have Universities where they teach in English.

If you're fluent in another language then you have even more options. But even if not, don't rule out non-English speaking countries in the EU - many graduate courses are taught in English (I think that's because English is so important for science careers). There are 2 English MPH programs just in Barcelona that I know of - ISGlobal and the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.

If you're mostly interested in research, you might want to look at doing your MPH abroad (where it's valuable experience, cheaper tuition, and probably looks cool on your CV) and come back to the US for a PhD (because the US you can probably get funded). I'd recommend talking to some Stateside PH doctoral programs and see what they think about the idea of getting your MPH abroad.

First step though would be to decide what part of the world you want to study in. Then can get into more specifics. And don't wait to put in applications, because that is going on now for the classes starting next Fall.

Can you share your DTM&H experiences from Mahidol Univeristy? Where can I apply for scholarship? Thanks
 
Sure -
Mahidol has a really good DTM&H certificate course. It’s 6 months long - which is a lot longer than other ASTM&H qualifying programs. They also offer a Masters in Trop Med if you study for another 6 months.
There are a lot of lectures, but the professors are all really knowledgable and want you to learn. You are more likely to actually see patients with the diseases you are learning about there than you are if you’re studying in the US.
You should contact the Department of Tropical Medicine about scholarships. I belive most of the scholarships for the DTM&H course go to physicians from lower income countries. They do have scholarships for the Masters and PhD programs though - and those are more merit based and you have to do good work in the DTM&H program to get them.
Hope that helps. Feel free to message me if you have specific questions.
 
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