I am planning on beginning my MPH in fall 2024. I have narrowed down a list of schools and I am starting on applications for all of them. Has anyone ever gotten a full ride to grad school? How did you do it? Is it possible? Because I took out so many loans for undergrad, I really want to avoid taking out more loans if possible. If I do end up taking out loans, I only want to take out a small amount to fill the gap. But the main goal is to not pay anything out of pocket. Any tips?
I have never heard of anybody getting a full ride to an MPH program. You can ask the schools on your list whether they offer any funding. Also, some schools will be less costly than others. Loans are pretty common for grad school unless you are fortunate enough to have the cash available. Have you considered working for a few years to save some money before going back to school?
One of my kids graduated with her masters. She received some funding after completing the Fafsa, but not enough to cover the full cost.
My other child is currently in grad school. She received an academic merit award (every bit helps) but not a full ride.
Back in the dark ages I received a graduate assistantship (full tuition) but ended up transferring.
My advice is to research funding availability and overall costs when choosing where to apply. You can also ask if it is realistic to work part time.
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Do you have a nursing degree? The reason I ask this is my niece graduated with a masters in public health, and had an extremely difficult time finding employment she had taken out a number of loans for grad school. Most of the facilities in our town required a nursing degree. Because of her usefulness and the age of their patients, she had a hard time connecting with patients because patients didn’t believe that she had had enough life experience.
She’s now in her mid 30’s and is still having some difficulty in finding positions that are not in the mountains nor desert.
What kind of jobs did your niece apply to? I know 2 young adults with MPH degrees and they are both employed in public health. Neither required a nursing degree. Both work in major cities.
What you are saying is interesting! What specialization is your niece’s MPH degree in?
We have several family members with MpH degrees and one with a doctorate, and one with a DO who is also getting a MpH.
None were fully funded or even partially funded for their grad school studies except the DO who is getting the MpH as part of a fellowship. ALL are working in the field of Public Health in some way. One is now an independent consultant after working for years for organizations like WHO. Another works for the NIH. Another works for a major hospital system. Another works for a non-profit dealing with public health issues. Another is a doctor.
None are nurses. But certainly that could be beneficial for some MpH folks.
But back to the funding. I believe all but the D.O. Fully paid for their MpH degrees. The D.O. is getting this as part of a medical fellowship.
So…really…maybe you will get some funding…but probably not a lot based on my family members. But then again…you never know!
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Do any of your instate public colleges offer an MPH degree?
Yes, two schools on my list are state schools and they have MPH programs
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Maybe ask if you are able to attend part time while working? That may ease the financial burden.
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Not sure, but she led a lot of smoking cessation and legislation. She used to work in Tennessee but the patients were non compliant, disrespectful, and only met with her once to get their secondary appointments with their physicians.
She’s now in Sacramento, but she always wanted to work in direct patient care.
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She paid for grad school through a combination of loans and work savings.
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I know a few people who got “free” MPH degrees. One is a woman who decided for work for County Public Health after 20 years being a MD in a busy academic hospital. Her new job paid for her to go to Johns Hopkins to get a MHP.
UCLA has a Star Program which basically “forces” their MD fellows concurrently get a MPH as part of their paid training whether they want it or not.
My daughter is back in graduate school now (not an MPH). She recently left a job that would pay for her masters if it was in a field related to that job. She could have gotten an MPH for free had she stayed.
Working first is an option. Full funding for an MPH is the exception and not the rule. I would count on paying for it yourself, and I would ask if any funding is available.
The D.O. In our family is required to get either an MpH or an MBA as part of the fellowship program. However to say it was forced isn’t exactly accurate. These doctors chose to apply for these fellowships. Right?
But back to the OP. That person might get some funding for a MpH…but it’s not a high likelihood.
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My D has a full ride (very generous-covers all living expenses) for her masters at Penn State (STEM but not MPH). They have an MPH program.
But does Penn State provide merit aid for MpH programs? Many universities fully fund or partially find some programs, but don’t provide a dime to others.
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Right, that’s something OP would have to check out. My D only applied to schools where professors had committed to fully funding her degree/expenses. OP should reach out to the department heads at the schools to which they’re applying.
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Family member got a fellowship (federal govt) that paid for MPH and gave them a stipend! I am assuming it was super competitive to get. And there are parameters around it but they all match up to what the family member wants to do so it worked out quite perfectly for them!
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My daughter’s prior employer would have paid for an MPH had she stayed. I think funding options are out there, but there are not many and they are competitive.
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Check out Brown’s SPH. They have funding and Providence is a lovely place.
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Research/thesis-based master’s degrees in STEM often come with funding in exchange for working as a TA or RA. Professional master’s degrees (e.g. MSW, MPH, MEd, MBA, LLM) and course-based master’s (e.g. M.Eng, MASc, MSCS, MIS, MSDS, MSBA) usually do not. For those types of programs your best bet for funding is to have your employer pay.