Which school would give me a better shot at getting a MPH?

juillet
Tue, 29 Apr 2014 17:52:52 +0000

MPH programs do not require a specific major but there are unspoken preferences. If you are interested in health education and health promotion, a social science major is ideal (I’m in a department like that and most people majored in a social science in undergrad). If you are interested in epidemiology or biostatistics, some sort of science major - or math - is more preferable.

There are always exceptions, though. I have a friend who majored in chemistry who got an MPH in a health promotion-type department, and another friend who majored in history who got her MPH in epidemiology.

Technically, you don’t need undergrad research to get into an MPH program. However, doing public health research will 1) make you more attractive to public health programs, many of which have a strong research component in their classes and 2) make you more attractive for research assistantships at MPH programs, which are one of the primary ways that MPH students get the very limited financial support available in MPH programs. Virtually all of my friends who had part or all of their MPH program paid for got tuition waivers or discounts through research assistantships. BTW, doing research with a professor in public health does indeed count as an EC that demonstrates interest in PH.

In fact, at programs that require some work experience - like the MPH program in my department - many of the students spend the 2-3 years after their undergrad years working as research coordinators and associates for professors. Much of the practical work in the field is based upon research, and learning these skills ahead of time (especially a statistical package and any program evaluation skills) is a good idea. So if you have the opportunity and you want to do research, then you should do it. If possible, you should do both - 10-15 hours a week as an RA and then another couple hours a week volunteering, working, or interning to get public health work experience. Personally, I spent 15 hours a week doing public health research and probably around 5-10 hours a week volunteering at a hospital and an elementary school during college. (I’m finishing my PhD in public health next month).



From what I’ve read, many Masters in PH don’t require a specific major for undergrad.



MPH programs do not require a specific major but there are unspoken preferences. If you are interested in health education and health promotion, a social science major is ideal (I’m in a department like that and most people majored in a social science in undergrad). That’s because most of the science and techniques in the area are based upon basic social science tenets. If you are interested in epidemiology or biostatistics, some sort of science major - or math - is more preferable. That’s because those fields are based heavily in math and they work closely with biomedical scientists and use biomedical tenets in their research.

There are always exceptions, though. I have a friend who majored in chemistry who got an MPH in a health promotion-type department; someone in my department majored in English literature in undergrad; and another friend majored in history and got her MPH in epidemiology.

To speak more to your particular predicament, it doesn’t matter whether you go to UCSB or SDSU.

-MPH programs don’t require super-high GPAs anyway (the higher the better, of course, but anything above a 3.3 is pretty good if the rest of your application is outstanding).
-You definitely don’t have to major in public health; you could major in another traditional liberal arts discipline (especially the social and natural sciences) and be just as competitive.
-Yes, you can do research outside of your major, but professors don’t have to be in a public health department to do public health related research - I did my research with a professor of psychology who studies very public health-related areas. (However, if you went to SDSU and majored in, let’s say, sociology or anthropology, chances are good that you could do your RAship with a PH professor if you wanted to and were assertive enough).
-Ranking doesn’t matter when it comes to getting into MPH programs. What matters is how and what you did in undergrad - and in the years since undergrad, if you decide to take some time “off” to work. I go to Columbia’s SPH and there are people from a range of schools here - from other Ivies down to tiny colleges in the middle of nowhere that I have never heard of before. SO no, going to a CSU will not limit you at all.