School and Jobs Advice Megathread Part III

[u/SadBreath]

All job and school-related advice should be asked in here. Below is the r/publichealth MPH guide which may answer general questions.

See the below guides for more information:

1. MPH Guide
2. Job Guide
3. Choosing a public health field
4. Choosing a public health concentration
5. Choosing a public health industry

Past Threads:

1. Megathread Part I
2. Megathread Part II

[u/bananaslug29]

Hey everyone! I was wondering if anyone could point me in the direction of MPH programs that would be good for someone who wants to use the masters as a stepping stone into a PhD? I'm currently a third-year Environmental Studies/Biology undergraduate student and I'm really seriously considering going into public health. As a result, I'm starting to make a list of programs to research closer. I've looked around on the interweb and various Reddit threads about many programs but most of the comments about all of the programs seem to be looking at the programs from the perspective of the MPH being a terminal degree. Since I'm interested in possibly getting a PhD, I was wondering which programs might be better for that route? Thanks in advance for any advice anyone can give me :)

Side Note: If anyone is wondering why I'm thinking I might want a PhD, it's because I really like teaching college students (I tutor undergraduate bio courses) and I know if that is something I possibly want to do in the future I need a PhD. Also, I mostly do enjoy school in general and I love taking classes and learning....so an extra 5-7 years of school actually sounds kind of fun to me- yes I realize this sounds a little crazy/weird.

[u/[deleted] → u/bananaslug29]

Hi! I'm a senior undergraduate studying nutrition and also was interested in pursuing a PhD. I would start by reaching out to professors you want to work with for a PhD program and get a sense from them on whether or not you even need a masters. For me, the professors I really wanted to work with did in fact want me to get an MS or MPH prior. But if your professors don't necessarily require a masters, I would recommend just looking for research jobs postbac. One of the grad students I work with jumped straight into a PhD from undergrad without a masters. Masters programs are extremely expensive and have little funding if any. Also, MPH programs are extremely broad and unless you are going to an extremely prestigious program, they really don't provide much tangible experience, especially for research.

If you do decide to do a Masters and you know you want a PhD, definitely go for programs more heavy on research, like the MSPH at JHU. Your entire second year of the program is dedicated to fieldwork and working with a professor on their studies. Tufts also have combined MS/MPH with their Friedman and Medical schools. (that's more nutrition focused, so maybe not the best option for you).

I'd also like to note that I'm also just an undergraduate and this is just the advise I have gotten from graduate students who have gotten MPH and MSPH degrees and my professors.

[u/bananaslug29 → u/[deleted]]

Hey! Sorry for the late response but thank you so much for your insight- it’s super helpful!

[u/Cereldi → u/bananaslug29]

This is near and dear to my heart because I got my BS in environmental science with a concentration in biology. Really the program doesn’t matter as much as the subject area and what kind of work you do to fill your portfolio.

Get into an MPH program and there’s research all around you. So dive head first and get co authorships and publications under your belt. Most faculty would be pretty open to this provided you do enough grunt work. Getting some hard skills like stats, data vis, or writing will be helpful in this.

A PhD application is heavily dependent on you building a relationship with the faculty of that PhD program. So typically you’d see mph students transition into a phd at the same school since that relationship is built. Otherwise faculty will look at your body of research and judge your candidacy over a set of interviews.

Lastly having the goal of teaching is nice. And important to note. But I’d personally put my research passion in a topic area as my elevator pitch first. If you’re going for a PhD, it’s as much as how you’re going to help the program and faculty members as it is then helping you. It’s essentially a more stringent long term job application. Good luck.

[u/Cereldi → u/Cereldi]

Disclosure. I completed my MPH. Working now. No PHD for me yet but that was my peers experience for those who went that route.

[u/bananaslug29 → u/Cereldi]

Sorry this response is so late...but thank you for the thoughtful response- it’s super helpful for me! Just out of curiosity since you mentioned you did environmental science and bio-did you feel like being an environmental science/bio major prepared you for an MPH? I’m a little worried about that right now because my college doesn’t really offer any public health classes so I don’t really have the opportunity to take any undergrad courses in it. And of course I’m worried that my major might not be competitive against people who have public health undergrad degrees. Thanks for any insight you can give me! :)

[u/Cereldi → u/bananaslug29]

I’d like to think it did prep me for an MPH. At the end of the day, knowing biology is always helpful in a health setting. Environmental health particularly needs to get into that level of detail as you trace a pathogen or toxin from the environment into the body.

What was new for me was the concept of population health. Health surveillance. And epidemiology. That is a science in its on right although with some overlapping skill sets.

I think you shouldn’t worry about getting public health knowledge in undergrad. After all, you pursue an advanced degree to learn new things. I’d say you’d learn more not having a ph background and figuring out how to link the new things you learn with what you already know. There may be some exciting connections you discover that fuels your new passion.

At the end of the day. Just make sure you have an interest in learning and voice your curiosity. No one expects people entering an mph to know it all. But they do expect you to want to make the most out of it.