Epidemiology and MPH

[MindCastle15]

So I'm interested in public health...but I haven't started med school yet, and ant some information. Is a medical degree necessary for a MPH? As a field, how is epidemiology? With a degree in biological sciences, is it possible to get a MPH degree? Thanks for any info

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[gyngyn]

So I'm interested in public health...but I haven't started med school yet, and ant some information. Is a medical degree necessary for a MPH? As a field, how is epidemiology? With a degree in biological sciences, is it possible to get a MPH degree? Thanks for any info

No.
Excellent.
Yes.

 

[USF Jasmine]

So I am currently a 19 year old senior graduating next summer from the University of South Florida with my Bachelors in Public Health Degree with a minor in Management. I have began my studying process for the GRE and will be starting an internship at a non-profit AIDS organization. I have a 3.35/4.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale and a few professor that are willing to give me great recommendations. I am considering apply to grad school for my MPH with a concentration in Health Policy Management. I have a few questions however. Any suggestion or answers would be highly appreciated.

1. Is my gpa a decent one to get into any MPH programs?
2. Are there any programs here in Florida or just the south that any of you recommend?
3. Will the few C's I earned as a dual enrolled student during high school in community college really affect my chances?
4. I was at first a nursing major but switched...is the new career path ive chosen just as reliable?

 

[WedgeDawg]

So I am currently a 19 year old senior graduating next summer from the University of South Florida with my Bachelors in Public Health Degree with a minor in Management. I have began my studying process for the GRE and will be starting an internship at a non-profit AIDS organization. I have a 3.35/4.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale and a few professor that are willing to give me great recommendations. I am considering apply to grad school for my MPH with a concentration in Health Policy Management. I have a few questions however. Any suggestion or answers would be highly appreciated.

1. Is my gpa a decent one to get into any MPH programs?
2. Are there any programs here in Florida or just the south that any of you recommend?
3. Will the few C's I earned as a dual enrolled student during high school in community college really affect my chances?
4. I was at first a nursing major but switched...is the new career path ive chosen just as reliable?

1) The average GPA at Columbia, a top 5 MPH program, is 3.4, so I would assume you're okay.

2) UNC, Hopkins, Emory (has the CDC nearby), George Washington, USF, UF,

3) Not at MPH, possibly at MD/MPH

4) probably

 

[heebeejeebies]

I'd recommend anyone taking a gap year to consider epidemiology, it has given me a certain set of skills, a toolkit if you will, for appraising evidence, decision making, considering counterfactuals etc. It just changes the way you approach problems, a way that I think is very compatible with the problem solving component of medicine. Besides it has offered me amazing opportunities to work with clinicians and patients. Very happy with my decision, hopefully I can find a way to package the perspective in some of my secondaries for schools with strong or growing schools of public health.

If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask.

 

[USF Jasmine]

I'd recommend anyone taking a gap year to consider epidemiology, it has given me a certain set of skills, a toolkit if you will, for appraising evidence, decision making, considering counterfactuals etc. It just changes the way you approach problems, a way that I think is very compatible with the problem solving component of medicine. Besides it has offered me amazing opportunities to work with clinicians and patients. Very happy with my decision, hopefully I can find a way to package the perspective in some of my secondaries for schools with strong or growing schools of public health.

If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask.

I actually was at first considering Epidemiology but I realized that most programs admit students who majored in chemistry, biology, or other sciences. And as for the gap year I am considering it because in reality I will be a college graduate at 20 and I have a lot of time to figure to figure out my exact career goal. I left the nursing route because I realized that even though I did enjoy my time working with patients while volunteer I do not necessary like having individuals life in my hands if you get my reasoning. Are there any specific course in my undergrad that I should take to help me get a broader view on epi besides my introductory course ?

 

[USF Jasmine]

1) The average GPA at Columbia, a top 5 MPH program, is 3.4, so I would assume you're okay.

2) UNC, Hopkins, Emory (has the CDC nearby), George Washington, USF, UF,

3) Not at MPH, possibly at MD/MPH

4) probably

Thank you! I've been nervous about my gpa but am even more about my GRE score.
I actually have the opportunity to relocate to Tennessee...do you know of any schools there that are good?..i've been considering UT Knoxville. I don't think that Vanderbilt in Nashville is feasible unfortunately due to their selectively.

 

[WedgeDawg]

Thank you! I've been nervous about my gpa but am even more about my GRE score.
I actually have the opportunity to relocate to Tennessee...do you know of any schools there that are good?..i've been considering UT Knoxville. I don't think that Vanderbilt in Nashville is feasible unfortunately due to their selectively.

I actually don't really know much about MPH programs - all the information I provided you with was found after a couple of google searches. Sorry!

 

[heebeejeebies]

I actually was at first considering Epidemiology but I realized that most programs admit students who majored in chemistry, biology, or other sciences. And as for the gap year I am considering it because in reality I will be a college graduate at 20 and I have a lot of time to figure to figure out my exact career goal. I left the nursing route because I realized that even though I did enjoy my time working with patients while volunteer I do not necessary like having individuals life in my hands if you get my reasoning. Are there any specific course in my undergrad that I should take to help me get a broader view on epi besides my introductory course ?

Luckily my program takes a wide variety of students, we build our cohort with diversity, everything from MDs, to psych majors, to economics majors, to compsci students. I believe it's valuable to have these perspectives because epidemiology involves more than just the clinical, it combines sociology, economics for decision making, bioinformatics and stats for the big data trend etc. A valuable epidemiology experience doesn't necessitate BCP majors.

My only recommendation is to become comfortable with stats and maybe consider a programming language course, something simple but that'll gets you comfortable with coding, syntax etc.

 

[md-2020]

Thank you! I've been nervous about my gpa but am even more about my GRE score.
I actually have the opportunity to relocate to Tennessee...do you know of any schools there that are good?..i've been considering UT Knoxville. I don't think that Vanderbilt in Nashville is feasible unfortunately due to their selectively.

I got an MPH after graduating college early. What is your GRE score (you mentioned you're worried about it)? Your GPA is slightly on the low end for top programs.

AFAIK, Vandy's MPH is not quite as selective as the brand name programs (which aren't that selective either).

Do note that your MPH/GPA during MPH will have a negligible effect on med school admissions. If you're looking to repair that 3.35, do an SMP or post-bacc instead.