How much does the public health school matter for career?

[Phrozen]

I am referring to MPH in Epi and/or Global Health. Does the ranking/prestige/type of public health school play a large part in shaping your career, or are all the doors open for you as long as you go to a decent school? I have been fortunate enough to be admitted to University of Michigan and Emory and need help balancing the pros/cons.

I am in-state for University of Michigan and will have a great deal on tuition, but I am wondering if Emory's connections to the CDC are worth the extra $40,000 in tuition.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated as to how to pick the right school for the money.

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[IntriguedStudent]

Let me begin by saying that both Michigan and Emory are top public health schools. Ranking is really not going to matter for the two of these.

Making the decision of which schools to attend is going to depend largely on you and your personal career goals. If you want to work for the CDC, Emory's connection is very nice. However, attending Michigan would not prevent you from working for the CDC. Which school does more research in the field that you're interested in? Which is in a location that you prefer? Since Michigan is in-state, cost is a big factor here. As you already mentioned, you would end up paying a lot more if you went to Emory. Considering that most public health professionals don't go into the field to make the big bucks, is this extra $40,000 worth it to you?

 

[Solara]

I'm one to say go to the school where you can make the best connections (e.g., if there's a professor at Emory you want to do research with because his/her interests align with yours, that's something to consider). Also important to consider that not every one of Emory's MPH students get hooked up with the CDC (a lot do, but you're not guaranteed it. Lots of Emory MPH students do get paired with global/public health organizations around Atlanta though).

Like the above poster mentioned, you can always get into the CDC through other means. Explore those means.

Though I don't know a whole lot about your context, my knee jerk reaction is to just go to Michigan. The in-state tuition is an excellent deal, and you can make great connections at Michigan too, I'm sure.

I've heard people on both sides of the argument on this issue (after they completed their MPH and got a job). But fewer of those people wish they had gone to a more prestigious school. I would say go to Michigan.

 

[Stories]

If your ultimate goal is working at the CDC, I'd say Emory would be an excellent choice. But as others have said, Michigan is a great school. I think it also depends on your career ambitions. Some careers, the school can matter to an extent, and alumni connections can help to an extent, but any well respected program will help you get where you want to go. Consider also where you'd like to live longer term.

 

[mats7]

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[Masgniw]

A lot. Connections matter. Location matters. Companies recruit from nearby schools. I'd say name brand matters a bit, too. I've been in some hiring decisions and while the interview and experience matters more, the hiring managers convince their own supervisors that the candidates are good simply by mentioning the school.

Eh. Disagree. I got my MPH at a decent, mid-range school in the midwest and got an epidemiologist position on the west coast in a top county.

You really don't want to work for anyone that weighs prestige that heavily anyways.

 

[JaneOakmede]

If I were in your situation, I would probably go to UMich. It is a highly regarded, top ranked school. You will save money in the long run and still come out with a top-notch education. Obviously there are other considerations as others have said, but for me two schools of what I would consider equal caliber would lead me to choose the cheaper one. On the other hand, I think I would prefer the weather in Atlanta .

 

[JaneOakmede]

On another note, I can tell you that my long-term goal is to do the EIS program at the CDC (which does require a doctorate). People accepted into EIS received there educations at a wide variety of schools, including lower-ranked institutions. It seems career goals and how well you did in your program matter more than the actual school you went to in this case.

 

[oceanhue]

When it comes to securing a job, the only thing that matters is the who. Emory isn't the only school that has connections to the CDC. I have a friend that works for the NIH and told me that most of the internships offered at the CDC are sent out from D.C. (something like that).

I honestly do not think it matters where you go to school. Most of the jobs that I've been offered since I graduated from my undergrad were only offered to me because of the people that I knew.

 

[mats7]

Eh. Disagree. I got my MPH at a decent, mid-range school in the midwest and got an epidemiologist position on the west coast in a top county.

You really don't want to work for anyone that weighs prestige that heavily anyways.

Oh, I didn't mean prestige matters, but at the two places where I worked, they just asked the graduate coordinator if they knew any graduates interested in the positions and friends of recent hires. Hiring managers tell their supervisors (who know nothing about public health) about the school, among a lot of other things, to reassure them about the candidates.

 

[arachnidette]

If I were in your situation, I would probably go to UMich. It is a highly regarded, top ranked school. You will save money in the long run and still come out with a top-notch education. Obviously there are other considerations as others have said, but for me two schools of what I would consider equal caliber would lead me to choose the cheaper one. On the other hand, I think I would prefer the weather in Atlanta .

I'd second this. You won't be making lots of money with an MPH, especially with how tight the budgets have been recently.
Both UMich and Emory are great schools and there are lots of good reasons to go to either. Personally, I think that getting in-state at UMich would be better than being next door to the CDC. It is very competitive to get an internship at CDC and though you can make contacts there, previous experience in public health has seemed to matter more than contacts in terms of getting jobs. In addition, make sure that you are going to be able to do thesis work with a professor and on a topic that you are really interested in and that will make you stand out.
If you are planning on doing an Epi/GH joint program, I visited UMich and students in that program made it sound very disorganized, but I think they were the first group of students in the joint program. The Emory program is really big and though they have a lot of famous names in public health it can be really hard to build connections with some professors because they are constantly traveling and extremely busy juggling million dollar grants. The joint program at Emory doesn't do anything particularly special compared to a general Epi or GH degree.
If you get good internships and build network while in school you will do fine.

 

[alm14]

I think what matters most is what you do (the experience you get from internships, class projects, and practical experience) and who you know. If you visit the schools, definitely ask the students what their practical experience looks like and what stills they actually develop: for some of the schools I was admitted to, the job market was so saturated by recent grads that interns didn't actually get all that much experience beyond just being in a public health organization and doing some small projects. Also, definitely see how responsive the professors are at each school, like arachnidette said.

I go to a smaller, lesser-known school, but I still feel like I'm getting an outstanding education because the school itself partners with different organizations and we do work for them as class projects because they're so pressed for people to do the tasks they need to do.

I hope this helps!

 

[jimavocado]

I think what matters most is what you do (the experience you get from internships, class projects, and practical experience) and who you know. If you visit the schools, definitely ask the students what their practical experience looks like and what stills they actually develop: for some of the schools I was admitted to, the job market was so saturated by recent grads that interns didn't actually get all that much experience beyond just being in a public health organization and doing some small projects. Also, definitely see how responsive the professors are at each school, like arachnidette said.

I go to a smaller, lesser-known school, but I still feel like I'm getting an outstanding education because the school itself partners with different organizations and we do work for them as class projects because they're so pressed for people to do the tasks they need to do.

I hope this helps!

What school do you go to? Even though I got into UCLA, I am curious the lesser known schools as they may provide a more optimal learning experiences for a cheaper price.

 

[pcdr2014]

I'm in a similar situation except with emory and university of georgia. I was accepted to both epi programs (emorys global epi) and had decided on emory. But then this past week UGA offered me a financial package where they would be paying me to go to school. I want to be working in an international setting upon graduation and know emory has a larger presence in global public health which is why I'm stuck.

 

[KPZ]

So I hate to hijack the conversation, but along these lines, I got a $25k scholarship to WashU and no funding for Columbia (Chronic Disease Epi). The difference in tuition is $30k. What is the gut reaction on these programs? If it helps, my interest is in psychiatric epidemiology and my goal is either to work at the WHO, go to medical school, or go to law school. Thank you in advance!!

 

[IntriguedStudent]

So I hate to hijack the conversation, but along these lines, I got a $25k scholarship to WashU and no funding for Columbia (Chronic Disease Epi). The difference in tuition is $30k. What is the gut reaction on these programs? If it helps, my interest is in psychiatric epidemiology and my goal is either to work at the WHO, go to medical school, or go to law school. Thank you in advance!!

Going to Columbia would give you the easiest foot in the door for WHO due to their connections with and proximity to the UN. However, if you end up going to medical or law school, school doesn't matter as much. Personally, I would go with WashU if you will still have the opportunity to take psychiatric coursework and do research in your field. $30k is a lot, especially if you consider that you'll be adding an additional $100k-$200k should you choose to pursue medical or law school.

 

[KPZ]

I'm in a similar situation except with emory and university of georgia. I was accepted to both epi programs (emorys global epi) and had decided on emory. But then this past week UGA offered me a financial package where they would be paying me to go to school. I want to be working in an international setting upon graduation and know emory has a larger presence in global public health which is why I'm stuck.

Have you looked at UGA's grad statistics? If some of their students tend to go onto international jobs or they have opportunities for international internships, it'd be really hard to pass up a stipend.

 

[jxa216]

I'm in a similar situation except with emory and university of georgia. I was accepted to both epi programs (emorys global epi) and had decided on emory. But then this past week UGA offered me a financial package where they would be paying me to go to school. I want to be working in an international setting upon graduation and know emory has a larger presence in global public health which is why I'm stuck.

So I also applied to UGA and got a random email from a student in the MPH asking if I had any questions but had not heard from the school it's self. I checked my app online and it said I was missing a ton of info, but they've never contacted me and everything that's missing on my app should be supplied from my SOPHAS... So not really sure what's going on there

 

[IntriguedStudent]

So I also applied to UGA and got a random email from a student in the MPH asking if I had any questions but had not heard from the school it's self. I checked my app online and it said I was missing a ton of info, but they've never contacted me and everything that's missing on my app should be supplied from my SOPHAS... So not really sure what's going on there

That happened to me with GSU. A student e-mailed me, but I haven't heard anything from the school. And the online portal basically insinuates that they don't have any of my information.