Question About Applying to PhD Programs

[Mimiru]

Hello Everyone,

I will be starting a two year MSPH program at Johns Hopkins this fall. I would like to eventually continue to get a PhD. I'm glad I found this forum since I feel very clueless about the different degrees/careers available in the field.

In a field like Healthcare Management or Health Policy, would a PhD program like to see work experience in a management setting? Would they like to see published research? Both?


If anyone else is planning to apply to PhD programs in Public Health or is currently in a PhD program let me know. It would be nice to start a little community on these boards!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Regression]

Both, though much much much heavier emphasis will be placed on your ability to do/publish high-quality research.

I was accepted to all the MPH programs I applied to this past year (many with competitive fellowships/scholarships) with the initial intention of then moving on to a Ph.D.; and was accepted to several Ph.D.s in Marketing (planning on focusing on discrete choice modeling in social marketing).

The number one thing any Ph.D. program wants out of its students is a strong potential to do research. If they wanted someone with more industry experience, they'd pick them up for a DPH or DBA (Doc of Bus. Admin). I don't discount the experience you get in industry, though, as this is sometimes the perspective necessary to motivate new research topics. Living in an ivory tower without knowing what's going on in the real world sometimes stagnates a discipline (especially in the behavioral sciences).

 

[mezmerized7]

I think for a field like Healthcare Management, adcoms would love to see both research and management experience. However, I think the management experience might count more so here than for admission to other public health programs. The main objective in getting a PhD is to mainly do research, to have the tools to do research from the ground up. Therefore in combining research and management, it makes sense that for such a program, adcoms want to see that you have experience in both and you know what you're getting into!

Hello Everyone,

I will be starting a two year MSPH program at Johns Hopkins this fall. I would like to eventually continue to get a PhD. I'm glad I found this forum since I feel very clueless about the different degrees/careers available in the field.

In a field like Healthcare Management or Health Policy, would a PhD program like to see work experience in a management setting? Would they like to see published research? Both?


If anyone else is planning to apply to PhD programs in Public Health or is currently in a PhD program let me know. It would be nice to start a little community on these boards!