Future epidemiologists, what do you want to do with your MPH?

I'm a neuroscience major as an undergrad so I've applied to schools that have neuro-epidemiology faculty/research opportunities. I'd want to work with creating mental health awareness/implementing solutions to mental health problems both here and abroad as well as the genetic research aspect (specifically with autism or alzheimer's) of it. But I guess what I do will depend a lot on the program I decide to join - some schools/programs I've applied to have more of a research emphasis whereas others have more opportunity for field work/internships and stuff!

what about you/what schools have you applied to?


Applied: Harvard SM (NeuroPsych Epi), Yale MPH (Chronic Disease Epi), JHU MHS (Mental Health), Columbia MPH (Epi)
Accepted: Yale MPH (Chronic Disease Epi)
Waiting: The rest....

I'm a cancer epi researcher at an institute located in Bethesda, MD. 🙂 So I write scientific publications for my career.

epigirl2012,
That would be fantastic! I have done a LOT of research on Columbia, because it is my first choice - but I don't know a whole lot about Yale Public Health! I've been hearing a lot of good things about the CDE program though and I do plan to go visit on Admit Day to get a feel of the school better.. I get the sense that with graduate programs rankings can only tell you so much (especially if you're comparing between the top schools). Any advice/insight that you can provide would be great!

Congrats on JHSPH - that's amazing!! The campus is pretty nice, I have family in Baltimore and I have explored the city a little bit! I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time there!

What do I want to do? I want to save the world!

But seriously, I see myself in ten years working in at an academic research facility or at a health organization such as the CDC or WHO, influencing the direction of healthcare and medicine with my analyses of new and developing problems. In the short term, after the completion of my MPH or MSPH, I intend to earn a doctorate in either medicine or public health. Hopefully with a medical degree I can specialize in preventative or occupational medicine, and go into research while having a background in clinical work.

epigirl2012 said:

Cogsciuscd,

Yale as a whole, is pretty spread out. The undergrads are mostly on main campus, while the school of public health is on the medical school side of campus with the PA and Nursing programs. The main public health building, is about 9 floors and on the opposite side of the street is the public health library and lounge area. I know there is alot of integration between the medical school and school of public health and there are a lot of great courses that you will have access to. I took one course in CDE which I really liked while I was a PhD student called health care disparities. Very interesting.
The public health students either live in harkness(which is on the medical campus), downtown new haven or east rock (which is also affectionately known as the grad ghetto). You can definitely find pretty reasonable housing in New Haven. There are a lot of great food options as well. Once you have had pizza in New Haven, you won't like pizza from any where else. People tend to favor these four places: Pepe's , Sally's , Bar, and Modern. If you go to Bar, you must try the mashed potato pizza with bacon. Odd, I know, but tasty.
That's a quick summary, but if you want to know particulars, let me know.

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Or Pepe's white clam 😍

I'd love to hear more about Yale, too 🙂. I might have a hard time deciding between Pitt, Yale, and Emory (Epi for pitt and emory, CDE for Yale). I did my undergrad at Pitt and am not sure if I want to stay here and turn down Yale and Emory.

How is it living in New Haven? I've heard some bad stories but not from people who actually went there. Would it be possible for me to commute on bike from east rock to the public health school? Would it be safe? I'm used to biking around Pittsburgh even though it's not always so easy. What would be a reasonable price for rent/utilities? How did you feel about post-MPH opportunities, networking, relationships with your professors, etc?


Thankssss 🙂

breexox said:

I'd love to hear more about Yale, too 🙂. I might have a hard time deciding between Pitt, Yale, and Emory (Epi for pitt and emory, CDE for Yale). I did my undergrad at Pitt and am not sure if I want to stay here and turn down Yale and Emory.

How is it living in New Haven? I've heard some bad stories but not from people who actually went there. Would it be possible for me to commute on bike from east rock to the public health school? Would it be safe? I'm used to biking around Pittsburgh even though it's not always so easy. What would be a reasonable price for rent/utilities? How did you feel about post-MPH opportunities, networking, relationships with your professors, etc?


Thankssss 🙂

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I liked my time in New Haven because my fellow grad students were a really great bunch. The McDougal Center also puts on a lot of really great workshops and if you want to teach at all, they do an excellent job of preparing teachers. Although I don't think MPH students have access to those workshops or not, I don't remember exactly.

New Haven also has a bevy of restauranteurs from New York that have setup second shop in New Haven, and the prices are far more accommodating. Rent is also very cheap compared to most cities in the Northeast.

That said, you could walk one block and be in a sketchy part of town. I had two friends that were mugged (one at knife point, the other at gun point). Yale PD caught one of the boys who did it (the gun, a 14 year old, for crying out loud).

Yale does take security very seriously, and not enough people utilize the services, which is a shame. I was one of those people who just risked it, but being male, I always figured for I'd be less vulnerable (which is the WRONG mindset).

That said, I'm glad I'm not in New Haven any more, even if it means I live in one of the highest taxed and most expensive counties in the country (my rent is exactly double what it was in New Haven)

Stories said:

I liked my time in New Haven because my fellow grad students were a really great bunch. The McDougal Center also puts on a lot of really great workshops and if you want to teach at all, they do an excellent job of preparing teachers. Although I don't think MPH students have access to those workshops or not, I don't remember exactly.

New Haven also has a bevy of restauranteurs from New York that have setup second shop in New Haven, and the prices are far more accommodating. Rent is also very cheap compared to most cities in the Northeast.

That said, you could walk one block and be in a sketchy part of town. I had two friends that were mugged (one at knife point, the other at gun point). Yale PD caught one of the boys who did it (the gun, a 14 year old, for crying out loud).

Yale does take security very seriously, and not enough people utilize the services, which is a shame. I was one of those people who just risked it, but being male, I always figured for I'd be less vulnerable (which is the WRONG mindset).

That said, I'm glad I'm not in New Haven any more, even if it means I live in one of the highest taxed and most expensive counties in the country (my rent is exactly double what it was in New Haven)

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I'm not an Epi major, but I noticed New Haven was mentioned, so I just had to chime in! 😉

I attended school in New Haven (not Yale), but I liked the area a lot. Not much going on outside of New Haven, unless you have a car and just want to drive around for kicks or for the malls/stores in the area (or if you want to go to the casinos on the other side of the state!). It's also a fun option to hop on the commuter rail and check out NYC for day trips.

New Haven has a few interesting shops, restaurants, and cultural attractions, and Yale is a lovely urban campus. My friends and I used to walk around Yale often, and it always seemed like there were plenty of student activities going on (clubs, parties, movie showings, panel discussions, etc). So I don't think you would be bored there at all. Not to mention you have a solid public health presence (Yale-New Haven Hospital, St. Raphael Hospital, Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, AIDS Project New Haven, New Haven Health Department, etc).

My favorite places to eat in downtown New Haven? Modern Pizza, Miya's (sushi), Mamoun's (falafels!), Ashley's Ice Cream, Tandoor (Indian), Thai Taste, and El Amigo Felix (Mexican). There are plenty of food options, so you won't go hungry here!

Oh, and I second Stories regarding New Haven having sketchy parts of town. It is true that you can go from one safe street to a not-so-safe one within a block or two. Sadly, crime is a growing problem in New Haven, but I felt safer there than I did when I visited New York a couple times. Best to follow the basic rules of safety - 1) Only travel to places you are familiar with, 2) Walk in well-lit and busy areas, 3) Travel in groups at night, and 4) Be aware of your surroundings. If you do that, you should be fine! 😀

I'm visiting the Yale Open House so it's awesome to hear all your food suggestions (I will try the mashed potato pizza for the sole reason that it sounds uniquely ridiculous 😀).

To get back to the OP, I'm hoping to get my Masters and then pursue a doctorate in infectious disease epidemiology to work within the CDC/state health departments in biosurveillance and emerging infectious disease response. It's been a dream of mine to serve in the EIS as well, and hopefully with that background it can be an achievable reality!

THANK YOU ALL for all the advice and tips! Will keep it in mind when I visit New Haven for the open house =)!

THanks for the responses, guys. You've eased my concerns about New Haven. I still live in South Oakland in Pittsburgh which is where many Pitt students (especially undergrads) live and it's sort of the same way here. You just have to be smart. Although I have been stupid at times and nothing has happened to me at least. I just want to live somewhere that's not gonna break the bank and that's not gonna get me killed!