BU vs Harvard

[mniemierko]

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Hi,
I am applying for Fall 2008 admission for Global Health/International Health. I am trying to stay in Boston (or New England) for family reasons. Right now I am only really looking at BU (MPH) and Harvard (DSc).

I have scoured this board looking for recent info on BU but haven't found any...I hope this isn't a repeat though! 😕

Anyone have any thoughts on how good the BU program is? Also, any ideas for schools in that area (Tufts, Yale, etc.)?

Finally, has anyone done the DSc at Harvard? What was admissions like (hard?) and how good was the program?

Any help would be wonderful!!!

 

[Cras47]

Hi,
I am applying for Fall 2008 admission for Global Health/International Health. I am trying to stay in Boston (or New England) for family reasons. Right now I am only really looking at BU (MPH) and Harvard (DSc).

I have scoured this board looking for recent info on BU but haven't found any...I hope this isn't a repeat though! 😕

Anyone have any thoughts on how good the BU program is? Also, any ideas for schools in that area (Tufts, Yale, etc.)?

Finally, has anyone done the DSc at Harvard? What was admissions like (hard?) and how good was the program?

Any help would be wonderful!!!

If given a choice I would choose Harvard over BU for Global Health/International health initiatives. One because Harvard is more respected, and has better contacts. BU does not have an endowment anywhere near the size of Harvard, and churns out a large number of MPH candidates, and relies to a large extent on inflated student tuition. In terms of reputation, BU is not as highly regarded as many Global Health/International MPH programs out there, simply because it is viewed as more of a "follower" than a doer in International Health. Also, realize that the over-all feel of BU is more business like, and the message of helping people in developing countries is very diluted or absent in favor of more theoretical discussions of bioethics, etc. . . A large number of MPH candidates at BU do it for later admission to medical school. At Harvard you will find more dedicated Global/International Health people. BU recently signed a deal with putting in a dental school in the ultra-rich country of Dubai, which sort of emphasizes BU's focus on the bottom-line. I would rank Yale well-above BU, and Tufts slightly above BU based on their general reputation in the field. . .

 

[harvardgrad]

If given a choice I would choose Harvard over BU for Global Health/International health initiatives. One because Harvard is more respected, and has better contacts. BU does not have an endowment anywhere near the size of Harvard, and churns out a large number of MPH candidates, and relies to a large extent on inflated student tuition. In terms of reputation, BU is not as highly regarded as many Global Health/International MPH programs out there, simply because it is viewed as more of a "follower" than a doer in International Health. Also, realize that the over-all feel of BU is more business like, and the message of helping people in developing countries is very diluted or absent in favor of more theoretical discussions of bioethics, etc. . . A large number of MPH candidates at BU do it for later admission to medical school. At Harvard you will find more dedicated Global/International Health people. BU recently signed a deal with putting in a dental school in the ultra-rich country of Dubai, which sort of emphasizes BU's focus on the bottom-line. I would rank Yale well-above BU, and Tufts slightly above BU based on their general reputation in the field. . .

The International Health Dept at Harvard is really a Health Economics program. If you don't have strong economics background, you might not even have much of a shot to consider both BU and Harvard. If you have no interested in Economics, go to BU

 

[RedOctober]

The International Health Dept at Harvard is really a Health Economics program.

Are you serious?!? HARVARD HAS ONE THE BEST PUBLIC HEALTH SCHOOLS IN THE COUNTRY!! I doubt this poster went to Harvard at all, much less the public health school.

Well, Harvard's public health school is one of the oldest in the country, and quite possibly the most prestigious, the global health tract is excellent, and there are several areas of concentration:

The Master's in Public Health Program - MPH offers seven degree concentrations:

• Clinical Effectiveness (CLE)
• Family and Community Health (FCH)
• Health Care Management and Policy (CMP)
• International Health (IH)
• Law and Public Health (LPH)
• Occupational and Environmental Health (OEH)
• Quantitative Methods (QM) [3]

and the Harvard initiative for global health is more far comprehensive BU's . . .
Harvard School of Public Health has research initiatives all over the world, and their HIV/AIDS program is excellent, the only thing is that you need to have a good gpa, like 3.5 and above (they want smart people who think and plan to do international health) . . . BU's international health department is much less focused and lackadaisical, obviously doesn't have the funds that Harvard has, and is more esoteric, whereas Harvard's is more practical and research oriented. Everyone in the Global Health world recognizes and respects the MPH from HSPH, and you will have a great time at Harvard. BU is hit and miss. Here is the official rankings:

score (5.0 = highest) 1. Johns Hopkins University (MD) 4.9 2. Harvard University (MA) 4.7 University of North Carolina--Chapel Hill 4.7 4. University of Washington 4.5 5. University of Michigan--Ann Arbor 4.4 6. Columbia University (NY) 4.1 7. Emory University (GA) 4.0 8. University of California--Berkeley 3.9 University of California--Los Angeles 3.9 10. University of Minnesota--Twin Cities 3.8 11. University of Pittsburgh 3.6 12. University of Texas--Houston Health Sciences Center 3.4 13. Boston University 3.3 Tulane University (LA) 3.3 15. University of Illinois--Chicago 3.2 16. University of Alabama--Birmingham 3.1 Yale University (CT) 3.1 18. University of Iowa 3.0 19. George Washington University (DC) 2.9 20. University of South Florida 2.8 21. Ohio State University 2.7 St. Louis University 2.7 University of Arizona (Zuckerman) 2.7 24. Texas A&M Univ. System Health Sciences Center 2.5 University of South Carolina 2.5

Considering the lack of interest in student enrichment at BU I would rank it even lower, definitely below George Washington school of public health. I am laughing out loud about anybody who would choose BU over Harvard given a choice!!