Does our MPH track/specialty really matter?

[ciaoamelia]

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I'm wondering if anyone can offer any insight as to whether employers really care about ones track/specialty within their MPH program. I would guess school, experience, and interest area are of most importance. I was accepted to a policy track at one school and a community health track at another. I'm ultimately interested in combining the two to improve nutrition in children in underprivileged, minority populations both hands-on and from a policy perspective. Thanks.

 

[aspiringmph]

How many free electives do you get in each program? I know at some schools you only have like 6 credits of free electives whereas others will give you 20 or more to pursue your other interests.

 

[tk6]

I'm wondering if anyone can offer any insight as to whether employers really care about ones track/specialty within their MPH program. I would guess school, experience, and interest area are of most importance. I was accepted to a policy track at one school and a community health track at another. I'm ultimately interested in combining the two to improve nutrition in children in underprivileged, minority populations both hands-on and from a policy perspective. Thanks.

I have the same dilemma but I think the money is definitely a swaying factor. Although I'd like to do both, I got a fellowship that would cover almost the entire program for the Health Policy and Management program over the Community Health Sciences (although I have yet to here back). I was trying to make my decision before I heard about the fellowship based on my goals of what I want to do after I graduate, and the types of skills i wanted to gain from the program. I feel like Community Health Sciences would sculpt your general skills for the MPH program and policy would be more specific. So it's all dependent on what you want to gain and how you want to use it.

 

[Stories]

Absolutely. The concentration/major/track you're on dictates what types of jobs you can comfortably be in for the future. For instance, if you're a HPM major, you wouldn't make a very good epidemiologist. And if you're a biostatistics major, you wouldn't be a very good policy analyst.

 

[Choklatcow]

I agree with Stories that 'track' matters. For one thing, are you interested in policy really? While policy may have a hand in your career (truly it has a hand in all of our careers I believe), it sounds like community health is more suited to your future interests.

Like a previous poster mentioned, you can supplement your concentration with electives -- I'm at Columbia and there's not a lot of room for electives, but luckily it doesn't matter as much because I had no real question of the track I was interested in (Epi), and it spans a wide variety of topics.

If you find a program that is community health and offers room for electives, choose policy electives to round out your degree, for example.

Good luck!

 

[Stories]

I agree with Stories that 'track' matters. For one thing, are you interested in policy really? While policy may have a hand in your career (truly it has a hand in all of our careers I believe), it sounds like community health is more suited to your future interests.

Like a previous poster mentioned, you can supplement your concentration with electives -- I'm at Columbia and there's not a lot of room for electives, but luckily it doesn't matter as much because I had no real question of the track I was interested in (Epi), and it spans a wide variety of topics.

If you find a program that is community health and offers room for electives, choose policy electives to round out your degree, for example.

Good luck!

And if your school/program allows, consider a double major.

 

[ciaoamelia]

I appreciate everyone taking the time to respond with their thoughts and ideas. I'm interested in both Community Health Education AND Public Policy. I'm excited to take strong quant classes in program analysis. These skills are definitely lacking in policymakers and it's a huge reason why I'm going back to school after 7 years in the workforce. In order to advance healthier nutrition policies in schools, we need to understand the day to day operations of many nonprofits and agencies working in this arena. This is is why I want to combine the two interests/tracks. I think it might be easier to "learn" the community aspect through an internship, research, and electives rather than as a specialty in and of itself. I am NOT interested in healthcare administration which I understand is why many people go into a health policy program. Hopefully I wouldn't be pigeon-holed into too many management courses...