DVM/MPH programs

[parietal]

So, anyone else applying for and/or doing DVM/MPH programs?

I just was accepted into Minnesota's program and plan on starting this May to avoid having to take classes during the academic year. But I've heard a variety of opinions on dual programs from veterinary public health people. I'm curious what you all have heard or experienced.

For those of you who are in programs or have finished them, are you glad you did it? Is the extra expense worth it?

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[elliepants]

Congratulations (on yet another acceptance), P! 🙂

That's all I've got.

 

[Tiktaalik]

Dr. Srinand Sreevatsan in the CMB department at UMN graduated with an MPH from UMN in '91. You should email him - his info is right on the school's website. I bet he'd be willing to give you the scoop.
Edit: He's one of the profs that I'm trying to work with – that's why he came to mind.

 

[BlacKAT33]

Ive heard that it is good to have both, but it is hard because not many vet schools have dvm/mph programs. i know vmrcvm just starting it THIS yr. penn doesnt have it, they have sometype of certificate thing. not sure what other schools have it.

The biggest problem I had with it was do i really want to delay my graduation longer? Yes, i heard MPH is worth to have later in life when you're searching for job. But, for me personally, is it worth it? Could i get my same "dream job" without it? yes. So really, i think it just depends on what is best for you. At virginia you take your second yr off to do only MPH courses, then you go into second yr vet school one class lower. They say that it doesnt matter in terms of social groups made the first year, but for me...i think it would matter.

So basic answer is yes, it will def be worth getting especially if you want to apply to the CDC, WHO, or work overseas in public/corporate area. But for your personally, with the extra time, money etc is it worth it for you? Could go either way, I'm not trying to be biased but i hope you see my point and it being a personal decision but the degree is NOT useless and will only help you.

 

[Tiktaalik]

If I remember correctly, Minnesota's MPH program is structured so that DVM/MPHers still graduate with their class. I seem to remember this being touted as an advantage of that particular program over other schools' programs. Could someone in the know confirm or refute?

 

[parietal]

Thanks, everybody! (Also, elliepants, can I call you E in school? 🙂)

ETA:

If I remember correctly, Minnesota's MPH program is structured so that DVM/MPHers still graduate with their class. I seem to remember this being touted as an advantage of that particular program over other schools' programs. Could someone in the know confirm or refute?

Yes, absolutely. More below.

The biggest problem I had with it was do i really want to delay my graduation longer? Yes, i heard MPH is worth to have later in life when you're searching for job. But, for me personally, is it worth it? Could i get my same "dream job" without it? yes. So really, i think it just depends on what is best for you. At virginia you take your second yr off to do only MPH courses, then you go into second yr vet school one class lower. They say that it doesnt matter in terms of social groups made the first year, but for me...i think it would matter.

So basic answer is yes, it will def be worth getting especially if you want to apply to the CDC, WHO, or work overseas in public/corporate area. But for your personally, with the extra time, money etc is it worth it for you? Could go either way, I'm not trying to be biased but i hope you see my point and it being a personal decision but the degree is NOT useless and will only help you.

Thanks for the thoughts, blackKAT.

I probably should have clarified for those not familiar with Minnesota's program, but it can be completed almost entirely during vet school summer breaks if it is done right. So I _should_ be able to graduate in four years with both degrees although there is a couple years of flexibility if you need to finish up with your project or practicum after graduation.

The extra money is a concern, however. I've also heard from some veterinary public heath types that it is preferable to do a "proper" MPH separately because you get more exposure to epidemiology methods, etc., than you do in a dual program.

I'm pretty sure I want to eventually do public health in some capacity, so my other option would be to just do my DVM now then come back after practicing for a few years and do a MPH then. But I'm already a non-trad, so I'm really not sure I'll want to come back yet again!

 

[elliepants]

Thanks, everybody! (Also, elliepants, can I call you E in school? 🙂)

Of course!

That's my last irrelevant post in this thread, I promise 🙂.

For what it's worth, I think the MPH sounds awesome. It's not really my area of interest- but if it were, I'd jump on it.

 

[BlacKAT33]

Thanks for the thoughts, blackKAT.

I probably should have clarified for those not familiar with Minnesota's program, but it can be completed almost entirely during vet school summer breaks if it is done right. So I _should_ be able to graduate in four years with both degrees although there is a couple years of flexibility if you need to finish up with your project or practicum after graduation.

The extra money is a concern, however. I've also heard from some veterinary public heath types that it is preferable to do a "proper" MPH separately because you get more exposure to epidemiology methods, etc., than you do in a dual program.

I'm pretty sure I want to eventually do public health in some capacity, so my other option would be to just do my DVM now then come back after practicing for a few years and do a MPH then. But I'm already a non-trad, so I'm really not sure I'll want to come back yet again!

If you know you want to do it, do it combined!! You finish faster and your education really depends on how much you push yourself. You can get as much extra experience as you want and push yourself to learn more in classes. You can even do a crazy trip to south america over the summer and do research there. My friend did that, she had a blast and learned a lot, also won an award.

Even though a full degree is always prefered (ive heard this about the combined professional degrees (MD, VMD)+PhD, of course doing it separately will give you more experience....because it takes more time, but does that mean combined is useless? Noooo You still have to take the same classes. IMO, Forget about what other people say and do it combined. time is priceless, especially when you get old and realize it 🙁 lol If Minnesota has it so you don't change classes in vet school...that is awesome. No one can judge you for doing it combined, if anything, they are jealous cuz they had to waste more time doing it separately lol. It all depends on what you make of it yourself.


Edit: this is who i was talking about. Claire
http://www.vetmed.vt.edu/news/vs/dec09/index.asp#simeone
http://www.vetmed.vt.edu/engagement/intl/docs/Chile_Simeone.pdf

Great experience, I want to do something like that even though penn doesnt offer a full MPH program

 

[parietal]

Great experience, I want to do something like that even though penn doesnt offer a full MPH program

Cool, thanks for the links, blacKAT!

Just FYI, Minnesota's MPH is designed to work for veterinary students at any school. There are three weeks of intensive in-person classes in May/June every year, but everything else is online. So you could still get your DVM from Penn and your MPH from Minnesota. I think quite a few people do come from other schools...

 

[BlacKAT33]

Cool, thanks for the links, blacKAT!

Just FYI, Minnesota's MPH is designed to work for veterinary students at any school. There are three weeks of intensive in-person classes in May/June every year, but everything else is online. So you could still get your DVM from Penn and your MPH from Minnesota. I think quite a few people do come from other schools...

OOOOOOOOo no way!!! i should look into that. I'm not fully sure if i want to spend the extra time/money but i had no clue about this option!!! that is really nice. thanks parietal! 😀

 

[Highlsnds3]

I'm thinking about doing it. Dean Brace mentioned that most of the classes are at night so that current vet students can take them (I think he mentioned 2 current students that had even finished before the end of vet school). At UT if you take the courses while in vet school there are no additional fees!!! A HUGE plus in my book! If you don't finish all of the courses, from what I understand, it only takes a semester or two to complete after vet school graduation, then of course you pay tuition at the much lower grad school rate😉

 

[Tiktaalik]

OOOOOOOOo no way!!! i should look into that. I'm not fully sure if i want to spend the extra time/money but i had no clue about this option!!! that is really nice. thanks parietal! 😀

One of the profs I met at MSU had high praise for Minnesota's program and told me that she knew a few students who were taking their MPH classes.

 

[parietal]

OOOOOOOOo no way!!! i should look into that. I'm not fully sure if i want to spend the extra time/money but i had no clue about this option!!! that is really nice. thanks parietal! 😀

Cool, no problem! Here's more info. I think they even have lists of which DVM/VMD classes will transfer into the program for most vet schools. If you're interested, e-mail Sarah Summerbell at [email protected]. She could probably get more information to you.

As an incentive, out-of-state tuition for dual-degree folks is the same as in-state tuition. 😀

 

[Tiktaalik]

As an incentive, out-of-state tuition for dual-degree folks is the same as in-state tuition. 😀

For the MPH, you mean, right?

 

[canis13]

I have a friend who's a fourth year student at Tufts. He plans to pursue a career in public health, but didn't do the dual degree program; instead he's doing UC Davis's MPVM program next year. I asked him about the pros/cons of doing a dual degree program, and he said that most of the veterinary public health people he's talked to said that it was better to get your vet degree first, and then do the MPH. And that shoving the MPH into the same 4 years as your DVM is a lot of extra stress.

That said, I'm strongly considering the dual degree program myself, although I want to do it at CSU where your first year is just public health, and you graduate with both degrees in 5 years.

 

[parietal]

For the MPH, you mean, right?

Yes, just for the MPH. Unfortunately. 🙂

I have a friend who's a fourth year student at Tufts. He plans to pursue a career in public health, but didn't do the dual degree program; instead he's doing UC Davis's MPVM program next year. I asked him about the pros/cons of doing a dual degree program, and he said that most of the veterinary public health people he's talked to said that it was better to get your vet degree first, and then do the MPH.

I've heard that, too, although I'm still not sure I quite understand why. Yes, we maybe miss out on more advanced MPH epidemiology, but I think my vet school has an advanced epidemiology elective of its own. Should it really matter if it is through the vet school or the school of public health? Plus at least for the MN MPH, the classes for the dual program and the program for veterinarians are pretty much the same.

And that shoving the MPH into the same 4 years as your DVM is a lot of extra stress.

True. I'm really curious how the summer thing is going to go.

That said, I'm strongly considering the dual degree program myself, although I want to do it at CSU where your first year is just public health, and you graduate with both degrees in 5 years.

Cool. That sounds like a good option as well.

 

[Tiktaalik]

True. I'm really curious how the summer thing is going to go.

Hey, at least you'll have someone to hang out with - I'll be on campus every summer working on research, because DVM/PhD students have to do our 1st year lab rotations during our summer breaks.

 

[parietal]

Hey, at least you'll have someone to hang out with - I'll be on campus every summer working on research, because DVM/PhD students have to do our 1st year lab rotations during our summer breaks.

Awesome! 😀

 

[MonieBalonie]

I'm starting UF's MPH/DVM in May, and here summers are devoted to MPH classes and Fall and Spring are DVM only. I think there are only 2 semesters where there will be one extra MPH class on top of the DVM curriculum. So I hope it won't be too exhausting! The Tufts one I turned down involved a lot of class overlap including the Grafton to Boston commute which sounded pretty taxing.

 

[parietal]

Cool, MonieBalonie! We'll have to trade notes on Minnesota's and Florida's programs. 🙂

 

[MonieBalonie]

Cool, MonieBalonie! We'll have to trade notes on Minnesota's and Florida's programs. 🙂

For sure!