Enrolling in MPH program and applying to med schools?

[AWESTRUCKx7]

Hi,

I will be applying to MPH programs for Fall 2013 and my top choices are Columbia and Yale.

My question is, if I apply to these schools' regular MPH programs and I (hopefully) get accepted for Fall 2013 admission, does anyone know if the second year of the MPH program can be completed at another time? Or does it have to be 2 years straight? I will be applying to medical schools next summer and if I get accepted, I will not have completed the MPH degree yet.

I know that these two schools offer a 1 year path, but I do not meet the requirements necessary to apply. I do not have a professional degree nor do I have more than 2 years of work experience. I already emailed both the schools about their respective accelerated programs, and they said that these requirements cannot be waived.

So I was just wondering if anyone out there was in a similar situation or already went through something like this.

Thank you so much.

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[OneDay81]

Most masters programs have a 5 year time limit, from what I've seen.

 

[364462]

Hi,

I will be applying to MPH programs for Fall 2013 and my top choices are Columbia and Yale.

My question is, if I apply to these schools' regular MPH programs and I (hopefully) get accepted for Fall 2013 admission, does anyone know if the second year of the MPH program can be completed at another time? Or does it have to be 2 years straight? I will be applying to medical schools next summer and if I get accepted, I will not have completed the MPH degree yet.

I know that these two schools offer a 1 year path, but I do not meet the requirements necessary to apply. I do not have a professional degree nor do I have more than 2 years of work experience. I already emailed both the schools about their respective accelerated programs, and they said that these requirements cannot be waived.

So I was just wondering if anyone out there was in a similar situation or already went through something like this.

Thank you so much.

Is there a particular reason why you want to start with the MPH and then get the MD?

Is it possible to start the MD, take the year off after 3rd year (which would qualify you for many 1-year MPH programs), and then return for your final year and subsequent residency?

Is doing the MPH first in the hopes that it would make you more competitive as a MD applicant the following year?

Taking a year off from studies is one thing. But I would wonder about the quality of your experience if the break was any longer than that.

 

[AWESTRUCKx7]

Thank you both for taking the time to reply to my post. I appreciate your time!

I am not applying to medical schools this cycle, because I want to continue working (at a non-profit breast cancer research organization) and take a few more science courses to raise my undergraduate GPA.

I have always considered MPH programs, because of my strong interest in studying human health with a more interdisciplinary approach. Though ultimately, I would like to become a doctor, possibly one who is involved in non-profits and performs clinical trials for disease research. My professional goal is to have both an MD and MPH.

I would like to start with some sort of degree as soon as possible, so I will be applying to MPH programs for Fall 2013 admission. As you know, most programs for non-professionals are two years, but I would still like to apply to med schools next summer (for Fall 2014 admission). However, if I attended a two year MPH program, I will not be finished with my MPH degree before matriculating into medical school. If I don't get into med schools, then there would be no problem in finishing my MPH degree . Since I don't know for sure when I will be attending medical school, I want to at least have my MPH degree completed.

I have researched quite a bit about all these degrees and the dual degree (MD/MPH), and I definitely understand that having an MPH does not give me any real advantage when applying to medical school.

 

[HSUReddie]

Thank you both for taking the time to reply to my post. I appreciate your time!

I am not applying to medical schools this cycle, because I want to continue working (at a non-profit breast cancer research organization) and take a few more science courses to raise my undergraduate GPA.

I have always considered MPH programs, because of my strong interest in studying human health with a more interdisciplinary approach. Though ultimately, I would like to become a doctor, possibly one who is involved in non-profits and performs clinical trials for disease research. My professional goal is to have both an MD and MPH.

I would like to start with some sort of degree as soon as possible, so I will be applying to MPH programs for Fall 2013 admission. As you know, most programs for non-professionals are two years, but I would still like to apply to med schools next summer (for Fall 2014 admission). However, if I attended a two year MPH program, I will not be finished with my MPH degree before matriculating into medical school. If I don't get into med schools, then there would be no problem in finishing my MPH degree . Since I don't know for sure when I will be attending medical school, I want to at least have my MPH degree completed.

I have researched quite a bit about all these degrees and the dual degree (MD/MPH), and I definitely understand that having an MPH does not give me any real advantage when applying to medical school.

Alright, first off, I think we have similar interests and issues. I'm applying to medical school for this cycle so I hear the questions about people questioning my motives about pursuing both degrees a lot. Props on your goals and interest in both public health and medicine. I honestly think we need more physicians that come from a public health background.

Second, I think most medical schools won't allow you to matriculate until you finish your obligations with your other degree. That being said, I think some medical schools will also give you the option to defer for a year. What specifically are your concentration interests that the two schools you mentioned won't let you into the accelerated program? I ask this because I came straight out of undergrad, have limited public health experience, and am still being allowed to complete my degree at Tulane on an accelerated track. It's the MSPH in Tropical Medicine - if it's your cup of tea, I'd definitely encourage you to look into it.

Third, I disagree with people's statements that it won't help you get into medical school. I mean I think there's something to be said to proving to the medical school that you just didn't go blow a whole bunch of money and get a degree to improve your application. I think they want the interest and passion behind it. But the process of obtaining the degree and holding that degree, in my opinion, offer a lot of advantages. For instance, my MSPH is very "hard science" - and by the time I graduate I will have taken several courses that will be a huge help within my first two years of medical school. I'm also looking into doing my practicum in something related to pediatric infectious disease, which gives me that much more clinical/volunteer experience when applying to medical school. My health systems admin class is going over health reform right now - huge plus considering I have a med school interview next month. I could really go on and on. I can't speak for all admissions committees, and I'm sure there's some that don't give two ****s about whether or not you have a public health degree. However, I really think some will pay attention to the fact that you already have experience with graduate-level coursework, and you're bringing a different perspective on healthcare to the table than most fresh out of undergrad applicants.

That's just my two cents.

 

[AWESTRUCKx7]

Alright, first off, I think we have similar interests and issues. I'm applying to medical school for this cycle so I hear the questions about people questioning my motives about pursuing both degrees a lot. Props on your goals and interest in both public health and medicine. I honestly think we need more physicians that come from a public health background.

Second, I think most medical schools won't allow you to matriculate until you finish your obligations with your other degree. That being said, I think some medical schools will also give you the option to defer for a year. What specifically are your concentration interests that the two schools you mentioned won't let you into the accelerated program? I ask this because I came straight out of undergrad, have limited public health experience, and am still being allowed to complete my degree at Tulane on an accelerated track. It's the MSPH in Tropical Medicine - if it's your cup of tea, I'd definitely encourage you to look into it.

Third, I disagree with people's statements that it won't help you get into medical school. I mean I think there's something to be said to proving to the medical school that you just didn't go blow a whole bunch of money and get a degree to improve your application. I think they want the interest and passion behind it. But the process of obtaining the degree and holding that degree, in my opinion, offer a lot of advantages. For instance, my MSPH is very "hard science" - and by the time I graduate I will have taken several courses that will be a huge help within my first two years of medical school. I'm also looking into doing my practicum in something related to pediatric infectious disease, which gives me that much more clinical/volunteer experience when applying to medical school. My health systems admin class is going over health reform right now - huge plus considering I have a med school interview next month. I could really go on and on. I can't speak for all admissions committees, and I'm sure there's some that don't give two ****s about whether or not you have a public health degree. However, I really think some will pay attention to the fact that you already have experience with graduate-level coursework, and you're bringing a different perspective on healthcare to the table than most fresh out of undergrad applicants.

That's just my two cents.

Thanks so much for your two cents You make some great points and I am glad there are other people who believe that having both an MD and MPH degree will increase the quality of our personal, educational, and professional growth.

I contacted many schools that offer accelerated MPH programs, but all of them have told me that I do not meet the requirements for applying to their schools, because (1) I do not hold a doctoral degree and (2) I do not have over 2 years of full-time work experience in the public health sector. My interests are in environmental health sciences (because this was one of my majors) or epidemiology.

I see that you are in the MSPH program. Do you happen to know how this degree differs from the MPH? I know that the MSPH programs I have researched are tailored to students who are right out of undergrad and/or do not have 2 years of work experience. Is that the main difference? In deciding which degree to pursue, did you consider MPH or did you only look for MSPH programs?

Thanks again for your reply!!

 

[Cenwean3]

I'm also considering applying for an MPH program that is one year because I will be applying for medical school for 2014 and would like to start the MPH program next year ( Summer 2013 or Fall 2013) and complete it before I start medical school. Is Tulane's MPH in Tropical medicine one year? and what stats and extracurriculars did you have straight out from undergrad?

 

[HSUReddie]

Thanks so much for your two cents You make some great points and I am glad there are other people who believe that having both an MD and MPH degree will increase the quality of our personal, educational, and professional growth.

I contacted many schools that offer accelerated MPH programs, but all of them have told me that I do not meet the requirements for applying to their schools, because (1) I do not hold a doctoral degree and (2) I do not have over 2 years of full-time work experience in the public health sector. My interests are in environmental health sciences (because this was one of my majors) or epidemiology.

I see that you are in the MSPH program. Do you happen to know how this degree differs from the MPH? I know that the MSPH programs I have researched are tailored to students who are right out of undergrad and/or do not have 2 years of work experience. Is that the main difference? In deciding which degree to pursue, did you consider MPH or did you only look for MSPH programs?

Thanks again for your reply!!

No problem! I find it strange that you need a doctoral degree to get an accelerated MPH - it just seems backwards to me. If you are interested in environmental, I would check with Tulane and see if they will let you do it accelerated. I think I know someone (who is actually on here) is doing their MSPH in environmental in a year.

This thread addresses the differences between MSPH and MPH fairly well.
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=644314
Basically the vibe I get at Tulane with my MSPH is - I have a very hard science concentration that is definitely directed towards research and eventually obtaining a degree higher than just an MPH (MPH is more terminal/professional degree in that sense). Most people in my department go on to medical school or to get PhD's. If that makes any sense…. Not 100% sure about the straight out of undergrad thing. I think plenty of people get in straight out of undergrad into both MPH and MSPH. There are lots of people in my department who have worked in labs for years and are coming back to education, and there's plenty of us straight from undergrad. I considered both an MPH and MSPH. For me it really just depended on the concentration I was interested in at each school. Global Health at Emory was an MPH. Epidemiology at UAMS was an MPH.

I'm also considering applying for an MPH program that is one year because I will be applying for medical school for 2014 and would like to start the MPH program next year ( Summer 2013 or Fall 2013) and complete it before I start medical school. Is Tulane's MPH in Tropical medicine one year? and what stats and extracurriculars did you have straight out from undergrad?

Tulane's MSPH in Parasitology/Tropical Medicine "can be done in a year." I'm quoting them on that. The schedule they initially sent me in my acceptance email was a year - but they admitted when I visit that most students taken a year and a half. I started in the summer and took 9 hours, have 17 hours this fall, and will have 16 next spring, with my practicum starting either in the spring or summer of next year. I can't really give you an idea of how I feel about my course load yet this semester since I haven't had any tests yet. You definitely don't want to try to work and get the degree in a year I would think.

My stats at the time that I applied…

GRE: 450 V ( 150) and a 680 Q (153).
Major: Biology / Minor: Chemistry
GPA: 3.83
Research: Undergraduate research on coral reef ecology, summer research internship with Arkansas Children's Hospital Research Institute on an childhood obesity prevention public health project.

Various honors and awards, several leadership positions in undergrad, worked as a lab tech, taught intro to biology lab as an undergrad teaching assistant, very good LOR.

I guess stat wise for last year, I would say I was somewhere on the middle for likelihood of getting in. UAMS accepts a vast majority of people who apply - being my state school. Tulane is obviously more competitive, and then I got rejected from Emory. My GRE scores definitely aren't up to par, and I'd say I don't necessarily have a lot of public heath experience - I had been preparing my life as an application for medical school for the past four years - not public health. -shrugs- I don't care. I still got in. Forget Emory.

 

[Cenwean3]

Interesting to know that. Thanks for letting me know. Are you applying to medical school now?

 

[HSUReddie]

Interesting to know that. Thanks for letting me know. Are you applying to medical school now?

No problem. Wasn't thrilled with the GRE, but my score is listed on some other thread too so there isn't any sense in being ashamed about it I guess.

Yes, I'm applying for this cycle. My first MCAT score is theoretically good enough to get into my state school, but I'll be taking a gap year and applying again if I don't get in for 2013. I don't necessarily mind though because with the MSPH I should be able to get a good lab job for the year.

 

[Cenwean3]

Ok. Do you know if their MPH in Epidemiology/Maternal and Child Health is one year? and what about the school expenses? I'm pretty sure you don't work so how expensive are the living expenses out there and Tulane's school fees for MPH. I'm actually highly interested in their program both Tropical Medicine and Epidemiology. I have to take the GRE though. Also, when does their summer semester start? Sorry I'm asking so many questions it's just that I've been doing a lot of research in regards to MPH programs and I'm yet to find someone who would answer all of my questions until now.

 

[OneDay81]

Thanks so much for your two cents You make some great points and I am glad there are other people who believe that having both an MD and MPH degree will increase the quality of our personal, educational, and professional growth.

I contacted many schools that offer accelerated MPH programs, but all of them have told me that I do not meet the requirements for applying to their schools, because (1) I do not hold a doctoral degree and (2) I do not have over 2 years of full-time work experience in the public health sector. My interests are in environmental health sciences (because this was one of my majors) or epidemiology.

I see that you are in the MSPH program. Do you happen to know how this degree differs from the MPH? I know that the MSPH programs I have researched are tailored to students who are right out of undergrad and/or do not have 2 years of work experience. Is that the main difference? In deciding which degree to pursue, did you consider MPH or did you only look for MSPH programs?

Thanks again for your reply!!

I am currently pursuing the MSPH in environmental health at Tulane and will have completed the coursework in 3 semesters/12 months. This is not a specific thing you need to ask for (accelerated v 2 year program), its just a matter of when you start, how you plan your courses, and if you can handle the course load.

A few difficulties you may face are: trying to find and set up a practicum; the requirement of presenting your thesis during the seminar that you are required to take your final semester (thus not giving you much time to come up with your topic, do a ton of research, write, and rewrite it all while juggling a heavy courseload); and being limited to whatever elective courses that happen to be offered during your short attendance at the school.

 

[HSUReddie]

Ok. Do you know if their MPH in Epidemiology/Maternal and Child Health is one year? and what about the school expenses? I'm pretty sure you don't work so how expensive are the living expenses out there and Tulane's school fees for MPH. I'm actually highly interested in their program both Tropical Medicine and Epidemiology. I have to take the GRE though. Also, when does their summer semester start? Sorry I'm asking so many questions it's just that I've been doing a lot of research in regards to MPH programs and I'm yet to find someone who would answer all of my questions until now.

Not sure if that can be completed in a year or not. I didn't even know that dual concentration existed until I just looked it up. It appears to be 46 hours... since a lot of Epi courses seem to have pre-reqs for the next set of courses, I'd say you need to look at that to see if it can be done in a year (and ask them). A lot of my courses can be taken all at once without pre-reqs so I'm not running into that much of a problem.

Expenses - I'm trying to live off of my loans. It worked almost okay for the summer. I cut it tight the last month or so due to spending a chunk of my loan applying to medical school. If you Google "Tulane health sciences financial aid", you'll find their webpage and it has a list of fees and what not for the year. I'm paying roughly $700 a month for my rent and share my house with two other people. Any "poorness" that I have/will have I create for myself by eating the yummy food that New Orleans has to offer far too often.

Summer session is beginning of June to end of July. Some classes only last one month, some last two. Most of the cores are offered at this time.

I am currently pursuing the MSPH in environmental health at Tulane and will have completed it in 3 semesters/12 months. This is not a specific thing you need to ask for (accelerated v 2 year program), its just a matter of when you start, how you plan your courses, and if you can handle the course load.

Just the person I was looking for to answer that!

 

[Cenwean3]

Not sure if that can be completed in a year or not. I didn't even know that dual concentration existed until I just looked it up. It appears to be 46 hours... since a lot of Epi courses seem to have pre-reqs for the next set of courses, I'd say you need to look at that to see if it can be done in a year (and ask them). A lot of my courses can be taken all at once without pre-reqs so I'm not running into that much of a problem.

Expenses - I'm trying to live off of my loans. It worked almost okay for the summer. I cut it tight the last month or so due to spending a chunk of my loan applying to medical school. If you Google "Tulane health sciences financial aid", you'll find their webpage and it has a list of fees and what not for the year. I'm paying roughly $700 a month for my rent and share my house with two other people. Any "poorness" that I have/will have I create for myself by eating the yummy food that New Orleans has to offer far too often.

Summer session is beginning of June to end of July. Some classes only last one month, some last two. Most of the cores are offered at this time.


Ok. Thanks for the information.

 

[Cenwean3]

I still have a lot of questions. I've done much research and I feel that an MPH in Tropical Medicine would be beneficial to me since I am highly interested in areas such as infectious disease. I will be applying for summer cycle because on Tulane's MPH website it says it is better to start in the summer. Now to the questions:
1. When did you submit your application and when did you take the GRE? Was it before or after you submitted your application?
2. I know Tulane has rolling admissions which I hope is a good thing, but do you know how many students are accepted for the tropical medicine program?
3. I thought the tropical medicine program was 36 hours. Did something change?
4. I spoke to my advisor regarding my plans and he told me to make sure I was aware of the length of each program. Although, I will be applying to other programs like Emory, UAB and so on, none of them have tropical medicine. They all have epidemiology and they are not one year. They are one year and a half to two years. This is another reason I really want to go to Tulane. So, you will be completing your degree in one year?
5. What would you recommend I do to help out my application if there is anything?
6. Last question but not least, how have your classes been? Hard? Interesting? Easy? Time consuming? How are the labs as well?
Sorry for bombarding you with questions, but I can't find anyone else to answer my questions that is attending Tulane currently.

 

[OneDay81]

No, it is 42 hours. The one for medical professionals might be shorter. The coursework can definitely be finished in a year, but there are requirements in additional to the coursework which may throw you over the one year mark. I know it is in my case, but I am in a different dept, so hopefully HSU will chime in about how she is handling that aspect of the program.

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