It's finally down to two schools for me: USC (Keck) and Brown (Alpert). Obviously there are a ton of variables to consider, but I was wondering if there are any significant differences between the two schools in terms of the global health programs and opportunities offered. It seems like Brown might have an edge, since they have a Scholarly Concentration in global health? Any input?
Global Health: USC vs Brown
- Thread starter Sizzles
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Go to Brown, definitely.
Sincerely, your friendly neighborhood USC waitlisted applicant. 😀
In all honesty, though, you can't go wrong with either and both of them will give you great opportunities to go abroad. Did you get a better "gut feeling" at either school? Is there a price difference? Are you more at home in a big city or a smaller, more suburban one? Do you care about weather?
Sincerely, your friendly neighborhood USC waitlisted applicant. 😀
In all honesty, though, you can't go wrong with either and both of them will give you great opportunities to go abroad. Did you get a better "gut feeling" at either school? Is there a price difference? Are you more at home in a big city or a smaller, more suburban one? Do you care about weather?
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Congratulations on two great options.
smiter, hahaha-Well i'm WL'ed at Alpert, so I'd push it the other way. 
But really, yeah, you should see what school you thought you'd FIT into better...not sure of USC's experience...but I know that Brown has decent international opportunities, but I'm not sure about global health necessarily.
But really, yeah, you should see what school you thought you'd FIT into better...not sure of USC's experience...but I know that Brown has decent international opportunities, but I'm not sure about global health necessarily.
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Regarding USC, you can see on the c/o 2016 FB page a few of the students that are enrolled in the Global Medicine program (http://keck.usc.edu/Education/Degrees_and_Programs/Master_of_Science_in_Global_Medicine.aspx). They'll probably know best what resources are available to med students (are you interested in earning an mph?). Also, if you are interested in EM there is an International Emergency Medicine Division that seems like something a med student could become involved with (http://keck.usc.edu/Education/Acade...mergency_Medicine/International_Division.aspx)
I guess I'd be able to help you better if you gave me a better idea of what you're looking for.
I guess I'd be able to help you better if you gave me a better idea of what you're looking for.
Thanks for the input. In response to questions: I am looking for a school with a lot of international health opportunities, which includes lectures, courses, research, electives/summers abroad, mentorship, etc. I'm not sure exactly how I want to be involved in global health (Doctors Without Borders? WHO? Start my own organization? etc etc), but I would like ample resources to explore the possibilites. I may end up pursuing an MPH but I haven't decided whether the extra year is worth it yet; as to specialty, I imagine it'll change but I envision IM (maybe infectious disease?) or EM. I currently live in Boston, so heading to Providence is a pretty easy move, but my girlfriend of 5 years will be starting a PhD in Oregon this fall so I was also sort of hoping to move to the West...
Any more thoughts or insight on the global health faculty or options available at either USC or Brown? Thanks again!
Any more thoughts or insight on the global health faculty or options available at either USC or Brown? Thanks again!
With regard to public health, I don't know. Both seem at the same tier. USC has an MPH program but not a public health school. I know that USC's global health master's seems like an smp in that its students take some classes with the med students and then some 'feed' into the m.d. program. From what a good friend at USC says, those global health kids are not perceived as being very interested in global health by medical school faculty and students. Some feel like the MGH students are using the program to get accepted to med school. I don't think that necessarily means anything about the strength of the global health faculty though.
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LOL @ The Mighty Smiter. You crack me up. I wish you the best of luck. One thing you might want to consider if you're interested in international medicine: LAC+USC treats one of the most culturally diverse patient populations in the academic medical sphere. I can't say too much about international opportunities for students though. I think you'd be better served by asking a current student, such as daisybuchanan (find her in the USC thread).
Where are you coming from, btw? If you're not a SoCal native, I'm sure you'll want to be one after you come to second-look and soak up some of that lovely April sunshine.
Haha, I'm from Minnesota, living the last three years in Boston, so when I interviewed at USC in early February I definitely appreciated the sunshine!
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Hi, I work for the USC Institute for Global Health and thought I'd suggest you to take a look at what our program offers. We are a resource on campus that promotes a multi-disciplinary approach to global health. We offer students grants to do research abroad and hold dozens of global health events each year, including our lecture series, Global Health Awareness Week and World Health Day LA.
At USC, you can major in global health and also pursue an MS in global medicine or MPH in global health leadership. Our institute works very closely with students who are interested in both research and paid internships and we have an active global health student club. All of these opportunities extend to medical students and a number of faculty at Keck are working internationally and with international patients in LA. If you'd like, visit globalhealth.usc.edu and check out our faculty and projects. You can also read about our students' travel experiences at uscglobalhealth.blogspot.com. Best of luck in making your decision!
At USC, you can major in global health and also pursue an MS in global medicine or MPH in global health leadership. Our institute works very closely with students who are interested in both research and paid internships and we have an active global health student club. All of these opportunities extend to medical students and a number of faculty at Keck are working internationally and with international patients in LA. If you'd like, visit globalhealth.usc.edu and check out our faculty and projects. You can also read about our students' travel experiences at uscglobalhealth.blogspot.com. Best of luck in making your decision!
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I'm graduating this May from the MPH Global Health Leadership track so I can give you pretty good insight in to this. The MS in Global Health is pretty much an SMP and the students treat it as such. You do have a couple of classes that do focus on global health but the bulk of the classes are the ones taken with medical students (i.e. Core Systems I). If you're looking for a degree, this is the best approach.
On the other hand, the MPH option allows three Global Health Leadership core courses with one elective but only one of those were considered useful by myself and my peers: PM 525 taught by Dr. Baezconti. In addition, you have PM 508 Comparative Health Care Systems taught by Dr Stevens where you learn about other countries' healthcare programs. In my opinion, those were the only two classes worth taking. Unfortunately, to be successful in the program, you have to be a serious brown-noser.
My advice to you would be to find a way to cherry pick these classes and just get involved with any global organization (i.e. Operation Smile's founders are surgeons at USC). You don't need the classes to be successful.
On the other hand, the MPH option allows three Global Health Leadership core courses with one elective but only one of those were considered useful by myself and my peers: PM 525 taught by Dr. Baezconti. In addition, you have PM 508 Comparative Health Care Systems taught by Dr Stevens where you learn about other countries' healthcare programs. In my opinion, those were the only two classes worth taking. Unfortunately, to be successful in the program, you have to be a serious brown-noser.
My advice to you would be to find a way to cherry pick these classes and just get involved with any global organization (i.e. Operation Smile's founders are surgeons at USC). You don't need the classes to be successful.
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