Harvard SM2?

[topshine]

Hey everyone,

I was looking into Harvard's SM2 program in epi, and I was wondering how many years 80 credits translates to. Is this like most other MPH programs that are completed in 2 years?

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[364462]

Hey everyone,

I was looking into Harvard's SM2 program in epi, and I was wondering how many years 80 credits translates to. Is this like most other MPH programs that are completed in 2 years?

It will take 2 years. That is what the "2" means. Needless to say SM1 means 1 year of coursework.

 

[ratonlaveur]

Yup, 2 years, or if you want to be specific, 1 year and 9 months. You could cram extra courses in and finish in less, but I never knew anyone who did that, plus your fees only pay for 20 units per 16-week semester - anything you take over the limit (or during summer session) will cost you ~$900/unit.

 

[topshine]

thanks!

I was also wondering how interdisciplinary Harvard's SM program is- if I want to concentrate on Epidemiology, would I be able to take classes on health policy? I know this is required of other MPH programs, but I don't know how a master's of science would work.

 

[ratonlaveur]

The curriculum is very loose - about half of your units go to required courses, which lean toward methodology and quantitative things. You have to choose an area of specialization within the dep't and most have a few required courses, so that will take up a few more units, and then there's some units for working on your thesis, but you'd still have plenty of units left to take policy or other courses. So it's really up to you how you want to shape your curriculum (for me, I took intro courses to every other dep't in the school to get a more broad PH perspective). There's no required practicum/internship, but you can ofcourse do one if you want, over summer, or over the winter session which is 3-4 weeks.

 

[gumbyj]

Has anyone been accepted to the SM2 or is currently enrolled and can comment on the Epi or Health Management programs?

I was looking at tuition and it seems reallllly $$ 😱, can you work during the 2 year program?

How competitive is admissions?

 

[ratonlaveur]

The Epi program is fairly research and methodology oriented. At least when I was there (2009-2011), it was the most $$$ Epi Master's program and probably still is - you can work if you like, but it's strongly not recommended, as the course workload is heavier vs other schools. RA positions at the school won't pay much anyway - I had a part time job @ $17/hr. You can ofcourse try to find some other higher paying job elsewhere. Funding that isn't in the form of loans is rare for Master's students. Admissions rate for Masters is around the same as most other top SPH @ 30-40%. They publish stats on their web page: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/administrative-offices/admissions/stats/ Though don't know how much this may differ between departments.

 

[Shuffle]

Any idea how the Health Policy and Management SM2 program places in hospital positions? I'm looking into the management track and It's hard to tell from the career services website if the represented organizations are for the SM2 candidates. I don't see many administrative fellowships being secured, but considering HSPH has a work experience requirement their students might be bypassing fellowships. Thanks.