Liberty University MPH

[YummyOstrich]

Hello all,

I have recently been accepted into the residential MPH program at Liberty University. The program applied for CEPH accreditation this past fall and will be reapplying for accreditation this fall with the recommended changes having been made to the program. I have been told that my degree will be accredited even if I enter the program before they receive CEPH accreditation. My main concern is that this will not be the case. I have also been promised that there would be an epidemiology concentration available by the time I have finished my core curriculum, however, I do not see any signs of this actually happening.

I am in bit of tough spot because I had initially planned on studying on the epi track but the program did not get accredited and the epi concentration is not yet available. I would have applied to other schools but I am able to attend Liberty for free. This late in the year it seems like I could only get into a few schools and I would need to pay for the programs. I have a lot of interest in continuing my education and focusing on epi and or environmental health, but I am struggling with the thought of having to pay for most of it if I do not need to.

I trying to find a entry level job so that I gain some experience for the time being. I am not having much luck because the majority of my experiences are in behavioral health research that I participated in for networking purposes. I am starting to think I should just keep looking for a job in the field and put off my MPH until accreditation comes through or I have a chance to apply to another school and hope for a teaching assistantship. Any advice to a soon to be graduate would be greatly appreciated!

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[wwmmkk]

I think your instinct to wait a year is absolutely right. I don't know your stats, but you could probably get into much better programs and save more to afford them. Don't worry too much about getting a job that is super related to public health since you've got research experience-- just get something that will build your professional skills and pay the bills.

 

[YummyOstrich]

I think your instinct to wait a year is absolutely right. I don't know your stats, but you could probably get into much better programs and save more to afford them. Don't worry too much about getting a job that is super related to public health since you've got research experience-- just get something that will build your professional skills and pay the bills.

Thanks for the reply. I'll have a 3.33 when I graduate. My gpa is mostly weighed down by an F and two Ds in 4 credit science classes from the beginning of my college career. My other science and all of my public health grades are stellar. I haven't taken the GRE yet but I don't think it will cause me much trouble. I've also applied for a few environmental health specialist jobs that I qualify for. I'm considering doing NOVA online for epi, seeing as relocating may not be a reasonable thing for me to do in the next year, especially to be on a grad assistants benefits.

 

[wwmmkk]

Yeah, you'll be totally fine applying in a year with a good GRE, a decent GPA, and some work & research experience. You can always explain the early poor grades.

If you look through the forum, people have mixed opinions on online programs and generally caution people who want to be full time public health professionals against them since it can make networking really tough. I think they make sense for people who are already working deep in the field or MDs/other professionals who are just resume padding. But I'd pick a CEPH accredited online program over this Liberty offer for sure.