MPH and MD School App Timeline

[DareDevil929]

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Hey everyone,

I was a public health major in undergrad and want to pursue an MPH before going to medical school. However, I'm taking my MCAT in January and applying in the coming cycle.

If I start an MPH program this coming Fall, will this push me behind in the coming MD cycle? I'm assuming that I will be pushed back because MD schools will want a recommendation from my MPH program and I'm assuming I will not get a recommendation until after the first semester of my MPH program is complete.

Do any of you have experience with this issues? All thoughts and comments are welcome.

 

[Selah]

If you do an MPH before you enroll in med school, at most American schools it will take you 2 years to get the degree. If, however, you enroll in med school and then arrange to do a combined MD-MPH, it will be a 1 year program--so a total of 5 years. My understanding is that now a few med schools in the US make it possible to get an MD and MPH in a total of 4 years. Another option you might consider is to go to England and do an MPhil at Oxford or Cambridge--which would be a one year program. (But then it would be difficult to interview for med school since you would be overseas.) Some wait to do an MPH until residency as a 1 year MPH is part of a Preventive Medicine residency or Occupational/Environmental Health residency. Think carefully through all these options, because tuition is not cheap.

 

[LizzyM]

Some residency & fellowship programs include an MPH (and not just preventive medicine & aerospace medicine/occupational medicine) and in some cases the cost is covered 100%! The longer you wait, the more you can tailor your courses and field work to your specific area of expertise; on the other hand, the sooner you acquire the knowledge and skills the sooner you can use it to impress your superiors and advance your career.

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[DareDevil929]

Thank you to both posters!

Does anyone know how much the delay of starting an MPH program and waiting for a recommendation would affect my MD timeline?

I know that most MD schools will want me to finish the MPH before starting med school in the vast majority of MPH programs that are 2 years long. In this scenario, I wouldn't even apply to MD schools until I've received recommendations from my MPH program and until my first year of my MPH program was complete.

My question of whether to apply to MD schools while in my first year of MPH program was more directed toward 1-year MPH programs.

Thanks again!