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Is the MPH really a good stand alone degree? I've seen it discussed a couple of times on here, but I can't find the thread. I'd like to hear everyone's opinions on this.
MPH degree
- Thread starter bbas
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I'm pretty sure there are other here who are better qualified to talk about when an MPH is all thats needed. But there are a number of situations where it is not that I have some knowledge of:
- you want to do research, and a doctoral-level degree (MD, PhD, PharmD, PsyD, etc) is practically required
- you want to practice a clinical discipline, so you need an MD, DO, RN, PharmD, etc
- you need another skill set beyond that covered in the MPH program. As an example, right now a large local hospital is looking to hire an MPH to their pharmaceutic board to add a population/prevention perspective. A smaller hospital could not afford to hire this additional person, so a PharmD who has an MPH as well would be desirable.
- you want to be the head or upper-level administrator of a larger public health organization (this is where my knowledge gets stretched pretty thin)
I've also heard some talk back in my program about the MPH being a more suitable "stand alone" or terminal degree than an MS (assuming both are in the same field), as the MPH typically requires a field project that is more "real world" whereas an MS tends to be more theoretical and research-based. This was said in conjuntion with the idea that many PhD programs (in epi) prefer MPH grads to MS grads, as the PhD will cover much of what the MS covers and thus the MPH adds something that the PhD does not.
I'm curious to hear other people's thoughts - I'm more or less out of the traditional public health loop since I tend to get lost in my own little world of clinical epi research and rotations.
- you want to do research, and a doctoral-level degree (MD, PhD, PharmD, PsyD, etc) is practically required
- you want to practice a clinical discipline, so you need an MD, DO, RN, PharmD, etc
- you need another skill set beyond that covered in the MPH program. As an example, right now a large local hospital is looking to hire an MPH to their pharmaceutic board to add a population/prevention perspective. A smaller hospital could not afford to hire this additional person, so a PharmD who has an MPH as well would be desirable.
- you want to be the head or upper-level administrator of a larger public health organization (this is where my knowledge gets stretched pretty thin)
I've also heard some talk back in my program about the MPH being a more suitable "stand alone" or terminal degree than an MS (assuming both are in the same field), as the MPH typically requires a field project that is more "real world" whereas an MS tends to be more theoretical and research-based. This was said in conjuntion with the idea that many PhD programs (in epi) prefer MPH grads to MS grads, as the PhD will cover much of what the MS covers and thus the MPH adds something that the PhD does not.
I'm curious to hear other people's thoughts - I'm more or less out of the traditional public health loop since I tend to get lost in my own little world of clinical epi research and rotations.
