So the doctoral program I will be starting offers an option of staying an additional year and getting your masters in public health as well. How exactly would one use this dual degree? I'm specifically interested in neuropsychology of aging and dementia. If I would like to focus on research then an MPH would not be of much use to me, correct? Just wanted to make sure I'm not missing something since it looks like you would need to declare this fairly early.
PhD/PsyD PhD/MPH option
- Thread starter cch0113
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It probably depends in large part on your career plans afterward. I can see how some of the research methodologies and related statistical techniques you might learn in focusing on things such as epidemiology, healthcare utilization, etc., could be very relevant to any area of psychology (including neuropsych). If it were me, I'd give it some serious consideration if it seemed possible to still get through the program in 5+1 years.
Thanks for the response! I would like to work primarily in research with some clinical duties, perhaps in a medical school or a VA. If so, would an MPH then make me more competitive in this field or would it just open up more options if I decided to steer away from research? Also, my program is technically a 4 +internship but almost no one in the neuropsych track does it in 4, so most likely the mph would make it so that I would be there for 6 +internship. Any thoughts?
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Is it something that essentially gets tacked on at the end, or do you need to declare your interest from day one? If the former, maybe meet with your advisor and get her/his thoughts on the matter. I don't know if it'll make you significantly more competitive for most positions, but personally, it just seems to me like something that would be pretty cool. And 6+1, while not ideal, isn't horrible, especially if the program is funded; it's essentially what I ended up doing (for various reasons), and I lived through it...although sadly, I don't have an additional MPH to show for it.
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I'm a huge fan of the PhD/MPH route, and I'm looking at a couple of programs that offer this dual program (USC, UF, etc.) I really think it would be interesting to have an MPH with a concentration in epidemiology alongside a PhD in clinical psych - I think that these two degrees would give someone a very unique perspective on both mental health & public health concerns. That's just me though - I'm not sure how useful the degree would be, but I have a feeling that agencies like CDC/WHO would be more inclined to hire someone with an MPH in addition to a PhD.
