Typical costs for MPH programs

[twocentnews]

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I know it's hard to calculate since it's different for every school, but what is the average cost of attending a 2-year master's program for public health, tuition-wise?

What are some of the cheaper programs, and what are some of the more expensive ones? Which programs are worth the money you put into them?

 

[DrJosephKim]

In general, your private institutions will be more expensive compared to your state universities.

If you're willing and able to get your MPH part-time, then U Mass Amherst is one of the most affordable programs (for both the on-campus and online options).

 

[ratonlaveur]

It really varies a lot but when I was applying I made a chart of tuition costs for the schools I was thinking about and it was:

SDSU: $4,462
UC Berkeley: $14,214
UCLA: $14,206.50
Emory: $22,800
U of Washington: $23,519
USC: $25,000
Yale: $31,000
HSPH: $34,000
U of Michigan: $34,372

Ofcourse this will vary for others since the in-state public schools were obviously the cheapest for me (California) - and funding can change things quite a bit. e.g. UofM is more expensive than HSPH, but UofM offers much more funding for 2-year Master's programs. Cost of living, the largest part of which will likely be rent costs, also is a large part of the overall cost.

 

[twocentnews]

It really varies a lot but when I was applying I made a chart of tuition costs for the schools I was thinking about and it was:

SDSU: $4,462
UC Berkeley: $14,214
UCLA: $14,206.50
Emory: $22,800
U of Washington: $23,519
USC: $25,000
Yale: $31,000
HSPH: $34,000
U of Michigan: $34,372

Ofcourse this will vary for others since the in-state public schools were obviously the cheapest for me (California) - and funding can change things quite a bit. e.g. UofM is more expensive than HSPH, but UofM offers much more funding for 2-year Master's programs. Cost of living, the largest part of which will likely be rent costs, also is a large part of the overall cost.

Hey ratonlaveur, are those costs per semester or per academic year? And those are some of the same schools I was thinking about too, thanks for the info.

 

[ratonlaveur]

These are per year, academic costs only - some are for 2008-2009 and others for 2009-2010 so there's some margin of error there. Also, there are usually cost differences between a 2-year MS and a 2-year MPH program - with the MS being cheaper because a MPH is a professional degree - sometimes it's slight ($1K less at UofW for MS), and sometimes it's more ($5K less for MS at UCB and UCLA). Lastly, these #'s are for Epi programs only..

 

[abcabc1]

I know it's hard to calculate since it's different for every school, but what is the average cost of attending a 2-year master's program for public health, tuition-wise?

What are some of the cheaper programs, and what are some of the more expensive ones? Which programs are worth the money you put into them?

I agree that Public schools are less expensive than Private ones, assuming you're an in state resident. As you're seeing, many of the strong PH schools are private, so the cost can be high.

My sense was that two years' tuition at private PH schools can cost $ 40-55 K depending on how many credits you take and which specific school. It's quite costly.

IMO, you'll get the best return on your investment if you focus in the areas that are more quantitative/analytical, namely Biostats and Epidemiology.

 

[Stories]

SDSU: $4,462
UC Berkeley: $14,214
UCLA: $14,206.50
Emory: $22,800
U of Washington: $23,519
USC: $25,000
Yale: $31,000
HSPH: $34,000
U of Michigan: $34,372

Michigan really wants you to be a resident, huh? 😱

 

[Wiingy]

Michigan really wants you to be a resident, huh? 😱

Yeah but UMich is also fairly generous with financial aid (they gave me 25% scholarship, which made it cost as much as Emory) - and I have heard that it is easy to get major funding for the second year (like 75% to 100% of tuition covered) if you can rockstar the first year.

If funding is a big worry, talk to the schools once you've been accepted and see what they can do - it never hurts to ask, just be diplomatic about it.

No program is really worth a cost difference of 15k+ per year, IMHO - it's why I shot down Columbia (I think they wanted around 40k per year )

 

[Regression]

This thread is very informational.

I wrote off a lot of schools outside the UC system thinking the cost would actually be greater than that. Since I'm finishing my undergrad with only around $5k in debt, I may consider applying a lot more broadly to some OOS schools--$40k student debt isn't the worst thing in the world, is it? 😛

 

[Stories]

I have heard that it is easy to get major funding for the second year (like 75% to 100% of tuition covered) if you can rockstar the first year.

In what form? A straight up grant? As a RA or TA? I know it's not completely uncommon for MPH students to land jobs as an RA, although first priority is obviously given to PhD students for those kinds of things.

 

[MPHhopeful47]

Keep in mind that you won't just be paying for tuition. For both UCLA and Berkeley, the estimated cost of attendance (including living expenses) is about $35,000 per academic year. So for a two year degree without any funding, you'd borrow about $70,000.

Cost of living is definitely something to keep in mind - you'll pay a lot less in rent for Emory or UNC than you might at Columbia or Berkeley.

This thread is very informational.

I wrote off a lot of schools outside the UC system thinking the cost would actually be greater than that. Since I'm finishing my undergrad with only around $5k in debt, I may consider applying a lot more broadly to some OOS schools--$40k student debt isn't the worst thing in the world, is it? 😛

 

[Regression]

Actually, I'm lucky that my family lives in the LA suburbs and my brother's family lives in the bay area, so I'd be living at home and commuting if I were to go to either school.

 

[Wiingy]

In what form? A straight up grant? As a RA or TA? I know it's not completely uncommon for MPH students to land jobs as an RA, although first priority is obviously given to PhD students for those kinds of things.

RA's and TA's are not uncommon, there are also Dean's Awards and other named scholarships, but like I said you have to rockstar the first year.

 

[Stories]

RA's and TA's are not uncommon, there are also Dean's Awards and other named scholarships, but like I said you have to rockstar the first year.

Who knew? I was never aware you could earn a scholarship after enrolling. I guess lucky for me, I did my MPH while being a RA so I didn't have to worry about tuition.

 

[twocentnews]

Who knew? I was never aware you could earn a scholarship after enrolling. I guess lucky for me, I did my MPH while being a RA so I didn't have to worry about tuition.

How does applying for RA work? Do you wait til you get on campus, or is there other registration processes? And where did you go to school Stories?

 

[Regression]

Most schools ask you to apply for aid with your general applications; from there, top applicants are offered aid in the form of fellowships, tuition waivers, ra/ta'ships, loans. Some other programs have aid contingent on performance once you're in the program.

 

[Stories]

How does applying for RA work? Do you wait til you get on campus, or is there other registration processes? And where did you go to school Stories?

Varies by the school. At BU, you apply to RA positions as you would any other job: find the job posting and submit your resume/CV with a cover letter. Typically, you have to wait till you get on campus, otherwise you can't appear for an interview! At BU, any RA positions that are available at SPH, usually you need to be an enrolled MPH student. There are a very small number of RA positions people occupy as just employees.

I went to BU for my MPH, going to Yale for my PhD.

Most schools ask you to apply for aid with your general applications; from there, top applicants are offered aid in the form of fellowships, tuition waivers, ra/ta'ships, loans. Some other programs have aid contingent on performance once you're in the program.

RA's and TA's are first reserved for doctoral-level students. RA positions (at all schools I've communicated with) also require you to know professors before hand, so you typically don't get to be considered for these unless you're already an established student (again, usually first dibs to doctoral students). TA positions are definitely not given to incoming MPH students because there is no way they've taken the coursework necessary to be a suitable TA in a class. 2nd year MPH students can be TAs, though. Incoming doctoral-level students are often given TA positions from the get go because of familiarity with coursework (vast majority of all doctoral students in PH come in with a MPH).