Who's choosing PROGRAM over SCHOOL ?

[paristokyo]

I'm sure everybody is agonizing to make the "right choice" and thought maybe those of you who's in the same boat as me could discuss over few issues I have right now..

My current top choices are Emory and NYU. NY wins hands down over ATL for me, personally, but the living cost is a huge factor.. Also, while I think Emory is perfect in every single way who can offer probably just about everything within their school of public health, NYU's class offering through their other schools (med school and wagner - their top-ranked public service school) definitely attracts me. I thought I had my heart set on epidemiology but I've been leaning a lot towards more of healthcare management and health economics these days, so I want to have the option of exploring.

What worries me is that NYU's MPH program is just a program. I come from a large (I mean, LARGE) public undergrad, so I would definitely appreciate the small class size, but, forgive me if I'm just being naive, I would think that an established School of Public Health like Rollins would be able to provide so much more assistance and resource.

Money-wise, I did get a little bit of aid from NYU, which would probably cover the living cost difference, so I think the cost will even out.

Is there anyone here who is going to choose, or has chosen and currently attending, a program over a school? I would love some feedback!

Thank you guys!

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[MsMPH12]

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[MsMPH12]

EDIT:

I'm still deciding between schools too, but one main point that helped me narrow down between acceptances is job prospects. The fact that some job opportunities are only available to students with a degree from a School of Public Health and NOT a program of public health, can impact your career outlook as well as the ability to move up wherever you end up working. Just my two cents, hope it helps!

 

[OneDay81]

Do you have examples msmph? I've only looked at USPHS, since I figured it would probably be representative of federal jobs in general.

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[RAMPA]

I'm sure everybody is agonizing to make the "right choice" and thought maybe those of you who's in the same boat as me could discuss over few issues I have right now..

My current top choices are Emory and NYU. NY wins hands down over ATL for me, personally, but the living cost is a huge factor.. Also, while I think Emory is perfect in every single way who can offer probably just about everything within their school of public health, NYU's class offering through their other schools (med school and wagner - their top-ranked public service school) definitely attracts me. I thought I had my heart set on epidemiology but I've been leaning a lot towards more of healthcare management and health economics these days, so I want to have the option of exploring.

What worries me is that NYU's MPH program is just a program. I come from a large (I mean, LARGE) public undergrad, so I would definitely appreciate the small class size, but, forgive me if I'm just being naive, I would think that an established School of Public Health like Rollins would be able to provide so much more assistance and resource.

Money-wise, I did get a little bit of aid from NYU, which would probably cover the living cost difference, so I think the cost will even out.

Is there anyone here who is going to choose, or has chosen and currently attending, a program over a school? I would love some feedback!

Thank you guys!

If you want to stay in NYC and are interested in healthcare management Wagners MPA in HP&M is a very strong program.

Or you can do the combined MPA/MPH program
http://mph.nyu.edu/academics/dual-degrees/mpamph.html

 

[MsMPH12]

Yeah it's mostly federal jobs & fellowships that I was talking about.

For example:
http://fellowships.asph.org/programs/index.cfm

Do you have examples msmph? I've only looked at USPHS, since I figured it would probably be representative of federal jobs in general.

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[OneDay81]

Yeah it's mostly federal jobs & fellowships that I was talking about.

For example:
http://fellowships.asph.org/programs/index.cfm

Thanks for the link. I hadn't looked at that before.

To the OP, in light of how going for a program could POSSIBLY limit your eligibility for certain opportunities or employment, you MAY want to go with the SPH.

 

[aerorun87]

Paristokyo - you said that one pro to NYU is the ability to take classes in other schools. Emory allows you to take classes in all their other schools except the med school.

 

[Stories]

Yeah it's mostly federal jobs & fellowships that I was talking about.

For example:
http://fellowships.asph.org/programs/index.cfm

To be fair, that is an ASPH-sponsored training fellowship. It's one way that the ASPH tries to entice people to go to a member school (which schools pay dues to be a part of and be accredited). That would likely be the only circumstance where a SPH is required over just a PHP (Public Health program).

One of the stingiest employers, the federal government, only ask for an accredited (by agencies recognized by US Department of Ed, eg. CEPH) degree.

 

[OneDay81]

OP- Have you read this thread?
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=890949

 

[ATLPCV]

I think stories is right.

I saw this question on this forum before (on that thread you just posted) and went researching because I'm also deciding between a school and a program. I looked specifically at a couple of federal fellowships/opportunities, the CDC ones in particular, and it doesn't look like it necessarily matters whether it's a school or a program, as long as it's CEPH accredited. The link that was posted earlier is to the Association of SCHOOLS of PH website. THEIR fellowships require you to have a degree from an ASPH SCHOOL. But if you look at some other federal fellowships, on the CDC's website for example, they don't say anything like that and make no mention of ASPH. In fact, the CDC/CSTE Applied Epi is listed on that ASPH fellowship list, but the page for the program itself makes no mention of ASPH. Fellowships on the CDC page just say things like…

CDC/CSTE Applied Epi: "An MPH, MSPH, MS in epidemiology, or an equivalent degree or advanced degree in a health related field"
CDC Public Health Prevention Service : "Master's degree in public health or management related fields from an accredited college or university"

On the CDC/CSTE fellowship page you can actually download profiles of those admitted, and you can find some that went to programs. Like in the most recent profile, one of them went to Virginia Commonwealth – a PROGRAM that's not seen in the US News and whatever rankings. There were some others too if you want to go look.

CDC/CSTE Applied Epi page : http://www.cste.org/dnn/ProgramsandActivities/FellowshipPrograms/tabid/259/Default.aspx
List of schools and programs: http://www.ceph.org/pdf/Master_List.pdf

I'm sure there are some advantages to choosing a school over a program, such as the ability to take advantage of ASPH fellowships, but I don't think going to a program is going to bar you from federal employment/fellowships.

 

[ATLPCV]

Oops, double posted.

 

[KimsterCC]

I've made my decision between a program (Tufts) and a school (BU) and chose the program. I'm coming from a small liberal arts college and I would like to maintain the small class sizes I'm used to plus accessibility to faculty. My decision was also influenced by the fact that the school of the program I'm attending has a Veterinary school that I hope to attend after I obtain my MPH. So the decision was rather simple for me.

I think you need to look pass the whole program vs. school aspect and see what each school can do for you on it's own, and if it fits into your future career goals. Location is important but so is access to opportunities that tailor to your needs. Tufts has DVM/MPH students in their program so I'm rather certain that I will be able to find internship/fellowship opportunities that interest me. I wish you all the best in your decision!