Greetings one and all: I am presently thinking of studying for an MPH. I was wondering what the best schools might be. Thanks to all for replies in advance. Sage
Hi airtorn - That's a good list you linked us to, thanks. Sometimes I think about an MPH myself. I'd be interested to hear your impression of the A.T. Still program. Also, I've noticed that there is some divergence in the degree nomenclature. For example, the UMass program is in Public Health Practice, not Public Health. I am guessing that there is a difference but I'm unclear about what that difference might be. Can you provide any info on that issue? Hi 43 - It's not clear what you really mean when you say something like, "...what the best schools might be." Does "best" mean highest reputation? Does it mean the least expensive? Least/most requirements? In any case, I was surprised that airtorn's list included a university of London certificate program but did not include these two very relevant Masters degree programs: http://www.londonexternal.ac.uk/prospective_students/postgraduate/lshtm/public_health/index.shtml http://www.londonexternal.ac.uk/prospective_students/postgraduate/lshtm/epidemiology/index.shtml airtorn - please let me know.
There are a lot of good MPH programs out there (still trying to decide myself whether to pursue this). Here is the list from US News as a good starting point. http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/elearning/tables/pub_reg.htm
The public health practice part just describes the emphasis of the program. You will see MPHs in things like public health nursing, public health informatics, etc. Think of it like all the various focuses for a MBA - finance, management, etc.
I know also that UF, UWF, and I'm pretty sure FIU have online programs as well. Here is a question: Does it really matter if your MPH comes from a CEPH accredited school?
That is one of those 'it depends' questions. For me, it won't really hurt from an employment standpoint. I already work in a public health field with the military so the MPH is more along the lines of icing on the cake when it comes to finishing off my resume. There are some government agencies that require it but they are the exception and not the rule. The ones that comes to mind are being a public health officer with the Air Force or the Public Health Service. Where I do see it being a problem is if I ever get in a position to continue on with higher education. For example, I don't think I can do PhD work at OU's public health department because A.T. Still isn't CEPH.
If you want to work in a public health department where you will be competing for senior positions against other MPH holders who will undoubtedly have attended CEPH programs, then yes. It matters a great deal.
Interesting. It also seems to matter even if your program is accredited later on. (UF's MPH program is fairly new and not CEPH...yet) From the US Public Health Service Website: To be a health services officer, you also need the following: qualifying degree from a program that, at the time the degree was conferred, was accredited by the acceptable accrediting body for your discipline
