Learning About A Master of Public Health

Are you interested in earning a public health graduate degree but not sure which one to take? When it comes to the field of public health masters programs, there are various graduate and post graduate degrees that are available. Two kinds of degrees can be obtained in this field namely an MS in public health or a master of public health.

The Master of Public Health is a professional terminal degree aiming to provide comprehensive public health master’s education. When it comes to MPH programs, these are centered on public health and graduating from these courses can lead to a job in the public health sector. When it comes to this, you can choose to specialize in areas like occupational health, epidemiology, or community health if you prefer.

All MPH students should complete at least one core course in all major areas of public health degree. In this case, graduating from the course means that you have to engage in fieldwork or prepare a thesis to serve as your culminating requirement. When it comes to a Master of Public Health, this is something bestowed upon a student by the Graduate School of Public Health.

Students can have varying undergraduate disciplines and still be able to participate in such programs. Most of the time, the students that engage in these programs are undergraduates. In some cases, MPH degrees are reserved to the people who are holders of doctorate degrees.

The stringency of admission to MPH programs may vary from institution to institution. In some facilities, admission is only pegged at around 35%. For these kinds of programs, you have to maintain a 50th-percentile on every GRE section and of course possess a 3.0 undergraduate GPA.

A Master of Public Health degree usually takes two years for full-time study. For those who have PhDs, they can engage in this type of program through various accelerated programs that only call for 12 months of studying. If you will be pursuing further education, financial assistance might not be readily available.

For those who want to delve into professional research efforts, a master's of science in forms such as MS, MSc, ScM, or MSPH is available. A particular focus can be chosen at first but students can delve into things outside of their specialization. If you engage in a Master of Science in Public Health, you will be able to participate in academic research and still learn through PH courses.

When it comes to public health, if you want to pursue a career path in this field, do not pursue the Master of Science. This kind of profession relies on the ability of people to develop and enhance their skills with the help of interdisciplinary education. Dissertations are always part of the game when it comes to this.

If you are really interested in taking an MS program, you can pursue higher learning in the form of academic doctoral programs such as PhD or ScD as the requirements will be the same across the board. Usual programs take two years for coursework and dissertation/thesis. No other body but the School of Art and Sciences can confer something like an MS.

The thing about these courses is that both of them are relevant but MS programs are simply more intense than Master of Public Health programs and the acceptance rate for the former is smaller as well. Slight variations exist when it comes to acceptance rates. MS students will occasionally receive financial aid or funding for their degree under a faculty member’s project grant or training grant, although is not common.