Individuals and A Master of Public Health

Are you confused when it comes to viable options for a public health graduate degree? There are many public health masters programs available, both professional and academic, at master and doctoral levels. You might encounter an MS or a master of public health but these two degree programs are not the same.

When it comes to a Master of Public Health, this is a program that helps students develop the necessary knowledge in the public health field. Public health is an industry that can be delved into by people who are able to graduate from MPH programs as these focus mainly on this industry. Community, environmental, and occupational health are some of the areas that you can center your studies on when it comes to a public health degree.

A couple of core subjects have to be taken by people who engage in MPH degree courses. 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.

Most schools accept students who graduated from different undergraduate disciplines. Most of the time, the students that engage in these programs are undergraduates. There are schools that offer an MPH degree to doctorate degree holders only.

The stringency of admission to MPH programs may vary from institution to institution. In some facilities, admission is only pegged at around 35%. It is tremendously important for a 50th-percentile on every GRE section to be obtained by all MPH students and a 3.0 GPA is also mandatory.

If you will be studying as a full time student, you can complete a Master of Public Health degree in two years. 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.

The Master of Science (MS, MSc, ScM, MSPH) is an academic research degree intended for those who want to obtain qualitative and quantitative skills to become expert researchers. Even if you choose to participate in a certain specialization, your coursework will not be limited to that area of expertise. 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.

You should rethink taking up the Master of Science if your intention is to become a professional in public health. This kind of profession relies on the ability of people to develop and enhance their skills with the help of interdisciplinary education. Prior to completing the program, you need to work on a thesis or defense.

Options like academic doctoral programs such as PhD or ScD can be valuable to someone with an MS program in mind as the focus will be somewhat similar. Two years is what you need for the coursework and there is a dissertation prior to graduation. The thing about an MS degree is that the body that confers it is actually the School of Art and Sciences.

When you compare Master of Public Health programs with MS programs, the latter is much more competitive not to mention hard to get into especially because of the requirements for course completion. Admission is not something that is consistent across the board though. 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.