So I am looking to start grad school. I have bachelors in public health and I would like to apply to an MPH program with the hopes of working as a field epidemiologist, tracking infectious disease and helping in the prevention of STDs. I do not want to go back into school. I deal with some anxiety and while I find large classes enjoyable it’s the smaller ones that get to me. So wanting to avoid all of this and not being able to find a school within my area or at least one that I can commute to and also working full time I have considered online school.
I have a handful of schools that I am interested in but the problem that I am coming across is the tuition. The tuition for the schools range from 25,000 to 64,000. I do have a connection or two where I can find some way to attend grad school for no cost however, I am not too thrilled about the curriculum at this particular university. I really want to enjoy my coursework and learn because I really do enjoy studying.
The schools that I have found are all accredited and they are below in order of preference. The dollar amount beside the name is the cost for the entire program.
Johns Hopkins- 64,400 (20% in class)
University of South Florida $24,420
University of Southern California $81,451
University of New England 35,320
University of Arizona 40,000 to 50,000
Any thoughts on these schools? or Any thoughts on this decision?
Hi @Student86 didn’t you write in earlier about the Johns Hopkins program and online degrees? You had asked about whether you felt you’d be accepted based on your GPA?
I find it hard to imagine that a public health job would be worth going into debt like this. Online degrees have an outrageous drop-out rate, besides.
Please look at my earlier post about this. I posted links where you could resarch basic facts about how likely you were to end up in debt with no job–or a poorly paid job at best.
The only course of action I would recommend is to do the free programs. To go into about $100K or more debt for an online degree for a job that pays maybe $40K a year if you find a job in that field, seems unwise.
Truth be told, many fine institutions are putting forward online degrees knowing that very few people actually finish the programs and they take in the tuition dollars. It borders on Trump U for irresponsibility to my mind. This may sound harsh, but accredited does not mean you will finish the program, especially with your other obligations. Many accredited schools have dismal graduation rates.
Before you decide, you owe it to yourself to do basic research into–
- Graduation rates from the programs. Call and ask. Find out if they report to a database of some sort.
- Salary level for public health workers in your area
- Are there jobs for this in your area?
I would work on your anxiety issues, then make a decision about your education. The anxiety may get in the way of doing fieldwork - which involves going into new locations, situations, meeting new people, etc. In addition, your chosen field requires a level of comfort discussing uncomfortable topics with these new people that you may not have: If you can’t sit in a classroom and have a discussion as a student, could you sit at a conference table lead a discussion about STD’s as an MPH? You don’t want to get an expensive education and then not be able to use it.
Why do you want or need the MPH? You need to clearly define that.
Will it lead to a better job? How soon? Are you currently working in a place where the MPH will get you that promotion, or are you looking at the MPH as way out of your current situation?
How is the program organized? Can you complete the coursework one-at-a-time, and finish the degree on your own schedule, or are you put into a cohort, and expected to complete the program in a certain number of months?
If you are currently working in the field, and plan to use the MPH to move up, then find out if your current employers care or not about where you complete the degree. If you just need those letters after your name, and the institution doesn’t matter, then go with USF.
I completed a masters degree (not MPH) entirely online. It was the right choice for me. I do not recommend online coursework for anyone who needs human contact while they are learning the material. You need to have a lot more self-discipline and organization than you do for live classes. There are a lot of deadlines, and there may be a certain number of team projects that you will need to complete using online tools for collaboration. So be sure that you understand how the classes will work (it really, truly is OK to ask!!!). Some of that might make you just as anxious as small in-person classes.
Hi Dusty, yes you did write an extremely helpful and informative post. I asked this question again because I wanted some more answers to see what others thought. You did make a great point about going into debt for a job that would only pay 40k or so if that. I already owe 36,000 and adding on to that seems ludicrous I know. I am going to take your advice. I guess I figure if I have the MPH I will be all set financially and career wise.
You’re absolutely, absolutely right about this. I’ve thought about this too. This is “public” health and quite frankly I don’t think I have the ability to lead discussions and or make presentations. I did some presentations in undergrad and the first one was terrible, terrible, terrible and the others were ok. I see the person I want to be but I don’t have the courage to do it. I feel the ability to talk and be comfortable around groups of people is something that comes within. I don’t think I can do it. So, maybe I better just rethink things before I get deeper into debt. Thank you for your honest answer.