Prospective Fall 2014 MBA/ MPH or MPH Candidate

Graduate School
1

<p>I graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in Summer 2011 and have been working in the nonprofit sector the past two years (internships and paid positions). Right now, I'm considering going back to get my MPH and considering schools such as Johns Hopkins, Emory, and GW. I'm also considering larger publics like UNC, Berkeley or Michigan, as I went to a large, top public research university for undergrad as well as a smaller, top 40 private university, and I find that I work better in smaller environments. </p>

<p>Right now, I'm not too sure how strong my chances are for admission to top programs. As far as my statistics go, my overall combined GPA is a 3.4 GPA. I majored in International Business at my first university and excelled academically (3.8 GPA) but was forced to switch over to social sciences after I was denied by the business school after my first semester at UNC. Due to personal reasons, I was not able to perform at my highest potential at UNC and wound up with a GPA in the low 3.0 range. Will schools consider this? I have not taken my GREs yet, but I'm confident that I can perform well on these. Not a perfect score, but definitely above average.</p>

<p>Aside from my quantitative credentials, I was heavily involved in a lot of health-related organizations and held numerous leadership roles. Disease prevention has been a huge interest to me and is evident in my past internships and work experience with some of the best nonprofit organizations that work to advocate and fundraise for research and education.</p>

<p>My main interest lies in global health, which is why I'm really being pulled towards applying to Boston University's Global Health & Healthcare Management Dual MBA/MPH degree program. Are there any other universities that offer similar foci? Living close to Washington, D.C., I'm strongly considering Johns Hopkins, though I do not think they have a program as tailored to my needs as BU. </p>

<p>I have a lot to offer a program. Traveled extensively throughout Asia, Europe, and the Middle East; have a story to tell; will have two and a half years of solid professional experience interning and working for some of the most notifiable nonprofit health brands within their development, fundraising and marketing communication departments, and dedicated much of my my undergraduate leadership to health-related initiatives. </p>

<p>Any help would be greatly appreciated.</p>

2

<p>First, remember that graduate school is different than undergrad. Even if you go to larger universities, the programs will be smaller and you won’t be in huge survey classes like you were in undergrad, with the exception of the five core courses - epidemiology, biostatistics, social & behavioral sciences in public health, environmental health sciences and health policy and management - because everyone has to take those. But they will be large regardless of whether you go to JHU or Emory vs. Berkeley or Michigan. I go to Columbia for public health and they were held in lecture halls.</p>

<p>Your GPA is fine. MPH programs don’t require astronomical GPAs; they really look at your internship and work experiences during college and beyond. If you were involved in a lot of health-related orgs in college and have a strong interest in disease prevention, you have good chances. </p>

<p>JHU does offer an MBA/MPH dual program, by the way. And Johns Hopkins has strengths in global health. Remember that just because a program has a name slapped on it doesn’t mean it’s the best, and conversely, just because a program lacks a specific label doesn’t mean it can’t get you where you want to go. Look at the course offerings - JHU has strong global health faculty and worldwide recognition. It IS the number one school of public health, after all. Berkeley and Emory also offer an MBA/MPH.</p>

<p>Dartmouth has a top-notch business school and offers a joint MPH/MBA. Their MPH is a program, though, not in a school - public health at Dartmouth is administered through the med school. Still, Dartmouth has a strength in health and medicine. The University of Virginia offers a similar program at their Darden school of business. University of Illinois of Chicago also has an MBA/MPH.</p>

<p>Columbia offers a dual MPH/MPA program with the School for International and Public Affairs (SIPA). Here you can earn a certificate in global health, concentrate in global health, and our global health offerings are pretty strong. Students routinely go on to do consulting or government work.</p>

<p>Tulane also has an MBA/MHA program that is offered through the department of Global Health Systems and Development. Tulane has a strong focus on global health. The MHA is more of a health administration degree, but you may prefer that and you can certainly take public health courses: [Tulane</a> University - Programs and Degrees - Global Health Systems and Development](<a href=“http://tulane.edu/publichealth/ghsd/gshd_programs.cfm]Tulane”>http://tulane.edu/publichealth/ghsd/gshd_programs.cfm)</p>

<p>The University of Washington offers an MPH in Global Health with a concentration in Leadership, Policy, and Management: [Educational</a> Programs by Degree | UW School of Public Health](<a href=“http://sph.washington.edu/prospective/edprograms_degree.asp]Educational”>School of Public Health | University of Washington) - as well as an MHA program.</p>

<p>NYU Wagner also offers a joint MPA/MBA program with Stern. You can focus on health policy at Wagner, and it’s one of the top-ranked health policy programs in the country.</p>

3

<p>Thanks, Juillet. Please check your PM. As of now, Johns Hopkins and Emory sound like the best fit programs for my interests and personal goals.</p>

4

<p>Does USC have a dual degree program and if so, how is it ranked?</p>

5

<p>Application deadlines are getting closer and closer. My first one, Hopkins’ MBA/MPH is due on December 1. I’m considering to apply to Georgetown and Duke’s program MSc in Global Health program. Can anyone speak to the difference between the Msc and MPH programs? Will it allow me to gain the same skill sets ad prepare me for high chances at obtaining a position in global health consulting?</p>