Course-based MPH

[LeBronto2019]

I am planning to apply to MPH in Health Promotion at UofA then try for med school. Few questions regarding this decision:

 

1. Have people found it difficult to get a good GPA in this program or other course-based MPHs? Compared to thesis-based...

 

2. Would it be more beneficial for my future to do this program or do something statistical like Epi? I really do not enjoy research and hated stats so epi did not appeal at first.

 

3. Is it extremely valuable that I do a thesis masters vs. course based? I think this Health Promo program is really interesting and fits closely to my future aspirations. But UofA med and others add 1 point to med applications for thesis and many probably consider thesis (+ publications) to be much more important.

[mala]

I am planning to apply to MPH in Health Promotion at UofA then try for med school. Few questions regarding this decision:

 

1. Have people found it difficult to get a good GPA in this program or other course-based MPHs? Compared to thesis-based...

 

2. Would it be more beneficial for my future to do this program or do something statistical like Epi? I really do not enjoy research and hated stats so epi did not appeal at first.

 

3. Is it extremely valuable that I do a thesis masters vs. course based? I think this Health Promo program is really interesting and fits closely to my future aspirations. But UofA med and others add 1 point to med applications for thesis and many probably consider thesis (+ publications) to be much more important.

 

1. I'm doing a course-based MPH at UBC. It's not too difficult to get good grades (I have straight A's and held a part time job and did extra curriculars). It's tough work, but because I'm interested in what I'm doing, it doesn't seem so bad. Definitely less work than 4th year of an Honours undergrad.

 

2. Med schools seem to like research, especially from grad students. But they understand that some Masters are not research focused. Plus if you hate research/stats then you won't do well. I think it's better to go for something you like. Try to get involved in health promotion projects where possible.

 

3. Sort of answered in #2. Med schools like research and publications, but it's way better if you love your program. You will naturally be more invested in the program, get more out of it, and be drawn to projects that also look good on a med school application. And you never know - you could end up with a publication anyway!

 

Does the UofA MPH program have a practicum? UBC's program has one, and I found that extremely helpful. If UofA doesn't, you should still try and get work experience during your degree.

 

Best of luck!

[uoftpremed]

Hey! I am also thinking of doing an MPH. Is this a one-year program? Also, where did you do your practicum/ what kind of work did you do for your practicum if you don't mind me asking? Also was it paid? Sorry if these are intrusive! I am trying to see if UBC would be a fit for me and would appreciate your insight! Thanks

 

1. I'm doing a course-based MPH at UBC. It's not too difficult to get good grades (I have straight A's and held a part time job and did extra curriculars). It's tough work, but because I'm interested in what I'm doing, it doesn't seem so bad. Definitely less work than 4th year of an Honours undergrad.

 

2. Med schools seem to like research, especially from grad students. But they understand that some Masters are not research focused. Plus if you hate research/stats then you won't do well. I think it's better to go for something you like. Try to get involved in health promotion projects where possible.

 

3. Sort of answered in #2. Med schools like research and publications, but it's way better if you love your program. You will naturally be more invested in the program, get more out of it, and be drawn to projects that also look good on a med school application. And you never know - you could end up with a publication anyway!

 

Does the UofA MPH program have a practicum? UBC's program has one, and I found that extremely helpful. If UofA doesn't, you should still try and get work experience during your degree.

 

Best of luck!

[LeBronto2019]

1. I'm doing a course-based MPH at UBC. It's not too difficult to get good grades (I have straight A's and held a part time job and did extra curriculars). It's tough work, but because I'm interested in what I'm doing, it doesn't seem so bad. Definitely less work than 4th year of an Honours undergrad.

 

2. Med schools seem to like research, especially from grad students. But they understand that some Masters are not research focused. Plus if you hate research/stats then you won't do well. I think it's better to go for something you like. Try to get involved in health promotion projects where possible.

 

3. Sort of answered in #2. Med schools like research and publications, but it's way better if you love your program. You will naturally be more invested in the program, get more out of it, and be drawn to projects that also look good on a med school application. And you never know - you could end up with a publication anyway!

 

Does the UofA MPH program have a practicum? UBC's program has one, and I found that extremely helpful. If UofA doesn't, you should still try and get work experience during your degree.

 

Best of luck!

 

Yes, UofA does have a practicum or field work I believe. I think this would be much more interesting than working on a thesis. I've done research before but I would rather get my hands dirty out in the field than in a lab or office. I'm hoping to use Health Promo to help direct my clinical work (in med or opto) so doing research is not what I see myself doing anyways. I just thought I would look into UofA b/c I live in Edmonton, its School of Public Health got accredited last year, and it might be a cheaper alternative since I live here. UBC and SFU look great too so I should keep my options open! Thanks for the advice

 

http://www.publichealth.ualberta.ca/en/programs/mph_programs/mph_hp.aspx

[mala]

Hey! I am also thinking of doing an MPH. Is this a one-year program? Also, where did you do your practicum/ what kind of work did you do for your practicum if you don't mind me asking? Also was it paid? Sorry if these are intrusive! I am trying to see if UBC would be a fit for me and would appreciate your insight! Thanks

 

No problem! The UBC MPH program is 3 semesters of course work, and 1 semester of a practicum. So, if you do your practicum over the summer, you can be done in 1.5 years. A number of people opt to do an extra semester, since UBC offers so many interesting courses and Public Health is such a broad field.

 

I did my practicum at the BC Centre for Disease Control (a provincial government agency). I did some data analysis based on a chart review of patients in BC, and I did some program planning to implement a new diagnostic test in remote communities in BC. After my practicum I was offered a part time job to continue working on those projects, do some visits to communities. A number of MPH profs work at the BCCDC, so it was a very supportive place to do my practicum. I also got to shadow nurses in the downtown eastside, attend interesting grand rounds talks, etc.

 

Money-wise, the BCCDC typically doesn't pay for practicum students. Most students I know weren't paid. However, if you're not getting paid, UBC will give you $2500, so that's something, haha.

 

I've really enjoyed the program. There are strengths and weaknesses to it, but it's been a great experience for me.

 

Feel free to PM me if you have more questions!

[mala]

Yes, UofA does have a practicum or field work I believe. I think this would be much more interesting than working on a thesis. I've done research before but I would rather get my hands dirty out in the field than in a lab or office. I'm hoping to use Health Promo to help direct my clinical work (in med or opto) so doing research is not what I see myself doing anyways. I just thought I would look into UofA b/c I live in Edmonton, its School of Public Health got accredited last year, and it might be a cheaper alternative since I live here. UBC and SFU look great too so I should keep my options open! Thanks for the advice

 

http://www.publichealth.ualberta.ca/en/programs/mph_programs/mph_hp.aspx

 

The accreditation thing is nice - not many Canadian schools are accredited.

Health promo sounds like a good fit for you. It could definitely inform clinic work down the road, and would only look good on a med school application. Best of luck!

[Renoir]

UBC and SFU look great too so I should keep my options open! Thanks for the advice

 

From the Geography conferences I've attended, SFU MPH Grads are AMAZING! Very active and well-connected faculty.

 

The other thing to think about which I've been toying with as an alternative to med school (if I crash and burn this cycle) is a 4-year PhD in public health through U of A. It's more research-intensive, and it appears you can fairly easily get in post-UG.

 

Good luck, I'm interested to hear how applications go for you in January!

[LeBronto2019]

Great insight! I think a Ph.D. in Public Health would be great but I personally cannot see myself doing intensive research throughout my life or even for 4+ years. I hope to use MPH (especially being course-based for the field experience) to complement my clinical work in either family medicine or as backups, optometry or dietitian. I'm interested in work with inner city, rural, aboriginal, global health so i think i have more options in the future with these degrees.

[billguy]

Hello,

 

I hope that you dont mind me joining in on the conversation, but I too am interesed in doing a MPH over the next several years, and for those of you with familiar with Canadian MPH programs, was wondering if I could gain some insight.

 

Like some of you, I am interested in an MPH as I think it would be a great complement to an MD, and am interested in doing some work in the area of public health as my career allows.

 

My Questions:

 

What is this whole MPH accreditation thing? Is it important, and something that should be a determining factor? I do not think I will ever be a public health officer, but is this what it is for?

 

I would like to complete my MPH part time, through distance education while doing other things, like medical school. The only program that I know of in canada that offers this is the university of Victoria. Do any of you know about UVic's program? It doesn't seem to be a highly regarded one (like UBC, SFU or UofT), but flexibility would be more important than prestige for me.

 

Also, are there other MPH programs in canada that would enable part time & distance ed study?

 

Any other relevant comments that you may have would be awesome!

[jsn23]

The University of Waterloo MPH is almost entirely online. There are a few on-campus requirements. There is a sociobehavioral concentration and I believe the University is working on am environmental concentration as well.

 

The University of Alberta offers an online MPH in Health Promotion. It is the only program in Canada accredited by CEPH (Council on Education for Public Health).

 

Both programs require a four month internship sometime during your studies.

 

As far as CEPH accreditation, not sure how important it is in the long run, but U of A and Waterloo are solid schools. You can't really go wrong with either.

[mala]

UBC also has a sort of distance learning option called Distributed Learning. You have class over a weekend once a month, and everything else is online!