UofT MPH Epidemiology?

[rennalie]

 I'm planning to do an MPH before I reapply to medical school.  I'm a little nervous about what this MPH will be like.   

Is there anyone here that can tell me their experiences doing an MPH Epidemiology at UofT? 

Did you like it? Did it better equip you for med school? What was the course load like? The practicums? 

Anything would be so helpful, thank you!

 

[catchlynall]

Hey there,

I did the MPH at UofT in Health Promotion, but I knew some of the epi students. My impression of the epi program at UofT is that it is excellent. My colleagues are holding great jobs in public health units, research centres, etc. As far as progressing into med, I'm not too sure. 

The practicums for these programs are a great experience. The epi practicums are almost always paid. The course load in Health Promotion was manageable. I spent some times stressing about papers, and other times chilling. (But there were lots of readings in HP).

I think an MPH-epi is a pretty interesting path to take to med school! It will definitely give you broader population-level and social determinants of health lenes through which to view health and disease.

 

[rennalie]

5 minutes ago, catchlynall said:

Hey there,

I did the MPH at UofT in Health Promotion, but I knew some of the epi students. My impression of the epi program at UofT is that it is excellent. My colleagues are holding great jobs in public health units, research centres, etc. As far as progressing into med, I'm not too sure. 

The practicums for these programs are a great experience. The epi practicums are almost always paid. The course load in Health Promotion was manageable. I spent some times stressing about papers, and other times chilling. (But there were lots of readings in HP).

I think an MPH-epi is a pretty interesting path to take to med school! It will definitely give you broader population-level and social determinants of health lenes through which to view health and disease.

 

Thank you for your insight!  I'm super excited about doing this MPH in the fall but I haven't been able to find anyone who has detailed their experience.   It's great to hear your colleagues are doing well and I hope you are too! 

[geegee94]

Hi,

I am currently doing the MPH in epi at U of T and think it's a great program. I'm in the same boat as I plan to re-apply to medical school this coming cycle. 

As for the program, I've learned a lot about population-level health  and research techniques that I think will really complement a degree in medicine. The course-load is very manageable and full of guest lecture from various experts in the field. As for the practicum, it was definitely the selling-point of the program for me. I am really enjoying my current placement and definitely plan to do the second optional practicum in the winter. 

[rennalie]

11 minutes ago, geegee94 said:

Hi,

I am currently doing the MPH in epi at U of T and think it's a great program. I'm in the same boat as I plan to re-apply to medical school this coming cycle. 

As for the program, I've learned a lot about population-level health  and research techniques that I think will really complement a degree in medicine. The course-load is very manageable and full of guest lecture from various experts in the field. As for the practicum, it was definitely the selling-point of the program for me. I am really enjoying my current placement and definitely plan to do the second optional practicum in the winter. 

Thank you for sharing!

May I ask where/what you did your undergrad in? How would you compare your masters to your undergrad? 

How did you pick your electives and practicums? 

Sorry for all the questions! Answer only if you're comfortable 

Thanks again!

[geegee94]

I did my undergrad in Biomedical Science at uOttawa. The content was very different than my science background (a bit more writing and presentations than i was used to) but a year of this program definitely helped me improve these valuable skills. 

I haven't taken any electives yet. I chose not to and instead take four courses each semester (as well as the intro "course" in the fall semester of first year). I actually only know of a couple people who took an elective first semester. I wanted to save mine for second year when I had a better idea of what areas I was most interested in. 

As for the practicum, they put up a list and you chose what you want to apply to. For the most part the only competition is your classmates. (with some exceptions as some places hire from multiple schools)

Hope this helps  

[rennalie]

8 hours ago, geegee94 said:

I did my undergrad in Biomedical Science at uOttawa. The content was very different than my science background (a bit more writing and presentations than i was used to) but a year of this program definitely helped me improve these valuable skills. 

I haven't taken any electives yet. I chose not to and instead take four courses each semester (as well as the intro "course" in the fall semester of first year). I actually only know of a couple people who took an elective first semester. I wanted to save mine for second year when I had a better idea of what areas I was most interested in. 

As for the practicum, they put up a list and you chose what you want to apply to. For the most part the only competition is your classmates. (with some exceptions as some places hire from multiple schools)

Hope this helps  

That helped so much, thank you!!!

Best of luck to you in the next cycle!