By getting a master’s degree in public health, you’ll increase your assets as an employee and be qualified for better jobs and higher pay rates. However, before you jump into taking classes as the first college you see, take a moment to learn about all of the programs offered in this field. By determining what characteristics are most important to you, you can rank all of the public health programs available and choose the one that is best for you.
What are some of the characteristics found with top programs in this field? Here are some of the most important things you can consider:
Many companies and publications that do annual rankings won’t even consider programs that aren’t accredited. Accreditation means that a third party has evaluated the program to ensure that it is properly preparing students for the work they’ll do when they graduate. This is especially important to consider if you’re interest in online programs. Non-accredited courses can teach you about public health in some cases, but you can’t get state licenses or qualify for many jobs if your college wasn’t accredited. The government maintains a list of accredited schools, though the actual accrediting process is done by non-government entities.
When getting a master’s degree in public health, the focus is not just on theory, but also on practical use of what you’ve learned. The top programs offer internships and other real-life learning opportunities so that you can learn how to apply the skills you’ve learned. If you don’t already have a public health job lined up after you graduate, and internship can also become a full time position, or at least help you find a job, since you’ll be networking with others in your industry.
You’re only as good as your teachers, so as you’re ranking master’s degree programs in the public health field, take a moment to learn about the professors you’ll have at each school. The best programs will have professors that have professional experience in the public health industry, preferably as leaders in the field. The more experience these professors have working in public health, the better. While theory is important, the more experience a professor has in the real world, the better prepared you’ll be to take on public health jobs after you graduate.
The best public health programs will have alumni networking options for those who want to stay connected to the school and other students after graduation. Networking is great for finding a job, but also for finding candidates if you’re someday in a position to hire new employees. Alumni networking is also important if you want to learn about business opportunities, make partnerships, mentor new students, lean about volunteering, and more.
So which public health program is top ranked? While publications like US News and World Report do provide a listing of the best schools according to their criteria, it is often much more productive to create a list of your own criteria and rank programs yourself. Start with the criteria listed above and add to it the things you find most important in college programs.
Public health is the science of preventing disease and promoting health at the population level. Since the late 1970s, public health degrees (specifically the MPH) have evolved from a second degree for doctors and other medical professionals to a primary degree in its own right, with six core disciplines: behavioral science, biostatistics, environmental science, epidemiology, health education/promotion, and health services administration. These disciplines of public health are taught online by the schools listed below.
© Masters Of Public Health 2012
