Early Career Professional’s Vlog
Topic: Master of Public Health
Hello, welcome to the Wisconsin Public Health Association’s Early Career Professional’s video blog. My name is Lilliann Paine. I am the At Large Representative for the Board of Director for WPHA. The vlog series is dedicated to relevant topics that emerging public health leader’s experience.
Topic: For this episode, we will explore the Master’s Degree in Public Health.
Process: The Masters of Public health degree prepares students to make a difference in public health by building practical knowledge and skills, including the applied use of public health research to promote population health and health equity. The MPH trains the next generation of public health leaders in five vital tracks
Biostatistics
Community and Behavioral Health Promotion
Environmental Health Sciences
Epidemiology
Public Health Policy and Administration
Requirements: There are a couple of ways to acquire your degree in public health. Potential pathways include:
Traditional
Online
Accelerated
Collaborative
Traditional – the traditional Master of Public Health (MPH) program is an on-campus 2-year, 48 credit program. The first four semesters usually involve traditional course work, while the last semester is devoted to a practice-based internship, which includes a thesis or capstone.
Online: the online MPH program includes all of the elements of the campus based program in a convenient online learning platform.
Accelerated—An accelerated 42-credit MPH on-campus program is available for current health professionals with terminal healthcare degrees or who have already established themselves in a long term career and are interested in expanding their skills or changing their career focus
Collaborative—Collaborative MPH program pairs a Master’s Degree with professional program in the Colleges of Law, Medicine, as well as with PhD Programs in Clinical Psychology or Health Services Research. In addition, collaborative degrees may be developed on an individual basis for other PhD and Master’s programs.
To be considered for admission, you must apply to graduate school. The grad school process requires a resume, letters of recommendation from individuals who are familiar with your academic experience + the GREs—Graduate Record Examination scores.
Benefits:
Why does graduate school pay off?
Returns on investment include: personal growth and greater employment opportunities. I am a bridge from my neighborhood to my academic institution as a Family Living Educator with UW-Extension. My public health experience has a foundation in community building and I help to amplify the voices of Milwaukee County residents.
Challenges:
How to pay for graduate program and remain focused on scholarship is a challenge. Please defer to the financial aid office affiliated with your graduate program of interest.
To learn more, check out Diversity Matter’s: Our Super Heroes Wisconsin website.