Advice on applying to global health programs within the next few years

[sarcoline]

Hi, all! I am planning to apply to grad programs in 1-3 years. I am mostly interested in public health program design, monitoring, and evaluation in resource-limited settings (in the US and globally). I am hoping to gain more skills in quantitative and qualitative public health research methods and data and analytics (including spatial analysis, public health modeling, and visualization).

I would really appreciate some insight here:
(1) What can I do within the next 1-3 years to improve my chances (besides doing well on the GRE and getting solid LOR)?
(2) What are my chances at the schools I'm interested in? I'm mostly concerned about my undergrad GPA and the fact that my current experience is not directly in health (though I do work in development, and I'm based in East Africa).
(3) Do you have any thoughts on my list of schools? Does it look like I'm applying to programs that match my interests? Any other schools I should consider? I know I'm applying to competitive schools, but my logic is that if I don't get into one of my top choices the first round, I will gain more experience/skills and then reapply.

Undergrad school: Private Research University in the US (non-Ivy but highly ranked)
Undergrad GPA/Major GPA: 3.0
Major/Minor: Engineering (minor in Global Health)
GRE: Not taken yet
Experience/Research:
- Currently: Work for an international development organization (not health-related, focused on economic development) in East Africa providing data analytics and special projects support. Plan to work here for 2-4 years before applying to grad programs.
- Summer internships in South Asia and East Africa working at health-related nonprofits on general capacity building projects (3 months + 3 months)
- Part-time work-study position at US-based global health organization that provides support to grassroots health organizations around the world (3 months)
- Research assistant in a physiology lab assisting with imaging analysis and lab inventory management (10 months)
- Internship over 2 summers at a professional services firm working on database management projects (2 months + 3 months)
- A number of engineering research and design projects through engineering coursework (some lab/class-based and some with industry clients)
- Leadership roles in student organizations related to health equity and social justice advocacy, community health and health access, etc. including starting an initiative to increase access to health-related trainings for low income community members (attended international conference to expand initiative's reach)

Special factors:
- First-generation college student
- Underrepresented minority (Mexican American Male)

Top choices that closely match my interests:
- Johns Hopkins (MSPH - Health Systems)
- Duke (MSc - Global Health)
- UCSF (MS - Global Health Sciences)
- Columbia (MPH - Population & Family Health)
- Harvard (SM - Global Health & Population)

Likely also applying to:
- Emory (MPH - Global Health)
- Boston University (MPH)
- UCLA (MPH - Community Health Sciences)

Also considering: (but programs don't perfectly match my interests)
- UC Berkeley (MPH - Health & Social Behavior)
- Yale (MPH - Chronic Disease Epi OR Social & Behavioral Sciences)

Thank you so much!

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[sarcoline]

Any thoughts?

 

[MPH1990]

I think you've got a good shot! Though you're not directly working in health now, you ARE working in development abroad and doing data analytics, and I think you have a convincing CV to why you're interested in public health.

I graduated from Emory so am likely biased, but I think it's a program that fits your interests well and I would encourage you to apply.

My ONE caveat- my MPH is in Global Epidemiology and is sort of a double-major. I am very thankful for the epidemiology part. At least at Emory, I think it's fully possible to go through the entire global health degree program without acquiring any actual hard skills. If I were you, I would strongly consider (especially if you're interested in quantitative and/or qualitative skills) choosing a different concentration for your MPH- at Emory, Global Epi is a strong option, or Behavioral Science/Health Ed for qualitative. You can still take plenty of global health electives but will come out of the program with hard skills that employers automatically understand, whereas I know a lot of global health graduates who had a bit more trouble proving their knowledge.

That said, you have great global experience already which I think is a huge plus when applying to global health jobs post-graduation so you'll likely be fine either way!

 

[wwmmkk]

Agreed with the above. I'd also add that Brown has a new-ish ScM in Global Health that I'd encourage you to look at. The ScM degrees are generally well funded compared to MPH degrees.

Talk up your international experience in your application and any hard skills you have. In the next couple years, if you haven't already, it'd be great to get involved in writing/producing/authoring whatever data briefs, reports, etc. your organization puts out to the public or for partners. That sort of stuff looks great on a resume and gives your letter writers something concrete to talk about .

If you're truly interested in the top programs you've mentioned, I'd recommend reaching out to faculty or staff in advance. They might be able to give you more specific pointers on how to compensate for your undergrad GPA. Getting GRE scores >70th percentile in all sections would definitely help too.