How to get experience for MPH program?

Question

I am interested in learning more about MPH but where do I start? Completely new field for myself... and it looks like the programs want two years experience in a public health field BEFORE the grad degree?

Answer 1

There are a lot of schools that do NOT require prior public health experience before admission to the graduate public health program.

When I was searching for grad programs, I did run into a lot of schools the wanted prior work experience. I'm in California, and all of those programs were at Cal State schools (SDSU, CSULB, etc.). However, the University of California campuses that offer the MPH degree (Berkeley, LA) and UC's that offer masters degrees in epidemiology/biostats (UCSD, UC Davis and UCI, I think) do not require prior experince, and they take a lot of people fresh out of undegrad.

I earned my MPH at USC (Southern Cal, not South Carolina). They have a good program, and do not require prior work experience. They take a lot of out-of-state applicants because they are private. Costs a pretty penny, though.

Still, if you are interested in getting some experience worknig in public health, look at your local public health agencies like your local health department, local nonprofits, AIDS charities, Planned Parenthood, free clinics, etc. If you live near medical research facilities (university hospitals and such), those are also great places to look for work. Biotech is also good experience if you are involved in clinical trials.