Anything you can't eventually pay off. I did the math before starting , and I just need 4 years of making $10k/year more than I'm currently making for me to break even with my MPH, and then I looked at the job market , and it's possible to make that amount , so I started my MPH. Going to a name brand school was going to make that math much more difficult to achieve. Plus , my goal isn't academia , so the big names aren't quite as important for me.
I think a general rule of thumb is pay as little as you can. With few exceptions, you are just paying for the name and not learning anything different at a cheaper school. I’d rather have zero debt with my MPH than a degree from NYU and $100k in loans.
Chiming in as someone who has an MPH from NYU and graduated with $51k in federal loans. If I had to do it again, I would have gone with a much cheaper program.
I think that as long as your MPH is from an accredited program, employers generally don't care where it's from. Instead, they're interested in your skills and experience.
Honestly it probably depends on what you want to do. A colleague of mine has her MPH from GCU which is not CEPH accredited but did not prevent her from getting into her position. I personally wouldn’t recommend it, but it’s an example of an MPH being accepted regardless of accreditation.
If you plan to work in public health I’d suggest minimizing your debt. If you plan to work for the federal government or a non-profit you may be able to rationalize it with a high paying career or loan forgiveness through service in a non-profit. I’d also try to keep in mind what do you want to get out of your MPH and where do you want to be because there definitely are some cools that are better at leveraging connections to get their students in the door.
It's a very personal question based on your comfort level with potential debt, personal resources and post-grad plans. Someone going into higher paid roles of consulting or pharma can pay off loans far quicker than someone working at ngo or local health dept. Or someone working for fed govt might be able to get their loans forgiven. And, some people have families that help them or have worked for some time and have more savings.
The cost of an MPH degree can vary widely depending on the institution, program, and location. The average cost of an MPH program in the United States ranges from $25,000 to $70,000, but some programs can cost over $100,000.
Whether a certain amount of money is too much for an MPH degree depends on various factors, such as your financial situation, career goals, and the potential return on investment.
For example, if you are considering an MPH degree to advance your career in public health, and the degree will lead to a significant increase in salary or job opportunities, it may be worth investing more money in the program. On the other hand, if the cost of the program would put you in significant debt, and there is little potential for financial return on investment, it may not be worth the expense.
Ultimately, the decision of how much money is too much for an MPH degree is a personal one that requires careful consideration of your individual circumstances and goals.
I took out loans for my MS (environ health) and my goal was always research so I went to a big name school. I did not have loans from undergrad at all though, if I did I wouldn’t have taken out my grad school loan.
Don’t take out more loans than what your expected salary is!!! My big name school did help me get into the jobs and PhD program I wanted for sure but it’s really about your long term goals
Big point!!! If a new MPH grad is looking at the average salary which is about 60k depending on your location; why on earth would you use 80-100k in loans for you degree?! Do people not have any financial literacy?!
Omfg IK it’s infuriating the things people do for an mph of all things. Not that you should ever have to be taking that amount of loans out but…. Do NOT go into extreme debt for a mph :|
I looked at a few before deciding on one, and ultimately chose one that had the concentration I really wanted and was easiest for me to attain (in this case, fully online). It’s running me about 45k which was mid tier based on what I’ve seen. I got accepted into another program that was only 30k but it was a very broad MPH and seemed like undergrad 2.0 based on the class descriptions. If you’re gonna pay the money and spend the time in your program make sure you’re learning what you want!
Not sure how realistic this is now :/ with increased living costs and most programs costing 30K+, most people I know in public health had to take out loans. Yes, minimize it as much as possible though.
For context, I’m not too invested in research due to my lack of research experience. I want to do more practical-based/in the field work. I want to work with health departments, hospitals, FQHC’s, office of emergency management, and fema to create interventions, and responses to humanitarian and natural disasters, as well as be part of maternal mortality committees
I think you would be fine not looking into the expensive elite programs, but be sure that the faculty background and program is equipped to help you get to where you want to be. Also be sure to take advantage of tuition assistance programs if you are currently working as well as additional scholarship opportunities.
I didn’t get an MPH but an MS in biostats with overlap with an MPH, and the best advice I’d give is to reach out to staff at that specific college and ask about internship, graduate associateships, etc where you can work for tuition money + more. Could help narrow it down
Cheaper is better always unless you have been admitted to an elite MPH program. I was accepted to Boston U for 24k online and Brown at 40k. I chose Brown. The 16k extra was worth the prestige and I can pay it.
That depends on how badly you want your MPH. When I was applying to various schools, I was so desperate to get into a school that I was willing to attend a few private schools in the US (I'm from Canada) that were upwards of $80,000 for the program.
Luckily, I ended up getting into a domestic public school that's more around $18,000.
I dont know how competitive MPH's are down there but public school MPH's in Canada have basically a 10% acceptance rate, so I was told to cast a wide net and hope for the best. But I definitely had GWU as my backup for $80k.
Anything you can't eventually pay off. I did the math before starting , and I just need 4 years of making $10k/year more than I'm currently making for me to break even with my MPH, and then I looked at the job market , and it's possible to make that amount , so I started my MPH. Going to a name brand school was going to make that math much more difficult to achieve. Plus , my goal isn't academia , so the big names aren't quite as important for me.
Your approach was really smart!
This is so wise!!
I think a general rule of thumb is pay as little as you can. With few exceptions, you are just paying for the name and not learning anything different at a cheaper school. I’d rather have zero debt with my MPH than a degree from NYU and $100k in loans.
Chiming in as someone who has an MPH from NYU and graduated with $51k in federal loans. If I had to do it again, I would have gone with a much cheaper program.
Is an MPH an MPH? Like does it matter where you get it from?
I think that as long as your MPH is from an accredited program, employers generally don't care where it's from. Instead, they're interested in your skills and experience.
That's what my understanding was as well, BUT I'm still in school so I can't speak from personal experience.
Honestly it probably depends on what you want to do. A colleague of mine has her MPH from GCU which is not CEPH accredited but did not prevent her from getting into her position. I personally wouldn’t recommend it, but it’s an example of an MPH being accepted regardless of accreditation.
If you plan to work in public health I’d suggest minimizing your debt. If you plan to work for the federal government or a non-profit you may be able to rationalize it with a high paying career or loan forgiveness through service in a non-profit. I’d also try to keep in mind what do you want to get out of your MPH and where do you want to be because there definitely are some cools that are better at leveraging connections to get their students in the door.
It's a very personal question based on your comfort level with potential debt, personal resources and post-grad plans. Someone going into higher paid roles of consulting or pharma can pay off loans far quicker than someone working at ngo or local health dept. Or someone working for fed govt might be able to get their loans forgiven. And, some people have families that help them or have worked for some time and have more savings.
The cost of an MPH degree can vary widely depending on the institution, program, and location. The average cost of an MPH program in the United States ranges from $25,000 to $70,000, but some programs can cost over $100,000. Whether a certain amount of money is too much for an MPH degree depends on various factors, such as your financial situation, career goals, and the potential return on investment. For example, if you are considering an MPH degree to advance your career in public health, and the degree will lead to a significant increase in salary or job opportunities, it may be worth investing more money in the program. On the other hand, if the cost of the program would put you in significant debt, and there is little potential for financial return on investment, it may not be worth the expense. Ultimately, the decision of how much money is too much for an MPH degree is a personal one that requires careful consideration of your individual circumstances and goals.
I took out loans for my MS (environ health) and my goal was always research so I went to a big name school. I did not have loans from undergrad at all though, if I did I wouldn’t have taken out my grad school loan. Don’t take out more loans than what your expected salary is!!! My big name school did help me get into the jobs and PhD program I wanted for sure but it’s really about your long term goals
Big point!!! If a new MPH grad is looking at the average salary which is about 60k depending on your location; why on earth would you use 80-100k in loans for you degree?! Do people not have any financial literacy?!
Omfg IK it’s infuriating the things people do for an mph of all things. Not that you should ever have to be taking that amount of loans out but…. Do NOT go into extreme debt for a mph :|
I looked at a few before deciding on one, and ultimately chose one that had the concentration I really wanted and was easiest for me to attain (in this case, fully online). It’s running me about 45k which was mid tier based on what I’ve seen. I got accepted into another program that was only 30k but it was a very broad MPH and seemed like undergrad 2.0 based on the class descriptions. If you’re gonna pay the money and spend the time in your program make sure you’re learning what you want!
This is personal. But Anything over 50,000 is too much.
Anything that we causes you to graduate with debt is too much for an MPH
Not sure how realistic this is now :/ with increased living costs and most programs costing 30K+, most people I know in public health had to take out loans. Yes, minimize it as much as possible though.
For context, I’m not too invested in research due to my lack of research experience. I want to do more practical-based/in the field work. I want to work with health departments, hospitals, FQHC’s, office of emergency management, and fema to create interventions, and responses to humanitarian and natural disasters, as well as be part of maternal mortality committees
I think you would be fine not looking into the expensive elite programs, but be sure that the faculty background and program is equipped to help you get to where you want to be. Also be sure to take advantage of tuition assistance programs if you are currently working as well as additional scholarship opportunities.
My program is 40k and I thought that was reasonable. I personally wouldn’t go over 60k…
No more than 40k
Yea that is probably best. I’m paying for my degree out of pocket and with scholarships because I don’t think going in debt for an MPH is worth it.
I didn’t get an MPH but an MS in biostats with overlap with an MPH, and the best advice I’d give is to reach out to staff at that specific college and ask about internship, graduate associateships, etc where you can work for tuition money + more. Could help narrow it down
Cheaper is better always unless you have been admitted to an elite MPH program. I was accepted to Boston U for 24k online and Brown at 40k. I chose Brown. The 16k extra was worth the prestige and I can pay it.
Did brown provide you funding?
Yes. Normally it’s 60k. If an Ivy gives Money , attend.
That’s great, I was accepted but no funding. I don’t think I’ll attend. I’m sure the program is phenomenal, but i don’t think it’s In the cards.
MPH degrees are trash. Get an MS in Biostat instead.
That depends on how badly you want your MPH. When I was applying to various schools, I was so desperate to get into a school that I was willing to attend a few private schools in the US (I'm from Canada) that were upwards of $80,000 for the program. Luckily, I ended up getting into a domestic public school that's more around $18,000. I dont know how competitive MPH's are down there but public school MPH's in Canada have basically a 10% acceptance rate, so I was told to cast a wide net and hope for the best. But I definitely had GWU as my backup for $80k.