The pandemic arguably accelerated a lot of trends—from a wider prevalence and acceptance of remote work to a greater focus on digital transformation. What the pandemic also did, however, was show a lot of weak spots in our workforce, namely in health care.
During the past decade, the public health workforce has shrunk by more than 15% to just around 200,000 jobs. That’s led to a massive staffing shortage for public health positions—and meanwhile, these professionals have more work to do than ever.
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“It is difficult in the throes of a COVID-19 surge to think about anything other than the acute pandemic response, but rebuilding the public health workforce in parallel is critical to ensuring that health outcomes are on the path to improvement over the longer term,” reads a report by McKinsey & Co.
This rebuilding of the public health workforce will take time and effort, but is worthwhile—both for the greater good and for individuals pursuing this career path. Many public health positions come with lucrative salaries, some of which are well above the six-figure mark. Among the highest-paying public health positions are an environmental health officer ($100,518 per year), biostatistician ($122,602 per year), and medical director ($193,401 per year).
Many of these positions, however, require or highly encourage a master’s degree in the field. Fortune ranks 15 of the best online MPH programs in the U.S., but there are a plethora of other options, including in-person and other types of online programs. We’ve compiled a list of the Ivy League schools where you can earn a master’s degree in public health to jumpstart your career.
Brown University
Brown University announced the launch of its online master’s degree program in public health in February 2022, and the first cohort started this fall. “To create the public health workforce of the future, we need to create new modes of public health education,” Dr. Megan Ranney, academic dean at the School of Public Health and director of the Brown-Lifespan Center for Digital Health, said in a statement announcing the program.
Length of program: 12 courses to be completed over two-to-three years
Program format: Online, both synchronous (live) and asynchronous
Admission requirements: Transcripts, three recommendation letters, personal statement, resume, TOEFL score (international applicants)
Tuition: $5,000 per course ($60,000 total for 12 courses)
Harvard University
Harvard University offers three different MPH programs: a traditional on-campus MPH program, a hybrid MPH in epidemiology, and an online MPH generalist degree. These three programs have different curricula aligned with public health careers.
The MPH in epidemiology is one-third in-person and two-thirds online, and is completed on a part-time basis. The MPH generalist track is completely online and is also part-time, and takes two years to complete. The traditional MPH program is also highly specialized and students select a field of study—like epidemiology or health management—that they’d like to pursue.
Length of program: Depending on the progarm you pursue, it will take one-to-two years to complete
Application requirements: For all three programs, you must submit a statement of purpose, three recommendation letters, a resume, and transcripts. Test scores aren’t required.
Tuition: Part-time tuition per year is $33,480
Yale University
Yale University offers a hybrid executive master’s of public health program, which is taught by faculty from the Yale School of Public Health and the Yale School of Medicine. The program is suited for professionals who want leadership training in public health. There are four tracks for students to pursue: Health Informatics, Environmental Health Sciences, Applied Analytic Methods and Epidemiology, and Critical Topics in Public Health. It’s a part-time program that’s suitable for full-time working professionals.
Yale also offers a traditional two-year, in-person MPH program, and students choose one of six departments in which to study: biostatistics, chronic disease epidemiology, environmental health sciences, epidemiology of microbial diseases, healthcare management, health policy, and social and behavioral sciences.
Length of program: Two years
Program format: Mostly online courses with “on-site intensives” at Yale
Application requirements: Transcripts, three letters of recommendation, a statement of purpose, and a resume. The GRE requirement is waived this year.
Tuition: $37,695 per year (online executive), $50,261 per year (in-person)
Columbia University
Columbia University offers its master’s in public health degree program both online and in-person, and the curriculums closely resemble each other. Students who pursue the in-person option choose a department in which to study, including: biostatistics, environmental health sciences, epidemiology, health policy and management, population and family health, and sociomedical sciences. The program also includes a “practicum” or an internship in the field.
Columbia also offers an accelerated MPH program, which can be completed in one year, and an executive master’s degree of public health, which is focused on organizational leadership and management, health policy and public health, and health systems.
Length of program: One-to-two years depending on the program
Program format: Online is broken down into modules and is completed fully online
Tuition: $1,882 per credit across programs
Dartmouth College
The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice at Dartmouth College offers a hybrid MPH degree program, which is hosted both online and on-campus. The program is focused on public health content including epidemiology, biostatistics, and health care ethics. Students take one course at a time, so the program can be completed on a part-time basis. Students also complete a practicum, which is a combination of a thesis and an internship.
Length of program: 22 months
Program format: Students take one course at a time, which is about 15-20 hours of time commitment per week. Then they spend three weeks at Dartmouth each year to work with other students and faculty on public health curriculum.
Application requirements: Personal statement, two letters of recommendation, resume, transcripts, and GRE score (optional)
Tuition: $38,181 per year
See how the schools you’re considering fared in Fortune’s rankings of the best master’s degree programs in data science (in-person and online), nursing, computer science, cybersecurity, psychology, public health, and business analytics, as well as the doctorate in education programs and MBA programs (part-time, executive, full-time, and online).
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