Tea at 3 with Dr. T: Preparing for your career & Graduate School overview Presented by: Claudia Toledo-Corral, PhD, MPH Assistant Professor of Public Health

How to use this information slides Actively develop a graduate school path for yourself. Discuss career options with PH faculty advisors. It is best to seek advice from those WHO HAVE THE DEGREE OF INTEREST TO YOU!

First, let’s deal with the elephant in the room… NURSING WAS YOUR INITIAL CAREER GOAL.

Reality… Ask yourself: Are you certain you would be comfortable in that profession? Do you want to work long hours in an environment which is high-risk for infections? Do you really just want to treat only one person at a time? If you do and nursing is for you, the other realities are: BSN program is highly competitive at CalStateLA. Programs at other universities may be very expensive.

Public Health Community Health Environmental Health Biostatistics / Epidemiology Health Administration and /or Policy Basic Science Health Communication The Branches of Public Health

Public Health Project managers Administrators Researchers Policy makers Practitioners that work in Community Settings Communicators, Activists Career Branches of Public Health Analysts and Statisticians Educators

Choosing a career after obtaining a B.S. in Public Health Common questions: 1.If I get a degree in Public Health, what career path should I be pursuing? 2.I’m worried that once I graduate, I’ll change my mind and want to do something different. Did I just waste my time in college?

Example of Blinded Planning of your career path Interest in health care Nursing was impacted so you selected Public Health as a major Graduate and you didn’t get a nursing degree and you don’t know what to do. Goal: “I want to be a nurse!”

Example of open-ended Planning: Choose your path based on your interests (clinical or non-clinical) CalStateLA: Selected Public Health as a Major Graduate and want to pursue graduate studies for clinical career Initial Goal: Clinical Career (ie, nursing) Graduate and want to pursue a public health career Next Goal: Apply to a PH graduate programs (eg., MPH, DrPH, PhD) Next Goal: Apply to clinical degree (eg. ABSN, MSN, PA, MD, DO) Next Goal: Apply to BS-level PH jobs (likely assistant-level jobs) A B

Where to start when choosing a path within the Public Health field? Plan “backwards”: create your plan based on where you see yourself in 10 years. How and where do you envision yourself? – Government agency? (CDC, NIH, FDA) – Non-profit organization? – Academic institution? (Private or public) – Clinical environment (think health education at hospitals) – For profit business?

PH Careers: Best Advice The best and highest paying jobs usually require a Masters-level degree. Networking is important! It will get you the job of your dreams.

Envision your future… Weigh your priorities. – What life/career balance do you want to achieve? – If want to pursue a graduate degree, it will take a some sacrifice, so be committed! Recruit your family and friends to support you on your mission! Surround yourself with others that have similar pursuits and ideologies.

Graduate-level degrees (both PH and clinical) Public Health – *Master of Public Health (MPH) – Master of Science in a specific PH field – *Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) – Doctor of Preventive Medicine or other PH field (PhD) Clinical – Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) – Master of Physician Assistant Practice (MPAP) – Medical doctor (MD) – Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) *These are the most common degrees attained and are the most relevant to those interested in serving in Community Health programs.

Master of Public Health (MPH) vs. Master of Science (MS) in a PH field Professional degree MPH curriculums include 2 years of coursework and culminate with ONE of these options: – Master’s thesis – Practicum (fieldwork experience) – Comprehensive examination Academic degree MS curriculums include 1 years of coursework and a masters level RESEARCH project that culminates in a Master’s thesis.

Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) vs. PhD in a PH field Professional degree MPH required DrPH curriculums include about 1-2 years of coursework and then an additional 2-4 years of research culminating with a doctoral dissertation in boarder topics in PH. Academic degree MPH or MS not necessarily required. PhD curriculums include about 1-2 years of coursework and then an additional 2-4 years of research culminating with a doctoral dissertation in a very specific field.

All PH Graduate degrees have a focus, specialization, or track! Some schools don’t make it very obvious. Examples: – CSUN only has ONE MPH but it has a focus on Health Promotion. – Charles Drew only has one MPH but has a focus in Urban Health Disparities. Other schools are obvious, such as UCLA has: – Biostatistics – Epidemiology – Community Health Sciences – Health Policy – Environmental Health Sciences

How to apply to PH graduate degree programs Seek programs accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH)

Common Requirements for the MPH or MS SOPHAS* Application filing OR an individual school application. Official Transcripts showing completion (or near completion) of a Bachelor’s Degree and GPA of 3.0 or greater 2-3 Letters of Recommendation** Curriculum Vitae or Resume Personal Statement Graduate Record Examination (GRE)*** Work experience in PH * **Some are electronically submitted by recommender; others can be hardcopies ***Not required by all schools and different schools have different minimum GRE scores

Do your research on schools For example: SoCal Schools (Public vs. Private) Public Universities CSU Fullerton CSU Long Beach CSU Northridge CSU San Bernardino UC Irvine* UCLA* San Diego State/UCSD* CSU Los Angeles (not yet but eventually at DTLA campus – Fall 2017 or 2018??) Private Universities Charles Drew University of Medicine & Science Claremont Graduate University* Loma Linda* USC* *Offer DrPH or PhD degrees

The GRE! A standardized test that resembles the SAT exam. Computer based exam with 3 sections: – Verbal reasoning* – Quantitative reasoning* – Analytical Writing Most schools only evaluate the Verbal and Quantitative scores. Some schools do not require the GRE (e.g., CSUN)

Advice about asking for Letters of Recommendation Organize yourself! Make your own list of schools and deadlines. Ask the recommender well in advance (at least 1 month, preferably 2 months). Meet with the recommender and provide a folder with all necessary forms and a summary of deadlines. This could also be done via but you must ask the recommender what they prefer. WAIVE your right to read the letter. Schools prefer this option. Keep in mind that some letters are submitted electronically by recommender while other schools want a sealed, hard-copy letter along with a form. Reminder your recommender about deadlines, thank them with a nice card or , and keep them updated about application status.

Recommended Prep: Books only or Prep course CalStateLA offers a course for GRE preparation ($470). Call the the College for Professional and Global Education for schedule. Other services: Princeton Review, Manhattan Prep

Personal statements Tell a compelling story. Chose an event in your life that triggered your interest in PH. Make strong, decisive statements about yourself and your career plans (even if have some doubts in the past- the reader doesn’t have to know that). It’s OKAY to BRAG! In fact, it’s necessary!!! Tell the reader why you’re awesome and why they should accept you. Write many drafts and ask for feedback!

Preparation for Graduate School Fair on Wed, Oct 26 th Do some preliminary homework: – Which programs interest you and where? – Don’t be afraid to ask about doctoral programs in addition to Masters level. Example questions: – What is the acceptance rate? – Is PH work experience necessary? – What types of jobs do graduates obtain? – How much extracurricular activities is necessary to be a strong applicant? – What if I don’t have a 3.0 GPA? Can I still apply? – Who should be writing my letters of recommendation? Can I send in more than the required number of letters?

You can do it!