Are you thinking about applying for a MPH (Master of Public Health) degree program this year? I direct the MPH in epidemiology program at @PublicHealthUMN, and in today's unhiding of the #hiddencurriculum thread, I'll share my tips on how to put together a strong application.

Here are the things you'll need to figure out as you start working toward applying for an MPH:

1) The deadlines
2) Who you can ask questions to
3) Program nuts and bolts
4) The audience receiving your application
5) What to display
6) How to communicate what you need to display

1) Deadlines

Here at UMN we will soon start accepting applications for the 2021/22 cohorts! Typically people apply for MPH programs in the Fall before they plan to start. Deadlines tend to range from Nov-Feb but they vary! A lot. So be sure to carefully check these.

(At UMN we accept and review applications on a rolling basis - we're actually still considering applications for 2020/21. However, at UMN it's to your advantage to apply before our "priority deadline" to be considered for scholarships. So be sure to check deadlines carefully.)

2) Figure out who you can ask questions to

Grad programs have these INCREDIBLY helpful staff who are normally titled something like "academic coordinator." They know the rules, deadlines, have great tips for navigating our systems as you apply and also while you are a student.

This is the first line person for your questions. If they don't have answers they'll refer you on!

3) Know program nuts and bolts

MPH programs can be confusing. Schools offer multiple programs and you might be a good fit for more than one. So take a close look at the requirements for admission for each program, the requirements once you are there...

...and what program graduates typically do. Anything that's not clear or not mentioned on the website? E-mail questions to the program's academic coordinator! You might also check to see if you can apply to more than one program within a school.

Applying to more than one program won't be the best option for most people, but if you really could see yourself fitting in two programs, you could be increasing your chances of getting in to a MPH program by applying to both.

(Note: Here are UMN, *it is* possible to apply to more than one program, but in the past this hasn't been obvious on our application. If you want to apply to more than one, but can't figure it out, e-mail a program coordinator.)

4) Know the audience receiving your application

You are writing your application to an admissions committee. But WHO ARE THEY???

Typically it's a group of 5-10 faculty in the program you are applying for. They rotate on and off this committee every few years.

Admissions committee members know their program well. Probably 2-3 of them read your application closely and then present it to the rest of the committee that has maybe skimmed it. The committee then comes to a consensus on whether to admit each applicant.

Keep in mind, reviewing applications is roughly 0.5% of a professor-job. They may be reading your application late at night. They might not be familiar with the rigors of earning an honors undergrad degree in X from Institution Y. They might review 100s of apps this year.

So you need to make things clear for them. Anything that is important needs to appear more than once in your application! Which brings me to...

5) Figure out what to display

Our epi MPH admissions committee needs to see a few things, that you:

1) Can do quantitative work
2) Can write
3) Know what epidemiology is
4) Have a motivation to be an epidemiologist

You have several tools-to-show these things. They are:

1) Your essay
2) Academic record
3) Your work/volunteer/service record
4) Letters of recommendation
5) GREs*

*For schools that accept GREs

So make sure that your tools-to-show cover all the things that need to be shown. Related to this, I've talked before about what to do about GREs if you have GRE concerns: https://twitter.com/rwidome/status/1275823137859534850

I've also discussed how to go about getting great letters of recommendation: https://twitter.com/rwidome/status/1272923501708656644

If you have some weak spots, think about how you might fill them in. For important stuff (like for an epi MPH showing that you can do quant work) try to make sure it's highlighted in more than one part of your application (like for instance in both your grades and your letters).

Now is a great time to start checking out MPH program websites and planning for how you could build a strong application. It can take some sleuthing to figure this all out and I encourage you to dig into materials and ask questions if it's unclear!

(And I'm happy to answer any general questions in this thread if you have them!)