While there are a multitude of ways to become involved in the field of Public Health, a Master of Public Health (MPH) is a common route for many in order to hone their skills and gain experience in various settings. Most schools have few admission requirements in terms of programs and classes (past introductory statistics), in an appropriate effort to showcase the diversity and practice of an MPH degree. However, this means many students who may be interested in pursuing an MPH may lack resources and background knowledge of what this program entails, career paths afterwards, and how to apply to put your best self forward.
This is where WPHA comes in. For many years, we’ve hosted MPH panels with current students and recent graduates of MPH programs all over the country who provide invaluable advice and information about their application process and journey within their program and the field of Public Health.
We’ve recently hosted our 2023 panel of MPH students (a smashing success), and WPHA has compiled our panelists’ answers, alongside written statements of other MPH students, to create an article with the best tips, tricks, and experiences from those on the successful side of applications.
Much of the information provided is anecdotal to help you gain a sense of journeys to master programs, and is not by any means an overview of MPH programs. If you're looking for that information, sign up to be a member of WPHA for exclusive access to our Guide to Canadian MPH Programs and access to the recording of the 2023 MPH panel.
Choosing an MPH
Before beginning the application process for MPH programs, you might be wondering if this path is even the right one for you. A large draw of the Public Health field is the diverse career options you’re able to pursue after graduation. Our panelists have pursued various paths during their practicums or after graduation, including medical school, research associates at Children’s Hospitals, PhD/DrPH, epidemiologists, health consultants, and policy analysts.
Some reasons mentioned on why these individuals chose to go into an MPH include its interdisciplinary approach to health, and looking at health at a population level to effect change at a macro-scale. Find out if you’re interested in data-based research and analysis, as this is a core concept in results and application of Public Health (many MPH programs require a B+ statistics course). Most science fields nowadays focus on data-based research to interpret results, so an MPH is a great field to help create a basis for understanding, applying, and communicating scientific research knowledge in any field.
Compared to an MSc, MPH degrees are mainly course-based, and tend to have an emphasis on how to apply research in community and health settings rather than conducting research. One large appeal of an MPH program is their practicum. Whereas MSc degrees tend to focus on research through a thesis, a practicum can put you to work in a real-life Public Health setting to get hands-on experience in the field. Some of our panelists completed practicums at the BC Centre for Disease Control, the Public Health Agency of Canada, and Public Health Ontario. Others chose to focus on creating research through academic projects at Universities.
Choosing a School
Take some time to look into the differences between programs; our MPH Guide is a great comparison tool but doesn’t even cover all the possibilities of MPH programs in Canada.
Western utilizes case-based learning, so if you despise reading textbooks but love reading about Public Health scenarios, this program may be right for you. It’s also a 1-year program, and with that comes students interested in jump-starting an earlier career, but a larger price tag. Tuition prices vary between schools and might be a deciding factor in choosing where to apply and attend.
UOttawa and UofT are some of the Canadian MPH schools where you can specialize in a facet of Public Health, including Epidemiology and Indigenous Health. UofT students in these specializations like the unique opportunities it gives you to engage with others in various communities and gain connections.
Guelph’s MPH is within the Ontario Veterinary College and is a leader in infectious zoonotic diseases and the concept of One Health.
Wherever you decide to apply or end up getting accepted to, a large sentiment from our panelists was that these programs tend to take you to similar places. Each program offers you opportunities to explore different fields, then allows you to hone in on what you’re interested in, so don’t stress about the details, do what’s best for you.
The Application Process
After you’ve decided an MPH is a field you’re interested in applying to, we’re here to help you create the best application you can. If you’re still not not sure which route to take, some MPH students who didn’t have a linear path from undergrad to graduate suggest taking a gap year - work in the field to get experience first hand and see if that motivates you to consider creating a career within the field of Public Health.
Create your own list of programs you’re interested in and highlight their application deadlines, which mainly occur from December to January for fall admissions. Each program will have their own set of requirements for admission, but most contain:
Letter of Intent (supplementary information that helps you highlight your personality and passion as well as future goals)
Curriculum Vitae/CV (a research/scientific-focused resume, typically longer than one-page where you highlight class, research and professional experiences)
Transcripts
To help craft these, we encourage you to take a deep dive online as there are many resources for undergraduate students to guide you in the right way. Also consider reaching out to a professor or upper-year who has likely reviewed and created their own before, it may be daunting at first but most genuinely want to help you put your best foot forward.
Utilize resources to help with your application. There was quite a large general consensus from students that the Letter of Intent (LOI) was the hardest, yet likely most important, part of the application. Not only did they suggest starting it early, but to get someone with an academia background to review your letter of intent, or seek out career and application services within your university. When writing your LOI, we received recommendations to use personal experiences that made you interested in public health, and weave in relevant courses and professional experiences. This doesn’t just include research - talk about how your work within healthcare settings and with vulnerable populations encouraged your path to an MPH. Especially, don’t just state a list of your accomplishments (that’s what your CV is for) but create a narrative that ties all your experience and your unique personality together for your passion for Public Health. Most of our panelists highlighted their experience in research and working with vulnerable populations as key drivers that not only motivated them to get into their field, but helped them uniquely identify themselves among other candidates.
The field of Public Health is vast and multidisciplinary. While this article focuses on MPH programs, there are many other masters we encourage you to research that will help you gain many of the skills for a job in this field (Health Policy, Health Administration, Medical/Health Sciences, to name a few).
Regardless of what the future holds for you, an MPH is a growing opportunity to effect change within populations in many different types of settings, and may be the right next step for you. Take your time in researching and applying to programs, and don’t hesitate to reach out to those in the field who are happy to help guide you into understanding the extensiveness of these programs.
I’d like to thank those who donated their valuable time and wisdom to help their future peers in the field of Public Health by contributing to the information used for this article and for our panel:
Joonsoo Sean Lyeo, Cindy Zhang, Jordan Ramnarine and Megan Lowe from Dalla Lana School of Public Health, UofT MPH
Jeffery Chong, Fardowsa Halane and Kaitlyn Blanchette from Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University MPH
Lean Fiedeldey from Department of Public Health Sciences School of Medicine, Queen’s University MPH
Gilda Poovan from Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph MPH
Sorcha McNally from Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa MPH
If you have specific questions for those within their programs, WPHA has linked their linkedin pages:
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