If you are thinking about your master’s degree in public health (MPH), one of the first things that will enter your mind is how to pay for it.
This is a very important consideration: Master’s degree students in public health and other disciplines generally do not receive as much scholarship support as those who are pursuing their undergraduate degree. Rather than take out loans to pay for your MPH, you should realize that there are other financial options available to you.
Strong Financial Support…
One of those options is the MPH fellowship. A fellowship provides you with a stipend or small salary while you are in graduate school in pursuit of your MPH degree. You also will receive a partial or sometimes full tuition discount. The money you receive could possibly cover all of your costs – tuition, housing and food.
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CSTE, in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH), and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), has established this Fellowship to train recent graduates in the expanding field of applied epidemiology. The goal of the Fellowship is to provide a high quality training experience and to secure long-term career placement for Fellows at the state or local level. Participating fellows will receive two years of on-the-job training at a state health agency under the guidance of an experienced mentor.
…In Exchange for Your Work in a University MPH Program
In exchange, you will need to perform some type of work for the university. This can include teaching undergraduate science classes, conducting research for a professor, or possibly grading papers. The work that you will do will vary from school to school, as will how much money you receive, tuition waivers and other related benefits.
Fellowships typically last one or two years, and may last as long as you are in graduate school to earn your public health degree.
Fellowships can be extremely diverse and are offered by hundreds of universities and organizations related to public health. We advise that you look into organizations that work in public health or do advanced study in your area of public health. You can find many opportunities this way. You also should check out the financial aid office at your graduate school to see about all available fellowships for public health students.
Some of the recommended fellowships for MPH students include these:
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University of Toronto – CIHR Strategic Training Program in Public Health Policy: This fellowship makes you part of a highly dynamic public health policy training and research team. You will engage with your academic mentors, policymakers and other fellows to deal with key issues in public health.
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New York Academy of Medicine – Margaret Mahoney Fellowships: This fellowship program provides stipends to deserving public health and medical students who participate in 8-10 week research and action programs that work on the health needs of urban populations with health needs.
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Harvard University – Takemi Fellowship Program: This is a research program that focuses on the complex problems of allocating, mobilizing and maintaining limited health resources to boost health.
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Fulbright-Fogarty Fellows and Scholars: These fellowships are offered to promote expansion of research in clinical and public health in areas where public health resources are limited.
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ASPPH/EPA Environmental Health Fellowship Program: This is a joint fellowship program between the EPA and the Association of Schools of Public Health. It provides you with professional opportunities and training for public health professions, by allowing you to work with the EPA on important environmental science projects.
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Emory University – Rollins School of Public Health Peace Corps Fellowship: After a two year Peace Corps obligation, returned volunteers can participate in this fellowship program at Emory University as they earn their MPH degree. You can earn partial tuition discounts in exchange for research work at the university.
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Kaiser Health Policy Fellowships: The Kaiser Health Company provides an extensive collection of fellowships that are available through various organizations throughout the US.
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Association of Public Health Laboratories Fellowships: this organization has a new Emerging Infectious Disease Laboratory Fellowship program that will prepare an aspiring public health scientist for a career in public health laboratories.
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American Public Health Association Fellowships: The Association offers a limited number of fellowships to aspiring MPH professionals each year.
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ASPPH/CDC Allan Rosenfield Global Health Fellowship Program: This is an outstanding public health training opportunity for an MPH candidate to learn from some of the top public health experts at the CDC headquarters in Atlanta.
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Global Health Corps Fellowships: The Global Health Corps offers fellowships to deserving volunteers. They are placed with a Placement Organization for a year and are offered tuition discounts at their chosen master’s degree program.
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New York University Global Institute of Public Health Fellowships: NYU offers a variety of fellowships for public health students that provide a partial tuition reimbursement in exchange for part time research work.
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Saint Louis University: This online MPH program offers many types of public health and social justice fellowships to qualified MPH students.
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University of Missouri: About one third of the students in this accredited MPH program are eligible for fellowships and assistantships. Qualified students at this university also can participate in the Peace Corps Fellowship program.
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University of California-Berkeley: This is an 18 month leadership development program for full time MPH students. You will participate in training workshops, mentoring, assessments, peer coaching, experiential exercises and many active learning projects on the cutting edge of public health policy.
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University of Oregon MPH Fellowships: The MPH program at University of Oregon offers several fellowships each year to qualified candidates.
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University of Illinois at Chicago: The program at this top MPH university offers many fellowships to candidates in several public health specialties.
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The Wellstone Fellowship for Social Justice: Offered annually to a qualified public health student who is committed to public health care advocacy in communities of color.
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Michigan State University – Research Training in Perinatal Epidemiology: This program offers an annual stipend of $21,000 for a highly qualified, pre-doctoral candidate who is studying health care or public health.
