How to Submit a Competitive Application to - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

How to Submit a Competitive Application to the Master in Public Health programs at the CUNY School of Public Health?Slide2

Master of Public Health Level Education

The Master of Public Health (MPH) degree is the most common graduate-level degree awarded by CEPH-accredited schools and programs of public health.

The degree is suited for students interested in pursuing a professional career in public health, and is not primarily geared toward teaching or research. Common work environments include hospitals, consulting firms, international agencies, state and federal agencies, health departments, managed care organizations, community-based organizations, among others. Slide3

Certified in Public Health (CPH) credential

A

llows

graduates and professionals to continue their training in public health

Ensures

mastery in the competencies of the

field

Establishes expertise in the most current topics in the field

Is

voluntary for public health professionals

Comprises

the CPH exam and

bi

-annual recertification

Administered by the National Board of Public Health Examiners

Employers use

the credential

to

select and reward

employees

Employees distinguish

themselves as certified public health

professionalsSlide4

Applying to MPH Programs

The application process takes a fair amount of time, so

start early

to give you the time you need to make your application as competitive as possible and give yourself the best chance of being accepted into the program and maybe even of being offered a scholarship, fellowship, or Research

Assistantship!Slide5

How to Think About the Application

Before you

apply:

Think about it as an application for a job to

work

with the program faculty (both while a student and after graduation) rather than as an application to study with the

faculty

You need

to convince the Admissions Committee

(faculty from the program)

that you are someone with whom they

want

to

workSlide6

Are You a Good Fit for The Program?A

pply

to programs that are a good fit for your

interests

and

goals

and which will prepare you for the future career you hope to

reach

Are

there faculty members who conduct research in areas in which you have experience and interest?

W

ill

you bring the skills and interest to the program that faculty

will

find useful to their current research and vice versa

?

Will

the academic training offered in the program prepare you to work in the field you have chosen?Slide7

Components of the Application

MPH/MS

a

pplications have 6

components, each

is important!

1. Personal

Statement

/ Statement of

Interest

2. Letters

of recommendation

/ Evaluations

3. Resume

or CV

4. Academic

transcripts

(all

college level courses)

5. Test

scores

(GREs and TOEFL if applicable)

6. Additional

questions for CUNY SPH Slide8

Personal Statement/ Statement of Interest

The statement

o

f interest is one of the most important components of the

application!

This

is your opportunity to explain to the admissions committee:

How your past experiences have prepared you for master

’

s level training and research,

How what you want to do in the future requires

master's

level training, and

How you will use your time in the

master's

program to work towards this

future

The admissions committee is

looking to see that you have a well defined interest and plan of

studySlide9

Personal Statement/ Statement of Interest

Should read like a story, describing your past training and experience and how that led to your current interests and desire to achieve a specific

goals

that

require masters training

Be specific when

describing your future goals

.

What area of public health do you want to work on in the future

? How

will the masters program help you gain additional experience and skill in this area

?

Mention any publications

or

presentations.

C

ite

the published papers or abstracts. This will help illustrate your trajectory up to this point and demonstrate that you already have achieved some level of professional success in the

fieldSlide10

Prompt text in SOPHAS application: When submitting your Personal Statement, it should be unique to each degree program to which you are going to apply. Your statement is intended to give you the opportunity to submit a tailored narrative which will describe your education, experience and professional career objectives. Your personal statement should describe your:

Reasons for interest in public health

Reasons for interest in program of study and/or concentration

Reasons for interest in the school or program

Career goals

Slide11

Letters of Recommendation/ Evaluations

You will

be

required to ask 2-3 people to write letters recommending you to the program. These letters are very important in the application review

process

Who you ask to write these letters and how much effort they put in the writing is

keySlide12

Who to Ask for Letters of RecommendationOnly

ask

those who know

you well, you are certain that they can say some very positive things about you, and you think that they will take the time to write a good

letter

In general you want letters from people at a higher level so they can describe your potential to take positions at a higher level of responsibility in the

future

At

least

one letter from a

former professor

who can attest to your academic skills and

potential

A

t

least one letter from a

professional supervisor

who can attest to your ability to work within a professional environment, collaborate with colleagues, and take

initiative

Do

not submit letters from family members or friends Slide13

Who to Ask for Letters of RecommendationWhen asking someone to write you a letter of recommendation, you

should:

Ask

the person at least 2 weeks before the letter is due (3-4 weeks is even better

)

Offer

to meet with the person (or speak by phone) if they have any questions or need additional

information

Give

the person your up-to-date CV or resume and the statement of interest you plan to submit with your application so they can see what you have been working on recently and why you want to enroll in the program to which you are applying and write their letter

accordinglySlide14

Format for Letters of Recommendation

Should be

fairly

detailed

D

escribe

the experiences, training and skills you have had that prepare you for

masters

level studies and your potential to do well in the

program

and your chosen

profession

S

hould

be 1-2 pages

long

P

oint

this out to the person writing the letter as some are not aware of the level of detail

expected, especially

when asking someone from another country

as

the customs regarding letters of recommendation

vary

Sometimes the person you ask to write the letter will ask you to draft a letter that they can edit. That is fine, but be sure to write a good letter for yourself in case the recommender does not do much

editingSlide15

Resume or CV

As

you would do for a job application, you want to tailor your CV to the program, emphasizing the experiences and skills that will be of most interest to the doctoral program faculty. Things to highlight might

include:

Educational

experience, including grade point average (GPA), any awards or honors (e.g. Dean’s List), title of

thesis

Research

experience, including paid and volunteer experiences with faculty while a

student.

Relevant

work experience, highlighting work that relates to the area of study to which you are

applying.

Professional

presentations or publications (journal or reports

)

Any

relevant skills, such as foreign languages spoken, computer packages, data analysis skills, etc.Slide16

Resume or CVKeep

your CV/resume general as the same document will be sent to all schools and programs you will apply

to

Even

if you only plan to apply to one school or program, do NOT tailor your CV/Resume to a specific school or program as you may decide to apply to additional schools or programs at a later date, and once you submit your application your CV/Resume can NOT be edited or

changedSlide17

Academic Transcripts

S

ubmit

transcripts from all institutions of higher learning (i.e. above high school) that you have

attended

If you studied in a non-US institution,

have your transcript evaluated by WES (World Education Services)

If

your grades are mixed,

include

an explanation of why that is the case either in your statement of interest or as a separate

document

For

example, if you had one bad semester, you might explain what was going on during that semester that made academics less of a priority (family crisis, health problem, etc.), or if you did poorly early on but then improved you might highlight the

improvementSlide18

Standardized Tests (GREs)

D

esigned

to assess your academic

potential

A

ssess

how well you learned what you were taught in school up until now. How well do you read, write, and do math?

H

elp

admissions committees compare applicants in an environment where grading systems across schools vary widely, with some schools inflating grades but others not

Expire after

5

yearsSlide19

Studying for the GREs

To

do your best on the GREs, you need to STUDY!

P

lan

to spend about 2 months studying for the GRE on a regular basis (2-6 hours/week

)

Take

a test prep

class

Work

through a GRE study guide

book/test

prep webinars and sample tests posted on the website of the Education Testing Service (ETS

)

Form

a

study group with other friends planning to take the GREsSlide20

Studying for the GREPreparation for the GRE can improve your score quit a bit. The GRE is

not

an IQ test measuring innate ability, it measures academic skills which, depending on how long you have been out of high school, may need to be dusted off a bit

The goals

of studying for the GRE are

to:

Refresh

your knowledge of basic math equations (some of which you may not have thought about since 10

th

grade

)

Refresh

your academic reading comprehension and writing skills (forms of reading and writing you probably do not use often in your current job

)

Gain

familiarity with the test format so you spend less time reading instructions during the test (leaving more time to think and figure out the best answers

)

Feel

prepared and less nervous when you take the

testSlide21

Additional QuestionsCUNY SPH asks additional questions to help us gather some more information from you. Some are optional:

How did you learn about the CUNY SPH?

Is there anything in your application about which you wish to provide further explanation in order to assist the Admissions Committee in making a decision?

What is it about CUNY SPH and our mission that attracted you to us?

How long (years and/or months) have you lived at the address you listed in the permanent address section of this application.

If you have attended a CUNY college in the past, please provide your EMPL ID

Which other public health schools or programs are you applying to?

Are you currently working for the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene?Slide22

Chat with US ! The quickest way to reach us is to

chat with us

!

Mondays

,

Wednesdays

and

Fridays

from 10:30 AM to 1:30 PM EST

All

prospective students are encouraged to attend an

Information Session

for more details on the public health degree programs and admissions

requirements

Please

view the full upcoming

Information Session Calendar

and RSVP to an event.

Y

ou

may also find our

Frequently Asked Questions

section of the website helpful.

If you have any other questions regarding admissions, please call (

646) 664-8355

or email

admissions@

sph.cuny.edu