The MD/MPH Option

It has been clear for many years to public health professionals that many health problems are rooted in social issues and that these problems must be addressed using the tools of public health. Just as it is important for MDs to understand how the human body works from the organism down to the sub-molecular level, it is also important for doctors to understand how the human being works from the organism "up" to the global level.

With that in mind, tacking an MPH (Masters of Public Health) degree onto a MD program is a relatively straightforward task. MPH programs include study into epidemiology, biostatistics, planning and management, international health, bioethics, public health law, environmental and occupational health, and the social and behavioral sciences. Most schools with joint programs recognize the confluence of the two fields and allow both programs to be completed in five years or less.

Johns Hopkins, for instance, allows for a leave of absence after the second or third year of medical school for the student to complete the core requirements of the MPH program. Columbia, Yale, and Rochester offer similar five-year programs; Rochester allows the student to complete the core MPH requirements before beginning medical school so as to follow a normal medical student timeline. Some schools, such as Tufts and Northwestern, allow a joint MD/MPH degree within the timeframe of a four-year medical degree. Northwestern accomplishes this by allowing medical students to pursue their MPH part-time by taking evening classes, while Tufts integrates the program directly into the curriculum. Many other schools not listed here also offer four- or five-year MD/MPH programs.

Adding an MPH to an MD gives a student an incredible range of options after graduation. Having a broad understanding of health care and clinical models makes MD/MPH degree recipients sought after for jobs in public health administration, policy and research, as well as standard residency programs. And with the ability to complete both degrees in four or five years, it is not only an interesting, relevant, and widely applicable course of study – it's a feasible option as well.

List of schools offering joint MD/MPH programs:

Boston University	http://www.bu.edu
Columbia University	http://www.columbia.edu
Drexel University	http://www.drexel.edu
Duke University	http://www.duke.edu
Emory University	http://www.emory.edu
George Washington University	http://www.gwu.edu
Harvard University	http://www.harvard.edu
Jefferson Medical College (with JHU)	http://www.jefferson.edu
Johns Hopkins University	http://www.jhu.edu
LSU-New Orleans	http://www.lsu.edu
Mayo Medical School	http://www.mayo.edu
Morehouse College	http://www.morehouse.edu
New York Medical College	http://www.nymc.edu
Northwestern University	http://www.northwestern.edu
Ohio State University	http://www.osu.edu
Oregon Health & Science University	http://www.ohsu.edu
Saint Louis University	http://www.slu.edu
SUNY-Downstate Medical Center	http://www.hscbklyn.edu/
Temple University	http://www.temple.edu
Tufts University	http://www.tufts.edu
Tulane University	http://www.tulane.edu
University of Arizona	http://www.arizona.edu/
UC-Berkeley	http://www.berkeley.edu/
UC-Los Angeles	http://www.ucla.edu/
UC-San Francisco	http://www.ucsf.edu/
University of Illinois-Chicago	http://www.uic.edu/
University of Kansas	http://www.ku.edu
University of Kentucky	http://www.uky.edu
UMDNJ-NJ Medical School	http://www.umdnj.edu
University of Michigan	http://www.umich.edu
University of Minnesota-Minneapolis	http://www.umn.edu
UNC-Chapel Hill	http://www.unc.edu
University of Pittsburgh	http://www.pitt.edu/
University of Rochester	http://www.rochester.edu/
University of South Carolina	http://www.sc.edu
University of South Florida	http://www.usf.edu
West Virginia University	http://www.wvu.edu
Yale University	http://www.yale.edu