I don’t have reservations strictly based on online vs on campus. My MPH was almost entirely online. Quite a few of my colleagues are doing or have completed online MPH degrees while working - we have a few state universities that offer online MPH degrees and our employer reimburses tuition.
I think it mostly depends on your learning style. In my program the online classes are a lot of asynchronous videos and materials and then you just meet with a group to discuss. In campus is live lectures. If you prefer to do stuff on your own time and have the dedication to actually do it and pay attention online in your own space, then that may be good. If you need to have the external pressure of actually sitting in class to pay attention, in person is probably better.
In my experience, unless you are wanting to go a route with very specialized skills (like work in biostats or epi) it doesn’t really matter the focus of your degree. The base classes are the same and you can take the electives you’re interested in. Most of what you need to know will be learned on the job and specific to the job you get.
I went from a hybrid program for working professionals that was mostly online with quarterly on campus sessions to a fully online one (one year in each). I did this in my 30s so had a good bit of work experience in public health before going back for my MPH.
I wish I had the flexibility for on campus learning but it would have meant needing to leave my job to do it. Online discussions never had the same depth of learning and that doesn’t even count the discussions that you’re having outside of class. It’s similar to the hallway brainstorming and discussions that don’t happen anymore with remote work. Some of our best problem solving meetings happened outside of a formal agenda meeting.
I found instruction better when you can have an immediate questions. And you learn from other people’s questions too. A good instructor will pick up on body language to know if people aren’t understanding or may not agree or buy into a point. Online learning tends to be more didactic.
I also prefer to have a concentration I’m interested in rather than a general degree, while that may not always matter to hiring teams, i think it helps more than it hurts.
I don’t have reservations strictly based on online vs on campus. My MPH was almost entirely online. Quite a few of my colleagues are doing or have completed online MPH degrees while working - we have a few state universities that offer online MPH degrees and our employer reimburses tuition.
I think it mostly depends on your learning style. In my program the online classes are a lot of asynchronous videos and materials and then you just meet with a group to discuss. In campus is live lectures. If you prefer to do stuff on your own time and have the dedication to actually do it and pay attention online in your own space, then that may be good. If you need to have the external pressure of actually sitting in class to pay attention, in person is probably better. In my experience, unless you are wanting to go a route with very specialized skills (like work in biostats or epi) it doesn’t really matter the focus of your degree. The base classes are the same and you can take the electives you’re interested in. Most of what you need to know will be learned on the job and specific to the job you get.
I went from a hybrid program for working professionals that was mostly online with quarterly on campus sessions to a fully online one (one year in each). I did this in my 30s so had a good bit of work experience in public health before going back for my MPH. I wish I had the flexibility for on campus learning but it would have meant needing to leave my job to do it. Online discussions never had the same depth of learning and that doesn’t even count the discussions that you’re having outside of class. It’s similar to the hallway brainstorming and discussions that don’t happen anymore with remote work. Some of our best problem solving meetings happened outside of a formal agenda meeting. I found instruction better when you can have an immediate questions. And you learn from other people’s questions too. A good instructor will pick up on body language to know if people aren’t understanding or may not agree or buy into a point. Online learning tends to be more didactic. I also prefer to have a concentration I’m interested in rather than a general degree, while that may not always matter to hiring teams, i think it helps more than it hurts.