When you earn a Master of Public Health degree, you will have the option to choose an MPH specialization that will provide you room for career advancement in your chosen area of interest. The area of public health has some of the most diverse career paths that expand the focus on preventive medicine and disease prevention for large populations into a vast array of very in-demand fields. As a result, Forbes magazine has crowned the MPH as the sixth best master’s degree for jobs in our current market with an expected employment jump of nearly 31% before 2022! In order to begin making the decision on your specialty area in the public health field, read on to learn about the four most popular MPH specializations.
Further Reading: 10 Best Online MPH Degree Programs
Biostatistics and Epidemiology
Whether separate or combined, Biostatistics and Epidemiology are common specializations that are both designed to train MPH students for utilizing advanced quantitative methods for investigating public health trends. In particular, this specialization will prepare graduates for collecting, storing, retrieving, analyzing, and interpreting health data in conducting essential epidemiological research for disease prevention. Since Epidemiologist has been named among the Best 100 Jobs in America by CNN Money with 23% growth, graduates can find plentiful positions in universities, medical schools, hospitals, public health departments, government agencies, and pharmaceutical companies. Online biostatistics masters programs are one of the best ways to specialize in this field.
Environmental Health
In the increasingly prominent field of bio-preparedness, the Environmental Health specialization is generally focused on preparing MPH students to analyze how biological, physical, chemical, and environmental factors affect the health of population groups. Many programs place a strong emphasis on developing the practical strategies needed to mitigate the effects of environmental hazards, conduct analysis on contaminants, and create emergency response plans. This MPH specialization is beneficial for students seeking to become environmental health specialists in emergency management firms, clinical laboratories, environmental protection agencies, and public health departments.
Health Policy and Management
For students wishing to become the next outstanding decision makers, critical thinkers, and leaders in improving the American healthcare system, the Health Policy and Management specialization is a common MPH degree program specialization. In addition to developing the knowledge needed to address public health risks by designing effective health services delivery models, this specialization typically includes an internship component for building analytical reasoning skills to evaluate health policies. Graduates can find various leadership positions in hospitals, managed care organizations, public health departments, government agencies, and clinics.
Social and Behavioral Sciences
As one of the most interdisciplinary specializations offered in MPH programs, Social and Behavioral Sciences programs are focused on delivering a strong theoretical basis of health behavior across the lifespan to prepare graduates for designing effective behavior change strategies. This specialization equips students with the skills to design public health interventions that improve health for families, groups, communities, workplaces, and whole populations. Most graduates with an MPH in Social and Behavioral Sciences will pursue careers related to health education, community health, health promotion, program design, or curriculum development.
Overall, an MPH degree is an excellent investment that enables graduate students to focus their studies in a specific area of specialization to gather the knowledge and skills aligned with their future goals. In addition to the major MPH specialization options mentioned here, there are many universities across the United States that will go beyond the major core public health disciplines to offer unique concentrations in Nutrition, Global Health, Maternal and Child Health, Health Communication, Infectious Diseases, Health Education, and more.