The pandemic may have had a silver lining. It opened many people’s eyes to the possibilities of a career in public health.
After more than a year of intense attention on the global threat posed by COVID-19, public health programs at universities nationwide, including Brown University, are reporting a surge in applications. The industry association, the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health, reported a 40% increase in applicants this year for graduate-level degree programs, compared with the prior year.
Brown, which has Rhode Island’s only accredited program for a master’s degree in public health, had more than a 100% increase in applications this year, according to the program director.
Brown had 948 applicants for the Master of Public Health program this coming fall. Last year, it had 437, according to Dr. Annie Gjelsvik, program director.
The New England Institute of Technology in East Greenwich has also had increased interest in its online, part-time Master of Public Health program, according to spokeswoman Linda Dionne.
The program, which is seeking accreditation, has had 29 applications for the fall term, compared with eight last year.
Brown’s public health program has been in existence for more than a decade, initially contained in a department before the School of Public Health was created. More than 150 students are expected to enter in September, up from 60 last year and 47 in 2019.
In addition to the surge in applications, the racial and ethnic diversity of the applicant pool also increased. The university reported it had a 187% increase in applications from people identifying as African American and a 137% increase in applicants who identified as Latino.
‘They’re all really interested in solving these ... deeply human problems.’
DR. ANNIE GJELSVIK, Brown University’s Master of Public Health program director
University officials said the work of public health professionals during the coronavirus crisis has captured the attention of the public. Many applicants indicated they were looking at careers in public health before COVID-19 appeared, but many were involved in other fields and became focused on public health because of the pandemic, Gjelsvik said.
The field of public health is all about solving complex issues and problems that affect people and populations, she said. Career paths for those who earn a master’s degree in public health include health care administrators, epidemiologists, dieticians and nutritionists.
As the leader of the admissions committee, Gjelsvik read many of the applications herself. Every person who applied referenced the pandemic in some manner.
“What really unites them is they’re all really interested in solving these complex problems, these deeply human problems,” she said. “And there are so many jobs that feed into that.”
This year, for the first time, the university made the Graduate Record Examinations optional for applicants because of the pandemic.
That likely encouraged more people to apply, Gjelsvik said, including people who may have assumed their test scores would eliminate them from consideration. “We know that the GRE costs money to take, but even if that’s not a barrier, it takes time to take, it takes time to study,” she said.
In its place, the university put more emphasis on letters of recommendation and transcripts, as well as world experience and job history.
The point is not to recruit only biology majors, Gjelsvik said.
“We want a class that’s made up of people from all different backgrounds,” she said.
Having a public health workforce that reflects the communities they serve in is important because it puts a more-diverse group together to work on solving complex health issues, she said.
“We know when the team that’s working together to solve a complex problem has a diversity of experience, backgrounds and skills, they’re better at solving that problem,” she said. “The other thing is that public health works really intimately in people’s lives, where they live, where they work, where they worship, where they play. We know people want what is best for themselves and their families and they trust people from their communities.”
Kelsey Bala, who graduated from Brown’s public health program in May, said she wasn’t surprised to see the increased interest. Her own interests in pursuing a medical career shifted as an undergraduate after a classmate mentioned she was pursuing public health.
Bala’s emphasis, in maternal and child health, is a strength of the Brown program.
Given the pandemic, she said, more people outside science and health circles are now aware of the need for the prevention of illness.
“When I entered my program in 2019, I still saw public health as something very new to people who aren’t studying medicine or science,” she said. “The whole idea of prevention first, and then treatment, trying to prevent the onset of illness, I still thought was a fairly new idea. Then once the pandemic hit, I said now everyone’s eyes are opened to the idea of keeping communities healthy before things like this happen.”
Mary MacDonald is a PBN staff writer. Contact her at
Macdonald@PBN.com.
