I hope to attend graduate school in Public Health at XXXX University for several reasons, including the location and academic excellence of your program. I also appreciate that XU is one of the most diverse campuses in the USA. I thrive on multiculturalism and diversity, especially since I was fortunate to have parents who lived in and visited numerous countries worldwide during my childhood for some of my formative years. I witnessed acute public health situations such as the SARS epidemic in Hong Kong, where I was constantly required to wear face masks outdoors, or the Southeast Asian haze crises in Singapore, which triggered frequent asthmatic illnesses.
However, my principal research interest is our native India, the filthy slums that ring major cities, where open defecation remains the norm. There are few resources available to study the problem, much less resolve it. India is in enormous need of help with public health infrastructure, organization, and resources. I have conducted fieldwork in refugee camps in India and worked as an economist at Research Triangle Institute (RTI) International. I learned to analyze respondents’ behaviors for disease treatment attributes. These experiences kindled my interest in public health, particularly concerning disease epidemics, health in conflict zones, and health among especially vulnerable populations such as Indigenous people and refugees.
I am a perfect fit with your MPH Program at XXXX University because you offer a certificate studies program in the areas in which I hope to distinguish myself, particularly Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Infectious Diseases. II look forward to very much broadening and deepening my quantitative research skills. At XU, I will have the invaluable opportunity to apply my skills in a professional setting through the practicum and help me impact people’s lives by working in applied research at a significant public health research institute or non-governmental organization. As a student at XU, I will be able to begin to make a concrete, meaningful difference as an advocate for public health interventions. I am confident that I would be an asset to your program at XU, and I look forward to learning from my peers worldwide, especially those from the Global South.
My passion for pursuing a career in public health was further cultivated by my internship in India with the Universal Just Action Society (UJAS). This organization assists Hindu refugees fleeing Pakistan. I gathered data by interviewing refugees and collecting water samples, culminating in water, sanitation, and hygiene assessment. I recommended a variety of initiatives, such as providing water disinfectant powder and mosquito nets. I also recommended advocacy for Indian citizenship in my report as it would help them acquire property rights, allowing them to install toilets in their homes. This experience taught me the importance of preparing realistic goals for future interventions and building solid and lasting ties with those you are trying to help.
In my next professional position, I learned a great deal about eliciting stakeholders’ behaviors for treatment attributes such as side effects and efficacy, which are critical for framing any intervention. I developed skills such as statistical programming in Stata, SAS, and Logit and utilizing methodologies such as discrete-choice experiments and mixed-logit models. Furthermore, I applied these skills to projects across various disease areas, including lupus, endometriosis, and multiple myeloma. My multitasking in numerous projects helped me identify critical areas for improvement in my soft skills, such as ensuring quality detail in deliverables and communication with team members.
The exposure I have gained through my internship with UJAS, and my work with RTI has provided a solid platform for the MPH program and a career in public health. The MPH Program at XU would allow me to advance my skills and help meet my learning goals of better articulating my results to diverse audiences, enhancing my knowledge in my fields of interest, and identifying how research findings could lead to interventions. These goals would be met by taking extensive coursework in the program, having the opportunity to work with professors who share similar interests, such as Dr. XXXX and Dr. Matthew XXXX, learning research skills, engaging with proposals and analyses through the certificate programs’ integrative learning experiences, and being able to apply my skills through the practicum. The prospect of working in collaboration with my classmates from all over the world appeals to me.
Thank you for considering my application to Public Health at XXXX University.
MPH Public Health Personal Purpose Statement Example