5 Reasons I Picked Rollins

By: Lisa Emerson – 2nd Year – Global Epidemiology

Many factors go into a decision of which graduate school to attend. For me, Rollins excelled in the 5 following areas:

1. Location, Location, Location

The location of RSPH truly can’t be beat. With CDC (literally) in our backyard, students have unparalleled exposure and access to CDC. Students often work part-time at CDC during their MPH/MSPH degrees and many of our faculty members also work at CDC. Even part of RSPH orientation is held in the CDC’s auditorium.

2. Student Community

Another feature I loved when I toured Rollins was the student community. Rollins definitely has a community feel, which differed from the other schools that I toured. Rather than having solely late evening classes, Rollins functions throughout the day and students get to know each other even across departments. Each semester the Rollins Student Government Association hosts several “Convos On Tap” where gather to share food, drinks, and fun in our courtyard. The whole school comes out and it’s a great time to make new friends.

3. Professors

Rollins also has amazing faculty who conduct a wide range of research. We’ve got infectious disease, maternal and child health, genetic and molecular epidemiology, and more. What’s even better is our professors make themselves readily available for their students. We’re treated more as colleagues than students and professors enjoy our company.

4. Career Development

Rollins is the only school of public health that has its own career services. What’s even better is our career coaches are all specifically public health career coaches who have worked in public health. We get great, specific, and applicable advice directly for our field. Each semester our career services puts on a career fair where we can meet the many public health providers in the Atlanta area (and beyond).

5. Job Opportunities

Finally, Rollins students have a wide selection of jobs for both part-time positions and full-time positions after graduation. Almost every single student works during their time at Rollins, which means we can graduate with 2 years of professional public health work experience. After graduation (and for part-time positions), the Atlanta area has hundreds of public health organizations to choose from including: American Cancer Society, CARE, CDC, Task Force for Global Health, and the Georgia Department of Public Health.