Student blogs

Happy almost-December! As we are in the midst of application season, I will talk about some reasons that led me to choose KI and specifically the Public Health Sciences (PHS) programme. There are both personal and practical reasons behind my decision to apply. I hope some of these reasons can inform you on what KI and the PHS programme has to offer!

Long-time interest in public health

Not to sound like a weird fangirl, but I have been interested in studying at KI since graduating high school. I was originally interested in pursuing the Master’s programme in Global Health. When I sent an email to admissions to inquire about the steps to get in, they kindly told me to get a bachelor’s degree first…:) During my Bachelors studies, my interest shifted from global to public health. Pursuing my Bachelor’s degree in the U.S exposed me to many new health challenges impacting a vastly diverse population. I was saddened, frustrated, intrigued, and above all, inspired when noticing the power and beauty of looking at health from a population and preventative lens via public health. It satisfied my desire to be in an interdisciplinary field that thrives on integrating many areas. This was in contrast to separating, say, the “social” and “natural” sciences. 

I was still set on pursuing a Masters at KI, but I now had my eyes on the Public Health Sciences programme. I impulsively decided to apply two weeks before the deadline my first time. But I fully believed I would not get in. To my great surprise, I had gotten in! (Un)fortunately, I had to turn it down as I received a last-minute job offer to work in Hawai´i–possibly the furthest you can get from Europe–at a federal health agency, for two years. 

Focus on research methods

In my opinion, I thought that the programme’s courses tied back to, and represent different aspects of research methodology. As I had repeatedly felt frustrated that I lacked the understanding and application of fundamental research methods during my employment in Hawai´i, the programme courses were very appealing. They were going to be hard. However, I was very keen on learning all these concepts, ranging from sensitivity, specificity, assessing biases, learning about study designs, and statistical analysis, to name a few. I was drawn to how meticulous each course presented itself as, and how comprehensive they were when combined. 

Focus on epidemiological methods (and facing my fears of numbers…)

The second time getting accepted, I also impulsively chose the Epidemiology track over the HPP track. This was after examining the syllabus for the two tracks (you can read more about some of the differences here), and seeing the application of the Epi track to be more suited to my prospective career goals. At least that’s what I tell people!

Actually, I chose this track because I knew I would be forced to learn about quantitative and statistical analysis. I am also god awful at these areas. But I needed to overcome that to become an epidemiologist, and I was not going to give up without at least trying. So I made the decision to simply face my fear of numbers once and for all. As a result, I like numbers a little more now, and they are ok with me (I think). Even when overwhelmed by lectures, I remain grateful when I realize that my “struggles” are related to something I have dreamt of working with.

Focus on collaboration with global peers

I think I have been familiarized with navigating relationships between both friends and colleagues of varying nationalities/backgrounds. So with KI embracing a globally diverse classroom environment, I felt very drawn to it. With classmates from all over the globe, I think you always learn something new within and outside the academic context. I feel like this aspect is especially important in public health. It helps us to better understand the feasibility, rationale, and consequences of various studies or interventions set in different countries or regions (varying in cultural, social, or biological factors) that we learn about in our courses. 

Moreover, KI places a lot of emphasis on group work, as well as peer-to-peer learning in their classrooms. Personally, I really enjoy learning in such a dynamic way. With the added layer of being in a global cohort, this active learning method was appealing to me upon applying to KI. I feel like I have learned how to better communicate or summarize my points clearer to peers, and become more flexible in the way I grasp different concepts. I’m not trying to say that peer-to-peer learning–especially groupworks–are always easy nor fair. Rather, this method, combined with other (individual) methods of learning, is very practical. It sets you up for success in “real-life” settings involving a lot of collaboration, negotiations, and compromise with your peers. 

Robust network of health professionals

When I applying to the programme both times, I was equally starstruck by the amount of research groups at KI. There were also so many specific public health and epidemiology-based research groups. Better yet, many groups focused on areas I was interested in, which really blew me away. Having access to course leaders and lecturers who were directly involved in research are that I had long read about, was therefore an important factor in choosing KI for me. Moreover, I felt like having such a robust network would only be of benefit. I think this is especially the case if I ever wanted to pursue a Ph.D,  or other jobs within and outside academia. 

Peer pressure

It just so happened to be that many of my best friends from elementary and high school were at KI. They really sold the student life aspect to me. I also wanted to be at the same school/institution as them simulatenously, albeit in different programmes. As a result, we’ve been able to meet up for study sessions, lunches, coffees, and meet each other’s friends. So there was a social reason for applying to KI as well. 

I hope this has helped you understand some factors that went into my decision to study at KI! But remember that many other benefits and reasons differ from applicant to applicant. So take my experience with a grain of salt. Stay warm, and best of luck with your applications for 2025!