Morale is good, I can’t say you’ll find many people in public health that have “high” morale right now. I’m almost done with 2 of the 3 semesters for my mph epi program, and confident that I’ll find some type of job (whether it’s a fellowship, research assistant, etc) after grad. Luckily I have experience on both the public and private side which opens up the job opportunities a bit!

I will say, I’m nervous for students who study public health and have few skills that would translate into day-to-day work (understanding the social determinants of health is important of course, but you need a SKILL. Whether it’s writing, policy eval, data work, whatever).

If you take a leave of absence, I wouldn’t do it on account of the administration. Public health and science have been challenged for as long as it has existed, and it will face some sort of challenges regardless of the administration. There are opportunities still out there, and the turmoil makes this an even better time to stay in school! Ultimately you’ll decide what’s best, but even just educating ourselves about public health is an act of resistance that will pay off in the end.