Public Health

View the current advising sheet .

Interested in our accelerated BS in Public Health/MPH program? View the advising sheet .

Always check with your advisor to discuss your specific situation. However, most students should complete the courses in the following order. Most students will require 5 semesters to complete the major.

Yes. The BS in Public Health program requires specific General Education courses be taken for the major.

To sit for the CHES exam to become a Certified Health Education Specialist, you must take two courses: HEA 240 and HEA 306, which are not offered in every semester, and then get an eligibility letter from the Program Director. Please meet with your advisor to develop a course plan to meet your goals.

The accelerated program enables undergraduate students to take up to 18 graduate credits as an undergraduate at undergraduate tuition prices, saving you time and money on your MPH degree. For more information see our Accelerated BS in Public Health to MPH Program.

Current BSPH undergraduate students are eligible for admission with junior standing, a cumulative grade point average of 2.5, and completion of at least 15 credits of core public health courses with a GPA of 3.0 in major courses. Applicants must submit the graduate application and all requested documents required by the department. Application instructions can be found here.

If admission to the MPH program is recommended, students receive a conditional and provisional offer of admission. Full admission will be granted upon conferral of the undergraduate degree and meeting all departmental and Dean of Graduate Studies requirements.

Please contact Dr. Erin Knight for more information.

The internship is taken in your last semester in the program (Fall, Spring, or Summer). All core Public Health core courses must be taken before HEA 421 because it is a capstone course. Currently there is no mechanism for awarding credit for independent internships; for example, if you have the opportunity to do an internship in a health care organization over the summer, but you are not in your last semester, you won’t be able to earn credit for it.

HEA 418 is the course that prepares you for internship. In that class, you will work with department faculty and staff to find an internship that meets your needs.

You will receive your diploma once your internship has completed. Therefore, your graduation date will be either the end of Spring semester, Summer semester, or Fall semester. Application deadlines for graduation.

Generally, if you plan to graduate in May or August, you will apply in January. If you plan to graduate in December, you will apply in July or August.

Note to students graduating in summer: There is no August commencement ceremony. Once you apply to graduate in summer, you should receive an invitation to participate in the May commencement ceremony. You will get to “walk” before you graduate and get your diploma. Other than August graduates, no other students should be “walking” before graduation.

Applying for graduation early will not enable you to “walk” early. If you apply before it is appropriate, your application will be pushed back to the correct semester.

Once you apply for graduation, the registrar’s office will review the university graduation requirements; that is, that you have completed your General Education requirements and will have 120 credits upon graduation.

Then your application will be forward to the Health department, where the Program Director will review whether you have completed the BS in Public Health program requirements. Once both sets of requirements have been checked off, you are clear to graduate.

You won’t be able to graduate on time if you:

• Won’t have 120 credits by the time you graduate
• Missed a required General Education course
• Missed a core Public Health course or elective or did not attain the minimum grade in a course.