Advising
The BSPH advising team is ready to help you! We have an extensive website, respond quickly to VAC questions, and offer both drop-in and 1:1 advising, by appointment.
What kind of help do you need?
Short, specific enrollment questions about PH classes (Drop-in Advising)
Visit us at Drop-in Advising! We have both remote and in-person hours scheduled most weeks, and exclusively offer Drop-ins during enrollment periods.
See our calendar for dates, times, and Zoom links.
Long-term planning and major questions for current Public Health students (Appointments)
An appointment with a BSPH advisor is the most appropriate for you! Select your major/preferred major, below:
- Public Health majors with a Concentration in Medicine Sciences
- All other Public Health students, regardless of major (schedule on the hour or half hour only)
All FA25 admitted students MUST complete our online Public Health New Student Orientation modules prior to meeting with an advisor for the first time. Appointments will not be confirmed unless a student has completed the Orientation modules.
We release appointments on Wednesdays for the following week, and have limited appointment availability due to our other duties. Appointments are not offered during Week 1 of the quarter, the first week of enrollment, finals week, Winter break, and several weeks during the summer. If you have an emergency and cannot find an appointment please contact us in the VAC with details and your availability.
Graduation check for current Seniors majoring in Public Health
If you are in your final year at UC San Diego ONLY, you may schedule a 10 minute graduation check appointment. Please note that these appointments are intended to provide you with an overview of outstanding coursework; if you have more in-depth planning questions or want to change your major, you will want to select a Long-Term Planning appointment.
Graduation checks can also be done at drop-in advising.
Other questions about Public Health majors
If you have another question about the Public Health major, you may wish to visit us at Drop-in advising (current students only) or send us a message.
- Current UCSD students must submit their questions via the Virtual Advising Center (VAC). Queries received via email or phone will not receive a response. Appointment requests must be made through YouCanBookMe.com (see above).
- Prospective students, please visit our Admission and Transfer Preparation pages first. Then contact us at publichealth@health.ucsd.edu with your questions about the Public Health program. We cannot meet individually with prospective students.
For more information about the Public Health major, please see the UC San Diego General Catalog.
Changing my major to Public Health
If you are a current student who was admitted as a first-year and is in their first 6 quarters at UC San Diego, or was admitted as a transfer and is in their first Fall quarter at UC San Diego, you are eligible to apply to change your major to Public Health. You must meet all criteria for the Selective Major to apply, and admission to the major is not guaranteed. Students who are in their 7th quarter or later, or who were admitted as transfer students and have passed their first quarter, are not eligible to apply.
Prospective students, please visit our Admission and Transfer Preparation pages first. Then contact us at publichealth@health.ucsd.edu with your questions about the Public Health program. We cannot meet individually with prospective students.
Petitioning a class or submitting a form to Public Health
If you have a form to submit to the Public Health Advisors, please see our Forms and Petitions page. Please keep in mind that all forms are expected to be complete and correct; you may want to meet with an advisor before submission to ensure the completeness of your form.
PLEASE NOTE: Form processing can take up to 2-3 weeks or more, especially during busy periods.
Studying Abroad as a Public Health Major
We encourage our students to consider studying abroad. Please work with Study Abroad UC San Diego to identify the program for you.
For information about how your program abroad can count for Public Health major requirements, please visit our Study Abroad page.
Internships in Public Health
We encourage any student interested in participating in an internship to work with the Academic Internship Program. AIP administers internships locally and in both Sacramento and Washington DC, and will assist students with all stages of obtaining an internship for academic credit.
To learn more about Internships and how they can count for Public Health major requirements, please visit our Internships and UC/DC and UC Center Sacramento pages.
Paid internships are sometimes listed on the Career Center's Handshake website.
Research or Experiential Opportunities in Public Health
Public Health majors are encouraged to take advantage of the wide range of student positions on research and experiential learning teams throughout campus. We encourage students to seek out opportunities utilizing the campus' REAL portal or the Undergraduate Research Hub, or on individual lab and professor websites. We also post opportunities, when they are shared with us, on our Research and Experiential Opportunities pages, which also include enrollment information once opportunities have been obtained.
Graduate school, career, and pre-health advice (including pre-Med, etc.)
For graduate school and career advising, including pre-health advising, your best resource is the UC San Diego Career Center.
Public Health advising has some limited Public Health-specific information on the Planning Your Future in Public Health tab of our website, and we run yearly career and graduate school panels, many of which can be found on our Past Workshops page.
PLEASE NOTE: Public Health advisors are experts on the Public Health major and do not provide extensive career or gradaute school advice. We can provide limited assistance to get you started thinking about your career or graduate school experience, and with fitting pre-health coursework into the academic plan of students enrolled in the Medicine Sciences concentration ONLY. We cannot provide advising on pre-health subject matter or requirements.
How do I find BSPH advising?
Due to student demand, most of our appointments are being done virtually. Please check your appointment confirmation or the Drop-In calendar before heading to the office. Except for stated drop-in hours or confirmed appointments, we are not currently seeing students in our office; please do not knock on the door or walk in unless otherwise stated.
The Student Affairs Office of the Bachelor of Science in Public Health (BSPH) Program is located on the second floor of Pepper Canyon Hall (PCYNH), next to Room 240. You can find us through the UC San Diego Pepper Canyon Hall Google Maps link.
Staff Advisors
Elisa Crossman
Undergraduate Student Affairs Advisor
Pepper Canyon Hall, Room 254
Dina Rodgers
Undergraduate Student Affairs Advisor
Pepper Canyon Hall, Room 249