Bachelor of Science in Public Health (BSPH) with Concentration in Health Policy and Management Sciences

^{(Effective Fall 2024 - for all students who entered UCSD in FA24-SP26)}

IMPORTANT: This major is not accepting continuing students beginning fall 2026

Health Policy and Management is a multidisciplinary field of public health that is concerned with both policy and legislation related to health, as well as the delivery, quality, and costs of health care for individuals and populations. Health Policy and Management is a main pillar of public health study, and a growing field of study among younger public health professionals. In recent years, the Masters of Health Administration has grown rapidly as a popular public health graduate degree for students particularly passionate about the business and administration components of health. The Concentration in Health Policy and Management Sciences provides students the opportunity to receive foundational training in healthcare delivery, policy, legislation, and business administration. This concentration will also enable students interested in pursuing a career in health policy and/or management to explore this area of study and decide whether they may be more interested in one or both fields (policy/legislation vs. business/management).

Please see plans.ucsd.edu for a sample academic plan.

Entry to the Major

Every Public Health Major has their own Major Entry Criteria. Please see Public Health Major Entry Requirement on our website for more details.

Lower-Division Requirements (32 or 33 units)

Public Health Sciences (1 course, 4 units)

PH 40: Introduction to Public Health

Biology (3 courses, 12 units)

BILD 3 PLUS two of the following:
- BILD 1 or BILD 10*, BILD 2, BILD 12, BILD 18, BILD 20*, BILD 22*, BILD 26*, BILD 28*, BILD 30*, BILD 32*, BILD 36*, BILD 38, BILD 44, BILD 60, BILD 61

BILD 1, BILD 2, and BILD 3 is recommended for students going into traditional health professions (medical school, physician assistant school, nursing), epidemiology, or other fields that value a hard science background.

*Please note:1) Credit cannot be earned for BILD 10 after completing BILD 1 at UC San Diego; 2) Credit cannot be earned for BILD 20 after completing BICD 100 at UC San Diego; 3) Credit cannot be earned for BILD 22 after completing BIBC 120 at UC San Diego; 4) Credit cannot be earned for BILD 26 after completing BIPN 100 at UC San Diego; 5) Credit cannot be earned for BILD 28 after completing BICD 140 at UC San Diego; 6) Credit cannot be earned for BILD 30 after completing BIMM 120 at UC San Diego; 7) Credit cannot be earned for BILD 32 after completing BIMM 134 at UC San Diego; 8) Credit cannot be earned for BILD 36 after completing BICD 136 at UC San Diego.

Students may request through the VAC to use COGS 17 in place of BILD 12 towards their Biology area.

Quantitative Methods (1 course, 4 or 5 units)

Option 1: MATH 11
Option 2: PSYC 60
Option 3: COGS 14B
Option 4: HDS 60

Option 1 is recommended for students going into epidemiology, biostatistics, or other fields that value statistics and data analysis.

Public Health Research Methods (1 course, 4 units)

PH 45

Public Health Trending Topics (1 course, 4 units)

PH 70-85

Lower Division Public Health Elective (total of 4 units required)

PH 50-95, PH 98, PH 99

Upper-Division Requirements (52 or 56 units)

Public Health Core Disciplines (6 courses, 24 units)

PH 101: Epidemiology
PH 102: Biostatistics
PH 110: Health Behavior and Chronic Diseases
PH 120: Health Policies for Healthy Lifestyles
PH 130: Environmental and Occupational Health
USP 143: The US Health Care System

Upper Division Public Health Electives (total of 8 units required)

PH 140-191, PH 195, PH 198, PH 199

Health Policy and Management Sciences Electives (total of 12 units required)

ANSC 105, ANSC 105GS, CCS 123, CGS 123, ECON 130, ECON 131, ECON 138, ECON 140, ECON 141, ENVR 110, GLBH 105, HISC 180, MGT 108R, MGT 173, POLI 117, POLI 117R, POLI 160AA, POLI 168, SIO 109, SOCI 109R, SOCI 152, USP 101, USP 133, USP 142A, USP 142B, USP 147
Students may petition to use AIP 197, UCCS, or a Study Abroad Experience (must be an upper-division 4-unit course and have been pre-approved by the department).

Students may request through the VAC to use GLBH 160 or MGT 123 towards their Health Policy and Management Sciences Electives area.

NOTE: Many courses above have Economics and/or Political Sciences prerequisistes that must be completed prior to enrollment. Students should plan out Concentration courses early to avoid time-to-degree delays.

Capstone Experience (2 courses, 8 or 12 units)

Option 1: PH 193/193R, PH 194/194R
Option 2: PH 196AH, PH 196BH

Additional Requirements

Students who want to declare a major in public health must first meet all Public Health Entry criteria.
PH 40 must be completed at UC San Diego.
All LD and UD major courses must be taken for a letter grade, with the exception of AIP 197, PH 95, PH 98, PH 99, PH 195, PH 198, and PH 199, which may only be taken P/NP.
A minimum grade of C- is required in any course to be counted towards fulfillment of LD and UD major requirements.
No more than 8 units of PH 91 may be used to meet lower-division major requirements. Topics must be different for each class.
No more than 8 units of PH 191 may be used to meet upper-division major requirements. Topics must be different for each class.
No more than 4 units of PH 195 may be used to meet UD major requirements.
No more than 4 units of AIP 197 may be used to meet UD major requirements.
No more than 8 units of PH 198 and PH 199 may be used to meet UD major requirements.
No more than 4 units of GLBH 111 may be used to meet UD major requirements.
No more than 6 units of COMM 102C may be used to meet UD major requirements.