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Public Health Entry Requirement

All BSPH Majors have Selective Major status. To prepare students for success in upper-division courses, the faculty in the BSPH Program have determined that students who want to declare a major in Public Health must first meet all criteria outlined below:

Bachelor of Science in Public Health (PB25)

  • Completion of PH 40 “Introduction to Public Health” with a grade of B- or higher.
  • Completion of one statistics course (PSYC 60, COGS 14B, HDS 60, or MATH 11) with a grade of C- or higher.
  • 2.3 or higher UC GPA.

Bachelor of Science in Public Health with Concentration in Biostatistics (PB26)

  • Completion of PH 40 “Introduction to Public Health” with a grade of B- or higher.
  • Completion of MATH 11 with a grade of C- or higher.
  • Completion of MATH 20A and MATH 20B with a grade of C- or higher.
  • 2.3 or higher UC GPA.

Bachelor of Science in Public Health with Concentration in Climate and Environmental Sciences (PB27)

  • Completion of PH 40 “Introduction to Public Health” with a grade of B- or higher.
  • Completion of MATH 11 with a grade of C- or higher.
  • Completion of MATH 10A/20A and MATH 10B/20B with a grade of C- or higher.
  • 2.3 or higher UC GPA.

Bachelor of Science in Public Health with Concentration in Community Health Sciences (PB28)

  • Completion of PH 40 “Introduction to Public Health” with a grade of B- or higher.
  • Completion of one statistics course (PSYC 60, COGS 14B, HDS 60, or MATH 11) with a grade of C- or higher.
  • 2.3 or higher UC GPA.

Bachelor of Science in Public Health with Concentration in Epidemiology (PB29)

  • Completion of PH 40 “Introduction to Public Health” with a grade of B- or higher.
  • Completion of one statistics course (PSYC 60, COGS 14B, HDS 60, or MATH 11) with a grade of C- or higher.
  • 2.3 or higher UC GPA.

Bachelor of Science in Public Health with Concentration in Health Policy and Management Sciences (PB30)

  • Completion of PH 40 “Introduction to Public Health” with a grade of B- or higher.
  • Completion of one statistics course (PSYC 60, COGS 14B, HDS 60, or MATH 11) with a grade of C- or higher.
  • 2.3 or higher UC GPA.

Bachelor of Science in Public Health with Concentration in Medicine Sciences (PB31)

  • Completion of PH 40 “Introduction to Public Health” with a grade of B- or higher.
  • Completion of one statistics course (PSYC 60, COGS 14B, HDS 60, or MATH 11) with a grade of C- or higher.
  • Completion of MATH 10A/20A and MATH 10B/20B with a grade of C- or higher.
  • 2.3 or higher UC GPA.

Students must use the Major/Minor tool on TritonLink to request entrance to any major in Public Health only once all above criteria has been completed and grades have posted on the student's academic history. Students who are planning on double majoring with Public Health will need to fill out a Double Major Petition and have both departments approve your double major request prior to turning in the form to your College. Students will receive approval to declare the major only after the BSPH Program has completed the review process to ensure the above criteria has been met and all grades are posted on the student's academic history.

DEADLINE TO DECLARE - PLEASE NOTE:

In order to not negatively affect Time-To-Degree - students MUST complete all major entry criteria by the fall quarter of their 3rd (junior) year. Students who complete any of the above major entry criteria in winter of their 3rd (junior) year (or beyond) are no longer eligible to declare the major. Additionally, students MUST declare the major by the end of spring quarter of their junior year to enter the Public Health Program. We do not allow students who are already in their 4th (senior) year declare any Public Health Major.

  • First Year (Freshman) Entering Student: Deadline to enroll is fall quarter of 3rd year at UC San Diego
  • Third Year (Transfer) Entering Student: Deadline to enroll is fall quarter of 1st year at UC San Diego

Dates - Deadline to Declare

Dates - Deadline to Declare

All students who have met all major entry requirements by end of fall quarter of 3rd year or have met all major appeal requirements by the end of winter quarter of 3rd year must also meet the deadlines to declare a Public Health Major listed below.

Graduation Year: Winter 2025 - Fall 2025 (Entered FA21 1st year/FA23 3rd year)

  • Deadline to complete Public Health Entry Requirement: December 31st, 2023
    • Deadline if Appeal for a 2nd Chance is approved: March 31st, 2024
  • Deadline to Declare: Friday, September 6th 2024

Graduation Year: Winter 2026 - Fall 2026 (Entered FA22 1st year/FA24 3rd year)

  • Deadline to complete Public Health Entry Requirement: December 31st, 2024
    • Deadline if Appeal for a 2nd Chance is approved: March 31st, 2025
  • Deadline to Declare: Friday, September 5th, 2025

Graduation Year: Winter 2027 - Fall 2027 (Entered FA23 1st year/FA25 3rd year)

  • Deadline to complete Public Health Entry Requirement: December 31st, 2025
    • Deadline if Appeal for a 2nd Chance is approved: March 31st, 2026
  • Deadline to Declare: Friday, September 4th, 2026

Graduation Year: Winter 2028 - Fall 2028 (Entered FA24 1st year/FA26 3rd year)

  • Deadline to complete Public Health Entry Requirement: December 31st, 2026
    • Deadline if Appeal for a 2nd Chance is approved: March 31st, 2027
  • Deadline to Declare: Friday, September 3rd, 2027

Graduation Year: Winter 2029 - Fall 2029 (Entered FA25 1st year/FA27 3rd year)

  • Deadline to complete Public Health Entry Requirement: December 31st, 2027
    • Deadline if Appeal for a 2nd Chance is approved: March 31st, 2028
  • Deadline to Declare: Friday, September 1st, 2028

Graduation Year: Winter 2030 - Fall 2030 (Entered FA26 1st year/FA28 3rd year)

  • Deadline to complete Public Health Entry Requirement: December 31st, 2028
    • Deadline if Appeal for a 2nd Chance is approved: March 31st, 2029
  • Deadline to Declare: Friday, September 7th, 2029

NOTES:

  • Students MUST use the Major/Minor tool on TritonLink to request entrance to the major in Public Health no later than the above deadline. Double Major Petitions MUST be signed by both majors and submitted to the College no later than the above deadline.

Appeal Process

Public Health Entry Requirement

If you earned a C+ through C- in PH 40 but have met all other major entry requirements, you have the opportunity to write an appeal letter to the program requesting a second chance to get into the Public Health Major.

  • This appeal letter should address:
    • Why you want to major in Public Health (your passions, career aspirations, etc.)
    • Anything that hampered your academic performance in PH 40
    • What you plan to do to ensure that you will perform well academically in the major moving forward
    • What is your backup major
    • Anything else you would like to include
  • This letter MUST be submitted to the department no later than the end of the 2nd week of the quarter you are enrolled in PH 101 or PH 102 and only once either PH 101 or PH 102 is listed on your class schedule as enrolled through WebReg.
    • The appeal letter MUST be submitted via the online Form Submission tool for the BSPH. There are no exceptions. 
    • After submitting the full appeal through the submission tool, send a VAC message to Public Health to let us know that it has been submitted.

IMPORTANT: Students on appeal are NOT allowed to be enrolled in both PH 101 and PH 102 in the same quarter.  If you are enrolled in both PH 101 and PH 102 after the 4th week of the quarter, your appeal will be denied. There are no exceptions.

If Your Appeal is Granted

  • You will have a second opportunity to gain admittance to the Public Health Major. In order to declare the major, you must do all of the following:
    • Earn a B- or higher in PH 101 or PH 102 in the first attempt in the course. Whichever one is taken first will be the one that counts towards this entrance requirement. If your grade is below a B- or is a W, you will not be able to gain admittance to the major. 
    • Complete all remaining Public Health Entry Course Criteria for desired Public Health Major with a C- or higher.
    • Have a 2.3 or higher cumulative UC GPA after the quarter has ended.
    • Meet with an advisor from the backup major stated in your letter. During this meeting, you should discuss alternative major options, and develop a concrete back-up plan in the event that you do not earn a B- or higher in PH 101 or PH 102. This needs to be done by the end of the 4th week of the quarter.
    • Meet with your PH 101 or PH 102 instructor to introduce yourself and discuss positive steps to be successful in the course by the end of the 4th week of the quarter.

DEADLINE TO APPEAL - PLEASE NOTE:

In order to not negatively affect Time-To-Degree - students interested in appealing for a second chance to declare the Public Health Major MUST complete PH 101 or PH 102 by the winter quarter of their junior year. Students who complete PH 101 or PH 102 in spring of their junior year (or beyond) are no longer eligible to appeal. 

  • First Year (Freshman) Entering Student: Deadline to enroll is winter quarter of 3rd year at UC San Diego
  • Third Year (Transfer) Entering Student: Deadline to enroll is winter quarter of 1st year at UC San Diego