Welcome to the Bachelor of Science in Public Health!

Dear Incoming Declared and Prospective Public Health Majors for Fall 2025,

Congratulations on your admittance to UC San Diego, we are looking forward to having you in the Bachelor of Science in Public Health Program! You will want to make sure to complete all tasks required of you in the New Student Site by August 1st, as you will not be able to register for fall courses until all requirements for your College have been completed. And don't forget to check out plans.ucsd.edu.

Our New Student Orientation is NOW AVAILABLE! Please register below and complete your modules as soon as possible. Group Advising runs from July 28-August 8.

Thank you!

BSPH Orientation:

Public Health Orientation Information
- Join our online Orientation and complete all modules to prepare for your time as an undergraduate student. Orientation Modules Now Available!
- ALL students MUST complete the Orientation before meeting with a BSPH advisor.
Register for Group Advising
- Group Advising sessions will be held during the summer to assist students with long term planning. Students will receive basic advising recommendations in the Virtual Advising Center.
- Sessions are ONLY held July 28-August 8, so plan ahead!
- PLEASE NOTE: All students are required to complete the Public Health Orientation prior to registering for a Group Advising Session.

BSPH Welcome Message - Sent on June 11th, 2025:

Fall Enrollment:

PLEASE NOTE: All incoming transfer public health students MUST complete PH 40 this fall to not prolong graduation - we have saved seats in PH 40 for all incoming transfers who need to enroll in PH 40. Incoming first year public health students are also encouraged to complete PH 40 this fall if the course fits into your schedule. Space is still available in the FULLY REMOTE Introduction to Public Health class this Summer! Visit summersession.ucsd.edu for more details.

Helpful links for First Quarter Public Health Majors:

Bachelor of Science in Public Health Undergraduate Program
BSPH Advising
Tentative Course Offerings and Course Descriptions
Past Workshops (includes Power Point presentations and video recordings of events)
Beyond the Classroom (Student Experiential and Research Opportunities)
Pre-Med and Health Professions Information (found on the Career Services site)
Student Resources
First Year Summer Success Programs
First Year and Transfer Year Experience
Transfer Summer Success Programs
Triton Transfer Hub
Center for Student Involvement
Public Undergraduate Organization
Getting Involved in Student Organizations

Interested in Becoming a Public Health Major?

All prospective Public Health Majors will want to fill out our Major Contact List Form so you can get important information regarding switching into the Public Health Major!

Please Note: All BSPH Majors have Selective Major status. Selective majors are majors with limited enrollment. Students who were not directly admitted into one of the BSPH Majors can still complete the Public Health Entry Requirement for the desired BSPH Major and declare a BSPH Major after meeting the entry requirement. Please see the Public Health Entry Requirement on our website for additional information.

FA25 First Year Course Recommendations

FALL 2025 COURSE RECOMMENDATIONS:

^{Discuss required and recommended General Education courses with your college. Most first year students will focus on GEs for the first several quarters of their UC San Diego education. These recommendations can also be found on our FA25 New First Year Student Recommendations Handout.}

Preparatory coursework, if needed: (AWP 3, 4A, or 4B; MATH 2, 3B, 3C, or 4C; CHEM 4, etc.)
- Do you need to take the Math Placement Exam?

Pre-Health or concentration-specific preparatory coursework, if needed:
- All students pursuing the PB26, PB27, PB31 Majors and/or Pre-Health track students should enroll in a Mathematics course this fall. Please see the FA25 MATHEMATICS Handout.
- Most students pursuing the PB27, PB31 Majors and/or Pre-Health track students should enroll in a Chemistry course this fall. Please see the FA25 CHEMISTRY Handout.

College GE Writing Courses:
- MMW 11 (ERC), DOC 1 (TMC) and CAT 1 (Sixth) are only offered in the Fall
- MCWP 40, WCWP 10A, HUM 1, and CCE 1 are also offered in Fall, but may fill and are offered later this year (SYN 1 is offered only in Winter and Spring)

PH 40. Introduction to Public Health (4 units)
- Strongly recommended if can fit in FA25 schedule and seats are available.
- Required for all Public Health Majors and must be taken at UC San Diego.

Statistics: COGS 14A, PSYC 60, HDS 60, or MATH 11*
- *MATH 11 is required for Biostatistics (PB26) and Climate & Environmental Sciences (PB27) concentrations and requires completion of MATH 10A/B or 20A/B

A Public Health Lower Division Elective
- PH 50: Primary Care and Public Health (4 units, satisfies LD PH Electives)
- PH 90: Living Well-Doing Well (2 units, satisfies part of the LD PH Electives)
- PH 91: Gender and Public Health (4 units, satisfies LD Trending Topics)

A Lower Division Biology course: BILD 1, BILD 3, or BILD 10**
- **BILD 10 only counts for the general Public Health major (PB25) or the concentrations in Community Health Sciences (PB28) or Health Policy & Management Sciences (PB30)

Additional College GEs (may include Math, Science, Art, Language, etc.; see your college for details)

A University requirement (such as DEI or JTCCER) or additional units to meet unit requirements (180 total, 60 UD)

PLEASE NOTE: All students MUST be enrolled in at least 12 units (not including waitlisted courses).No student should be enrolled in more than 18 units. We recommend that you enroll in approx.16 units (4 classes) this fall. Lastly, Public Health strongly recommends no more than 2-3 science/math/statistics courses in the fall. It is important to diversify your course schedule each quarter.

If you have additional questions on top of our recommendations above, please send us a message in the VAC. We also have quick Drop-In Advising during Registration to answer fall quarter enrollment questions. Please see the Public Health Advising Calendar for days/times and Zoom links.

FA25 Transfer Course Recommendations

FALL 2025 COURSE RECOMMENDATIONS:

^{Discuss General Education/IGETC questions with your college. These recommendations can also be found on our FA25 New Transfer Student Recommendations Handout.}

FALL 2025 COURSE RECOMMENDATIONS:

We strongly encourage all transfer students to enroll in four classes this Fall quarter. This helps you make academic progress, but it also provides you the opportunity to drop a class if necessary while staying a full-time student.

Please note that if you do not complete PH 40 and a Statistics class (if you have not already completed one) this Fall quarter, you will not be able to complete the Public Health major.

The following two courses MUST be completed by the end of FA25 in order to graduate on time.

PH 40: Introduction to Public Health (there is no equivalent course at another institution)

Statistics: COGS 14A, PSYC 60, HDS 60, or MATH 11*, if not completed at prior institution**
- *MATH 11 is required for Biostatistics (PB26) and Climate & Environmental Sciences (PB27) concentrations and requires completion of MATH 10A/B or 20A/B
- **If prior institution is not a California Community College with listed equivalents on assist.org, a student MUST petition their Statistics course THIS SUMMER with Psychology or Math for equivalency; approval is not guaranteed.

In addition to the recommendations above, you should consider:

College GEs (discuss specific coursework needed with your college):
- Revelle - Calculus, Chemistry, or Physics
- Muir - MCWP 125
- TMC - UD Disciplinary Breadth
- Warren - WCWP 100, UD Non-Contiguous
- ERC - MMW 121
- Sixth - CAT 125
- Seventh - SYN 100
- Eighth - CCE 100
A Public Health Lower or Upper Division Elective (UD priority given to SU25 PH 40 students)
- PH 50: Primary Care and Public Health (4 units, satisfies LD PH Electives)
- PH 90: Living Well-Doing Well (2 units, satisfies part of the LD PH Electives)
- PH 91: Gender and Public Health (4 units, satisfies LD Trending Topics)
- PH 157: Race, Intersectionality & Public Health (4 units, satisfies 1 UD Public Health Elective and the DEI requirement)
- PH 161: Clinical Nutrition in Public Health (4 units, satisfies 1 UD Public Health Elective)

A Lower Division Biology course: BILD 1, BILD 3, or BILD 10*** (if not already completed)***BILD 10 only counts for the general Public Health major (PB25) or the concentrations in Community Health Sciences (PB28) or Health Policy & Management Sciences (PB30)
An Upper Division Core class:
- USP 143 (available to all students)
- For students finishing PH 40 in SU25 ONLY: PH 101, PH 110, PH 120 (SU25 students will be sent instructions via the VAC and MUST follow them by the deadline)
An Upper Division Elective (listed by concentration):
- BSPH (PB25) - ANSC 148, BIBC 100, 102, BICD 100, BIMM 100, BIPN 100, COMM 102C, ECON 130, 131, ESYS 101, GLBH 100, 111, 148, 181, MATH 102, 109, 180A, 183, POLI 125B, PSYC 101, 104, 155, 181,
  MGT 108R, 173, SOCI 104Q, 113, 135, 136F, 137, 138, 173, USP 136, 144, 165C, 171
- Biostatistics (PB26) - MATH 102, 109, 180A, 183
- Climate & Environmental Sciences (PB27) – ECON 131, ESYS 101, USP 165C
- Community Health Sciences (PB28) – ANSC 148, COMM 102C, GLBH 111, 148, 181,
  SOCI 104Q, 113, 135, 136F, 137, 173, USP 136, 144
- Epidemiology (PB29) – ANSC 148, BICD 100, GLBH 148, 181, MATH 183, USP 144
- Health Policy & Management Sciences (PB30) – ECON 130, 131, MGT 108R, 173
- Medicine Sciences (PB31) - BIBC 100, 102, BICD 100, BIMM 100, BIPN 100, PSYC 155, 181, SOCI 138, 173
A University requirement (such as DEI) or additional units to meet unit requirements (180 total, 60 UD)

IMPORTANT NOTE: All Pre-Health track students should review the FA25 PRE-HEALTH - Transfers Handout. Students should attend zoom drop-in advising hours and/or reach out to Public Health in the VAC if unsure which Pre-Health courses they should be enrolling in this fall.