The Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree provides students with a basic understanding of the five core public health knowledge areas: biostatistics, social and behavioral sciences, epidemiology, health policy and management, and occupational and environmental health sciences. Students will be prepared to enter the workforce or continue their education.

A public health core provides the degree with breadth in the biological, social, economic, quantitative, geographic, and educational components of health and health disparities within and across populations. Students complete a cumulative capstone experience during which they will integrate, apply, and synthesize public health knowledge. As an integral part of their education, students also are exposed to public health professionals and agencies.

The Bachelor of Arts with a major in public health requires a minimum of 120 s.h., including at least 45 s.h. of work for the major. Students must have a cumulative grade-point average (GPA) of at least 2.00 in all courses for the major and in all UI courses for the major; in all college coursework and in all UI coursework; and in all college coursework in public health and in all UI public health coursework, including any courses administered by the College of Public Health in the departments of Biostatistics, Community and Behavioral Health, Epidemiology, Health Management and Policy, and Occupational and Environmental Health. Students are required to earn a minimum of 30 s.h. in public health coursework at the University of Iowa.

The BA with a major in public health requires the following coursework.

College Success Requirement

All students are required to complete CSI:1600 Success at Iowa during the fall semester; students complete part one before participating in an orientation program. The course is designed to help students successfully transition to college life. The course covers information about online tools that are specific to the university, such as MyUI and Iowa Courses Online (ICON), and also discusses resources for navigating life on campus. Additional content includes financial aid literacy, strategies for making healthy behavior choices, sexual assault awareness and prevention, and the comprehensive transitional survey known as MAP-Works.

General Education Requirements

¹

Sustainability courses will count for two core requirements (i.e., for sustainability and one other approved general education core course in natural, quantitative, and social sciences, or culture, society, and the arts.

World Languages

Students may complete the world languages requirement using one of the following three options. One year of high school language study is generally equivalent to one semester of college language study.

Option One

Attain fourth-level proficiency in a single world language, usually by completing four years of that language in high school or four semesters in college or an equivalent combination of high school and college coursework; or pass an achievement test or evaluation at fourth-level proficiency.

Option Two

Attain second-level proficiency in each of two world languages, usually by completing two years of each language in high school or two semesters of each language in college or an equivalent combination of high school and college coursework; or pass achievement tests and/or evaluations at second-level proficiency in each language. Option two does not qualify students to earn credit under the Furthering Language Incentive Program (FLIP).

Option Three

Attain second-level proficiency in a single world language, usually by completing two years of that language in high school or two semesters of that language in college plus one additional 3 s.h. course from the GE CLAS Core in International and Global Issues, Values and Culture, Diversity and Inclusion, or World Language and Cultural Exploration. Option three does not fulfill the World Languages requirement for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences or qualify students to earn credit under the Furthering Language Incentive Program (FLIP).

Students may count courses taken to fulfill general education requirements toward other requirements for the BA degree.

Public Health Core Courses

Students must complete the following (29 s.h. for standard or transfer admission students, 30 s.h. for direct admission students). Only direct admission students complete CPH:1050 whereas standard admission students do not.

Required Biology Course

Students complete 4 s.h. as indicated from the following.

Public Health Electives

Students complete a minimum of 12 s.h. of  College of Public Health courses from the following.

Experiential Learning Requirement

Students must successfully complete at least one of these experiences from the following. Career Planning: Exploring Careers in Public Health (CPH:2050) is strongly recommended prior to enrollment in any of these courses. Contact the undergraduate program office for specific details.

BA/CLAS Undergraduate Degree

Students admitted to or enrolled in the BA in public health program may pursue an additional degree in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS). Students pursuing an additional degree outside the College of Public Health are:

• expected to meet all degree requirements, general education requirements, and GE CLAS Core requirements for both degree programs;
• required to satisfy the collegiate residence requirements of both colleges;
• assigned two advisors, one in each college; and
• assessed tuition for the primary program of study in accordance with the rules of the Office of the Registrar.

Additional Considerations

Students may be awarded degrees in the two colleges simultaneously or separately without requiring additional coursework beyond the degree requirements. Current students enrolled in the College of Public Health who want to add a CLAS major should use the Change of College Application found in MyUI. Students who wish to discontinue the additional degree program will need to file a Discontinuation of Combined Degree Program form in the collegiate office of the program of study they are dropping.

Students may change majors with either college in the college academic programs office and still remain in the additional degree program.

BA/Graduate Degree

Combined undergraduate to graduate programs provide an opportunity for students to earn both their BA and a master's degree in five years by beginning to earn graduate credit during their fourth year of undergraduate study.

Students in the combined programs must complete all requirements for each degree. Students apply for admission to the combined program during their third year as undergraduates and enter the program at the beginning of their fourth year.

Applicants also must apply for admission to the master's degree program and must meet the admission requirements of the Graduate College; see the Manual of Rules and Regulations on the Graduate College website. For more information, see Undergraduate to Graduate (U2G) on the College of Public Health website.

Public health majors intending to pursue the Undergraduate to Graduate (U2G) combined degree program in public health must complete 120 s.h. Up to 15 s.h. may be earned in graduate credit by the end of a student's fourth year.

Public health majors must complete all of the following requirements in addition to the 15 s.h. of graduate coursework.

Public Health Major Degree Requirements

Coursework for the following requirements total approximately 60 s.h.:

• public health core courses;
• BA coursework;
• public health elective coursework;
• experiential learning requirement; and
• general education requirement courses.

General Electives

University of Iowa nonmajor coursework must total 120 s.h. by the end of the fourth year; this could include up to 15 s.h. of graduate credit in public health coursework taken as an undergraduate student.

Graduate courses taken during the fourth year do not count toward major requirements (including public health electives) for the undergraduate public health major. However, these semester hours may count as general elective credits needed to complete the 120 s.h. required for a bachelor’s degree.

Honors in the Major

Students majoring in public health have the opportunity to graduate with honors in the major. To graduate with honors in public health, students must successfully complete all college requirements with a grade-point average of at least 3.33 in all courses for the major, in all college coursework, and in all UI coursework.

In addition, students must complete an honors thesis in CPH:4990 Mentored Independent Undergraduate Research in Public Health, where they must write a brief research proposal summarizing the background and goals of honors research, defend their research proposal to an honors project faculty member and an honors advisor, conduct research, submit their honors thesis, and conclude with an oral and/or poster presentation.

Outstanding undergraduate students in the college have an opportunity to undertake independent study and to work closely with faculty members. Completion of requirements for honors in the major also will satisfy the experiential learning requirement. Consult the College of Public Health undergraduate program office for more information.

University of Iowa Honors Program

Public health interest students interested in honors study are encouraged to participate in the University of Iowa Honors Program until they are admitted to the College of Public Health. Visit Honors at Iowa to learn about the university's honors program.

Membership in the UI Honors Program is not a requirement for applying to or graduating with honors in the public health major.

Students may be admitted to the College of Public Health either through direct admission or standard admission.

Direct Admission

Direct admission is designed for students applying to the university as first-year students for the fall semester. Applicants who meet the high school course requirements and present a Regent Admission Index (RAI) of 265 or higher and a high school grade-point average (GPA) of at least 3.33 are directly admitted to the college. Applicants who meet course requirements and either the RAI or GPA requirement are carefully considered. Students who are denied direct admission may file an online petition for direct admission to the College of Public Health.

Students granted direct admission to the college are eligible to apply for first-year scholarships. The scholarship application process is competitive and is based on high school records and short essay responses.

First-year students not admitted directly to the College of Public Health may be admitted to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences as a public health interest student.

Standard and Transfer Admission

University of Iowa students are eligible to apply for standard admission to the College of Public Health, typically after their first year, once they complete prerequisite courses and earn the required GPA.

The application deadline for fall admission is May 1. Application deadline for spring admission is Dec. 1. Students should meet the following requirements by the end of the semester in which they apply:

• completion of at least 12 s.h. at the University of Iowa; and
• a minimum GPA of 2.75 in all University of Iowa coursework and in all college coursework.

Students who are denied standard admission may file an online appeal for denial of admission to the College of Public Health if they can provide documentation of extenuating circumstances that affected their academic performance.

Transfer students who meet the GPA requirement may apply directly to the College of Public Health through standard admission.

The BA program provides knowledge of the community and behavioral aspects of public health for students interested in working in health education, health communication, public health program development, or public health policy in local, federal, or international governmental or nongovernmental agencies. Students will be prepared for advanced education in the social sciences, communication studies, social and community health, health policy and management, and other fields.

Four-Year Graduation Plan

The following checkpoints list the minimum requirements students must complete by certain semesters in order to stay on the university's Four-Year Graduation Plan. Courses in the major are those required to complete the major; they may be offered by departments other than the major department.

The Four-Year Graduation Plan applies only to students who are directly admitted to the College of Public Health or students who meet the prerequisites and submit an application for standard admission before the third semester begins (including public health interest students).

Before the second semester begins: CPH:1050 College of Public Health Direct Admit Seminar (for direct admits only).

Before the third semester begins: CPH:1400 Fundamentals of Public Health, CPH:1600 Public Health Science: Inquiry and Investigation in Public Health, and at least one-quarter of the semester hours required for graduation.

Before the fourth semester begins: CPH:2050 Career Planning: Exploring Careers in Public Health and CPH:2600 Introduction to Public Health Methods.

Before the fifth semester begins: one-half of the semester hours required for graduation.

Before the sixth semester begins: CPH:3050 Career Planning: Preparing Post-Graduation Plans and CPH:3600 Applied Public Health Methods.

Before the seventh semester begins: CPH:3700 Methods for Program Implementation and Evaluation and at least three-quarters of the semester hours required for graduation.

Before the eighth semester begins: all public health core courses, except CPH:4999 Public Health Capstone: Practice of Evidence-Based Public Health, and the experiential learning requirement.

During the eighth semester: all remaining General Education Requirement courses, enrollment in all remaining coursework in the major, including CPH:4999 Public Health Capstone: Practice of Evidence-Based Public Health, and a sufficient number of semester hours to graduate.

Sample Plan of Study

Sample plans represent one way to complete a program of study. Actual course selection and sequence will vary and should be discussed with an academic advisor. For additional sample plans, see MyUI.

Public Health, BA

a

Students complete the experiential learning requirement by choosing an approved option. CPH:2050 is strongly recommended prior to enrollment in experiential learning.

b

Sustainability must be completed by choosing a course that has been approved for Sustainability AND for one of these General Education areas: Natural Sciences; Quantitative and Formal Reasoning; Social Sciences; Historical Perspectives; International and Global Issues; Literary, Visual, and Performing Arts; or Values and Society.

c

Prerequisite for admission to the College of Public Health.

d

Fulfills a major requirement and may fulfill a GE requirement.

e

GE courses may be completed in any order unless used as a prerequisite for another course. Students should consult with an advisor about the best sequencing of courses.

f

Students may use elective courses to earn credit towards the total s.h. required for graduation or to complete a double major, minors, or certificates.

g

Students must complete one of three options: (1) fourth-level proficiency in a single world language, (2) second-level proficiency in two different world languages, or (3) second-level proficiency in a single world language plus one additional 3 s.h. course from the GE CLAS Core in International and Global Issues, Values and Society, Understanding Cultural Perspectives, or World Language and Cultural Exploration.

h

Students must complete a minimum of 12 s.h. of College of Public Health electives (prefix CPH). See the General Catalog for list of approved courses.

i

Choose from: CPH:3999, CPH:4990, CPH:4850, CPH:4750, CPH:3750. A completed application and approval by the College of Public Health undergraduate program office are required.

j

All core and experiential learning courses must be complete prior to enrollment in CPH:4999.

k

Please see Academic Calendar, Office of the Registrar website for current degree application deadlines. Students should apply for a degree for the session in which all requirements will be met. For any questions on appropriate timing, contact your academic advisor or Degree Services.