The BA program is for students who have an interest in the social sciences and public health.  

The BS program is for students interested in the natural sciences and public health. BS students will complete additional required course work in the natural sciences and mathematics. 

Additional information about our degrees and certificates for undergraduates can be found in the General Catalog.

UI General Catalog

	Bachelor of Arts (BA)	Bachelors of Science (BS)
Total Credits for Degree	120	120
Total Major Credits for Degree	46	58
Public Health Core Credits	30	30
BA or BS specific credits	4	16
Public Health Elective Credits	12	12
Total General Education Credits	35-45	35-45
Experiential Learning Requirement	Yes	Yes
Minimum GPA to Graduate	2.0	2.0
Honors in the Major Available	Yes	Yes

University of Iowa students are eligible to apply for standard admission to the public health major after they complete prerequisite courses and earn the required grade-point average, typically after their first year. All students who wish to apply, including students who wish to enter the public health major through the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences public health interest designation must complete the following requirements by the end of the semester in which they are applying. Admission is for the fall and spring semesters.

• Completion of at least 12 s.h. at the University of Iowa;
• A minimum g.p.a. of 2.75 in all University of Iowa course work and in all college course work.

PUBLIC HEALTH MAJOR DEGREE REQUIREMENTS (46-58 s.h..)

• Public health core courses
• BA or BS courses
• Public health elective courses
• Experiential learning requirement

GENERAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS (35-45 s.h.)

GENERAL UI ELECTIVES

• UI (non-major) coursework to bring the semester hour total to 120 s.h. by time of graduation

All College of Public Health undergraduate students must successfully complete at least one of these experiences—research, internship, global learning, or service learning course. Students must follow the specific criteria and procedures established for the selected experience as outlined by the Undergraduate Program Office. Second Year Undergraduate Public Health Seminar (CPH:2050) is highly recommended prior to enrollment in any of these courses. More information about the experiential learning requirement can be found here.

Combined undergraduate to graduate programs provide an opportunity for students interested in public health to earn both their undergraduate and graduate degrees in 5 years.

Benefits of pursuing the combined degrees:

• Allows students to further explore their interest in the field of public health
• Expedites time to degree—5 years vs. the typical 6 years
• Saves money by cutting one year of tuition

Visit www.public-health.uiowa.edu/degree-programs/ for more information about our undergrad-to-grad degree options.

Special note for public health majors: Public health majors intending to pursue the Undergrad to Grad (U2G) combined degree program in public health must complete 120 s.h. of which up to 15 s.h. may be graduate credit by the end of Year 4. Specifically, 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 (approximately 46-58 s.h.)

• Public health core courses
• BA or BS courses
• Public health elective courses
• Experiential learning requirement
• General education courses

GENERAL UI ELECTIVES

• UI (non-major) coursework to bring the semester hour total to 120 s.h. by end of Year 4
• Could include up to 12 s.h. of graduate public health courses taken as a undergraduate student

Graduate courses taken during the fourth year will NOT count toward major requirements (including public health electives) for the undergraduate public health major; however, these semester hours could count as general elective credits needed to reach 120 s.h. for a bachelor’s degree at the University of Iowa.

View a plan of study or contact the certificate program advisor.