Undergraduate Programs

Bachelor of Science and Master of Public Health (BS/MPH)


Summary

The Bachelor of Science/Master of Public Health (BS/MPH) degree program is a joint program offered by Boston University’s College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences: Sargent College and the School of Public Health (SPH).  The program seeks to enroll outstanding undergraduates who will be fully capable of successfully completing their undergraduate degree requirements while beginning a master’s degree.  The selection process is rigorous and designed to identify students capable of excelling in a dual undergraduate/graduate course of study.

The BS/MPH program is available to Sargent students, except those majoring in the combined Bachelor of Science/Master of Science in Occupational  Therapy and Bachelor of Science/Doctor of Physical  Therapy degree programs.  The BS/MPH program requires a minimum of five years of full-time study—four years to acquire a Bachelor of Science degree in one of the specified concentrations at Sargent College, and a minimum of one year for the Master of Public Health degree in any concentration at the School of Public Health. (Once students matriculate in the School of Public Health, they may choose to complete the degree requirements on a part-time basis which will increase the duration of their studies.)

All BS/MPH degree candidates must complete a minimum of 48 graduate-level credits i.e., courses numbered SPH XX 700 and above, to earn the Master of Public Health degree. During their undergraduate years, BS/MPH students may enroll in any School of Public Health courses for which they satisfy pre-requisite requirements. However, a maximum of sixteen credits of graduate-level BUSPH coursework may be applied jointly towards the two degrees.

At the completion of the BS degree requirement (128 credits) at Sargent College, the Bachelor of Science degree will be awarded, and BS/MPH students’ primary school of registration will change to the School of Public Health. BS/MPH students must meet all remaining concentration, core, and degree requirements for the Master of Public Health. Depending upon course sequencing and availability, students will be full-time students at the School of Public for a minimum of two semesters and until they complete the 48 credits required for the Master of Public Health degree.

Admission to the BS/MPH Program

Students in the second semester of their sophomore year or first semester of their junior year are eligible to apply to the BS/MPH program, though they may enroll in courses at SPH prior to applying. Sargent sophomores and juniors who wish to apply to the BS/MPH program must first complete the Sargent College BS/MPH Application Approval form and meet with the Sargent College BS/MPH faculty advisor before initiating an application to the School of Public Health in SOPHAS, the centralized application service for the Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH). Applicants must have a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0, and successful applicants will generally have a GPA above 3.5.

Application deadlines and decision dates are as follows:

Second-Semester Sophomores

Apply by: April 1

Transcript submitted: no later than June 1

Decision by: July 1

First-Semester Juniors

Apply by: October 15

Transcript submitted: no later than January 8

Decision by: February 15

Application to the BS/MPH program will consist of:

• a completed Sargent College BS/MPH Application Approval Form, signed by the Sargent College BS/MPH faculty advisor, submitted to the Admissions Office at the School of Public Health
• a SOPHAS application to Boston University School of Public Health
• an official Boston University undergraduate transcript, submitted at the end of the semester in which you apply
• three letters of reference, including at least two from faculty members at Sargent College specifically addressing the student’s capacity to do graduate-level work.

Students who are accepted into the BS/MPH program must send a written confirmation of their intention to join the BS/MPH program to the Director of Admissions at the School of Public Health within ten business days of receiving an offer of admission. Mutually accepted students in the BS/MPH program who have declared the public health minor at Sargent must undeclare the minor.

Students who are not accepted into the BS/MPH program may apply for entrance to the MPH program during their senior year. At that time, they may meet with the Sargent Student Records staff and SPH Registrar’s Office staff to determine which SPH classes they completed may count towards the MPH degree if they are accepted to the SPH.

Requirements and Review Prior to Matriculation to the SPH

Students accepted to the BS/MPH are required to meet certain academic standards and undergo further review prior to entering the SPH for their final year of study. BS/MPH students must maintain the GPA graduation requirement and other degree requirements for their particular major at Sargent College. Additionally, they must achieve a grade of B– or better in all SPH courses in which they enroll while undergraduates, and have attained a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 in all SPH courses. Students who achieve less than a B– in any SPH courses will be subject to dismissal from the dual degree program and must petition the SPH Associate Dean for Education and the Associate Dean for Students for permission to remain in the dual degree program. Upon completion of the BS degree, the student’s academic record will undergo a review by the SPH Associate Dean for Students and the Assistant Dean for Education, who will make a final determination regarding a full transition to the School of Public Health.  This review can be referred to the SPH admissions committee by the Associate Dean for Students.

By the time of graduation from Sargent College and as a condition of entry into the SPH students must have completed the following:

1.  CAS MA 115 and CAS MA 116 or CAS MA 684 or SPH BS 701 or SPH BS 703.
2.  SPH EP 711 or SPH EP 712. Students who plan to concentrate in Epidemiology or Biostatistics at the School of Public Health must enroll in SPH EP 712.
3.  SPH LW 707 or SPH LW 751. Students who plan to concentrate in Health Law, Bioethics & Human Rights at the School of Public Health must enroll in SPH LW 751.

Course Planning

Students are required to meet with the Registrar or Assistant Registrar at the School of Public Health shortly after being accepted into the dual degree program in order to plan their public health courses in advance. Proactive planning is essential for timely completion of all MPH requirements.  The tentative schedule of courses should then be reviewed with the student’s advisor at Sargent College.

The six core courses required of all MPH candidates provide a broad exposure to the field of public health, and it is strongly recommended that students focus on MPH core courses during the undergraduate years. However, there may be variation in schedules due to course sequencing.

Undergraduate Courses That Waive MPH Core Course Requirements

Students may complete the following undergraduate courses to waive particular MPH core course requirements. Students must note that courses that waive MPH requirements do not count towards the minimum 48 graduate credit requirement for the MPH degree. Students will need to take additional coursework that will provide them with greater depth or breadth to meet the minimum 48 credit requirement.

1. Students who attain a grade of B or higher in both CAS MA 115 and CAS MA 116 or CAS MA 684 will have fulfilled the MPH Biostatistics requirement.  The preferred course to meet the MPH Biostatistics core course requirement for Epidemiology and Biostatistics concentrators is SPH BS 703.
2. Students who attain a grade of B or higher in SAR HP 353 will have fulfilled the Health Policy & Management core course requirement for non-Health Policy & Management and non-International Health students. Students who plan to concentrate in Health Policy & Management or International Health must enroll in SPH PM 702 or SPH IH 704 respectively.

Checklist for Students

• Meet with Sargent Faculty in the fall of sophomore year to discuss application to BS/MPH Program
• Complete required Sargent College BS/MPH Application Approval Form, have the form signed by the Sargent College BS/MPH faculty advisor, and submit form to the Admissions Office at the School of Public Health
• Submit completed application through SOPHAS services by April 1 of sophomore year or October 15 of junior year
• Request an official BU transcript be sent to the SPH Admissions Office at end of semester in which applied
• If accepted, undeclare public health minor
• If accepted, schedule a meeting with the SPH Registrar’s Office

Contact Information

For detailed information and application materials, please contact:

BU College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences: Sargent College
Academic Services Center
635 Commonwealth Avenue, Room 207
Phone: 617-353-2713
E-mail: sargrad@bu.edu

For more information visit Boston University School of Public Health or contact the Dr. Wayne LaMorte, Assistant Dean for Education at the School of Public Health. E-mail: wlamorte@bu.edu

Public Health Minor

Both the College of Arts & Sciences and Sargent College offer minors in public health in conjunction with the Boston University School of Public Health.  These two minors are identical except for two courses as noted below.

Students must complete a minimum of 20 credits for the public health minor.  This is achieved by taking three required courses (Introduction to Public Health, a course in Biostatistics and a course in Epidemiology) which count for 10–12 credits, at least 8 credits in public health electives and an additional elective (2–4 credits) from the approved list (see below). Students must earn a grade of B– or better in PH 510 Introduction to Public Health and a C or better in the remaining courses.

There are no specific prerequisites, other than those specified for some of the elective courses. It is recommended that students take PH 510 prior to taking the public health electives. Students can take the biostatistics course or the epidemiology course prior to, or at the same time, as PH 510.  The general elective can be taken at any time.

Students in the public health minor at the Boston University College of Arts & Sciences and the College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences: Sargent College must be aware that courses which have been applied toward an undergraduate public health minor cannot be counted towards a graduate degree in public health, even if the courses are in excess of the credits required for a bachelor’s degree at Boston University. In addition, the 500-level courses from the School of Public Health may not be applied towards a graduate degree at the School of Public Health.

The following three courses are required (10–12 credits):

SPH PH 510 Introduction to Public Health

One of the following statistics courses:

CAS MA 115 Statistics I or

CAS MA 213 Statistics I or

CAS PS 211 Introduction to Experimental Design or

SPH BS 701 Elementary Biostatistics

SPH BS 703 Biostatistics

One of the following epidemiology courses:

For CAS students:

SPH EP 711 Introduction to Epidemiology or

SPH EP 712 Epidemiologic Methods

For SAR students:

SAR HS 300 Epidemiology

A minimum of 8 credits from the following list of public health electives:

SPH EH 765 Survey of Environmental Health or

SPH EH 708 Introduction to Environmental Health
(For the MPH program EH 765 is required for Environmental Health Concentrators; others generally take EH 708 to fulfill the core requirement.)

SPH PM 702 Introduction to Health Policy and Management

SPH IH 701 Principles in International Health

SPH LW 751 Public Health Law or

SPH LW 707 Essentials of Public Health Law
(For the MPH program LW 751 is required for students concentrating in Health Law; others generally take LW 707 to fulfill the core requirement.)

SPH MC 725 Women, Children, and Adolescents: Public Health Approaches

SPH PH 506e International Health at the World Health Organization (4 credits, meets in Geneva, Switzerland)

SPH PH 507e Controversies in International Health (4 credits, meets in Geneva, Switzerland)

SPH PH 511 Pathogens, Poverty, and Populations: An Introduction to International Health

SPH PH 709 The Biology of Public Health

SPH PH 710 Introduction to Public Health Informatics

SPH SB 721 Social and Behavioral Sciences and Public Health

Note: Other SPH courses can also be approved to fulfill the requirement for 8 credits of public health electives.  To seek approval contact the Assistant Dean for Education at SPH.

One additional general elective

One additional general elective (2–4 credits) either from the public health electives, from the general electives (see list) in Anthropology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Biology, Business Administration, Chemistry, Cognitive and Neural Systems, Communication Studies. Economics, Exercise Studies, Human Physiology, International Relations, Journalism, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology or Women’s Studies, or another approved SPH course.

General Electives

The list of general electives may be expanded to include other relevant courses. Other courses can be considered for approval by Wayne LaMorte, Assistant Dean for Education.

CAS AN 210 Medical Anthropology

CAS BI 114 Human Infectious Diseases: AIDS to  Tuberculosis

CAS EC 371 Environmental Economics

CAS EC 387 Introduction to Health Economics

CAS EE 275 Introduction to Quantitative Environmental Modeling

CAS EE 425 Environmental Policy Analysis and Modeling

CAS EE 430 Environmental Pollution and Control  Technology

CAS GE 520 Risk Assessment

CAS MA 116 Elementary Statistics II

CAS MA 214 Elementary Statistics II

CAS PH 150 Introduction to Ethics

CAS PO 241 Introduction to Public Policy

CAS PO 341 Comparative Public Policy

CAS PO 544 Interest Groups, Public Opinions, and the Policy Process

CAS SO 104 Introduction to Sociology: Health and Illness

CAS SO 214 Sociology of Healthcare

CAS SO 521 Epidemiology: Social Determinants of Population Health

SED HE 522 Community Health

SED HE 523 Applied Nutrition

SED HE 539 Health and Exceptionality

ENG BE 400 Undergraduate Special Topics in Biomedical Engineering

SAR HP 252 Health and Disability Across the Lifespan

SAR HS 201 Introduction to Nutrition

SAR HS 251 Human Nutrition Science

SAR HP 412 Abnormal Behavior in Rehabilitation

SAR HP 500 Helping Skills

All questions and inquiries should be directed to:

Wayne LaMorte, MD, PhD, MPH Assistant Dean for Education, Boston University School of Public Health

Office Location:

Medical Campus, School of Public Health
715 Albany Street
Talbot Building
Room 422, East Wing
Tel 617-638-5073
wlamorte@bu.edu

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31 October 2008
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