Information on the admission process is available on the Office of Undergraduate Admissions website. Applications can be submitted via the Common Application.

Supporting documents not submitted online should be mailed to:

Office of Undergraduate Admissions
The George Washington University
800 21st Street NW, Suite 100
Washington, DC 20052

Contact for questions:
gwadm@gwu.edu or 202-994-6040

Current GW students who wish to declare one of the SPH majors should visit the school's undergraduate admissions website.

The following requirements must be fulfilled: 120 credits, including 22 to 23 credits to meet the University General Education requirement; 34 credits in core public health courses; 12 to13 credits in public health guided elective courses; and 50 to 52 credits in general elective courses.

Students must achieve a minimum grade of C- in all prerequisite, required, and guided elective coursework.

SPH University General Education Requirement
One course in critical thinking in the humanities.
Two courses in critical thinking, quantitative reasoning, or scientific reasoning in the social sciences.
For exercise science and nutrition majors, this requirement must be fulfilled with one of the following: ANTH 1002, ANTH 1003, or ANTH 1004.
For public health majors, students are encouraged to take ECON 1011 as a General Education social science course, as it is a prerequisite for PUBH 3130.
One course that has an approved oral communication component .
For exercise science and nutrition majors, this requirement must be fulfilled with either COMM 1040 or COMM 1041.
For public health majors, students can chose any of the following pre-approved oral communication courses: AMST 2450, AMST 2620, ANTH 1004, ANTH 2502, CHEM 2118W, COMM 1040, COMM 1041, EAP 1010, ECON 4198W, ENGL 1365, ENGL 3918, GTCH 2003, GTCH 3101, HSSJ 4195, ORSC 2000, PHIL 2124 or PHIL 2124W, PHIL 2134, SLHS 1011, SOC 4192, SOC 4195 or SOC 4195W, SPAN 3022, SUST 2004, WLP 1020
One course in quantitative reasoning.
For exercise science and nutrition majors, this requirement must be fulfilled with one of the following: STAT 1051, STAT 1053, or STAT 1127.
Public health majors should avoid taking STAT 1051, STAT 1053, STAT 1111 or STAT 1127.
One course in scientific reasoning with laboratory experience.
For exercise science and nutrition majors, this requirement must be fulfilled with BISC 1111.
For public health majors, this requirements must be fulfilled with one of the following: BISC 1005, BISC 1006, BISC 1007, BISC 1008, BISC 1111, BISC 1112 or HONR 1033 Biology.
UW 1020University Writing
or HONR 1015 (Origins and Evolution of Modern Thought)
After successful completion of UW 1020 or HONR 1015, 6 credits distributed over at least two different Writing in the Disciplines (WID) courses taken in separate semesters (summer counts as one semester) are required. WID courses are designated by a "W" appended to the course number.

 Approved courses can be found under University General Education Requirement.

Public health core courses
PUBH 1010First-Year Experience in Public Health
PUBH 1101Introduction to Public Health and Health Services
PUBH 2110Public Health Biology
PUBH 2112Principles of Health Education and Health Promotion
PUBH 2140Foundations of Research Methods
PUBH 2142Introduction to Biostatistics for Public Health
PUBH 3130Health Services Management and Economics
PUBH 3131Epidemiology
PUBH 3132Health and Environment
PUBH 3133Global Health and Development
PUBH 3135WHealth Policy
PUBH 4140WSenior Seminar

63 or 64 credits in elective courses, including 12-13 credits in approved guided electives (below) and 50 to 52 credits in general electives.

Most courses offered by GW can be taken as general electives. Students are encouraged to meet with their advisor to help select these courses. No more than 3 credits in Lifestyle, Sport, and Physical Activity (LSPA) courses can be counted toward the 120 credits required for the bachelor's degree. LSPA courses count as general electives.

 Public health guided electives

No more than 9 of these credits can be taken through study abroad programs and/or at non-GW domestic institutions. For topics courses, only the specific topic indicated below can be counted toward this requirement. Students can petition the BS in public health program director for approval to use a GW course not listed here as elective.
AMST 3950Special Topics (Narrative Medicine in American History)
AMST 4701WEpidemics in American History
AMST 4702WRace, Medicine, and Public Health
or HONR 2047 Self and Society Seminar
or HONR 2047W Self and Society Seminar
ANTH 2502Anthropology of Science and Technology: Twenty-First Century Brave New Worlds
ANTH 3503Psychological Anthropology
ANTH 3504Illness, Healing, and Culture
ANTH 3513Anthropology of Human Rights
or ANTH 3513W Anthropology of Human Rights
ANTH 3991Special Topics (Medical Anthropology)
BADM 1004The Age of Globalization
BIOC 3560Diet, Health, and Longevity
BISC 2339Parasitology
BISC 2450Organic Evolution
BISC 3450Evolutionary Medicine
or BISC 3450W Evolutionary Medicine
COMM 3172Health Communication
COMM 3179Sexual Communication
CSCI 1011Introduction to Programming with Java
CSCI 1012Introduction to Programming with Python
CSCI 1013Computational Problem-Solving Across Disciplines
CSCI 1111Introduction to Software Development
CSCI 4576Introduction to Biomedical Computing
ECON 2151Economic Development
ECON 3148Health Economics
EHS 2104Legal Aspects in Emergency Management
EHS 2105Drug Addiction and Pain Management in the Emergency Health Services
EHS 2109Infectious Diseases and Bioterrorism
EHS 2160Disaster Response Planning and Management
EHS 3174Foundations of Emergency Health Services Systems
EHS 3175Community Risk Management and Safety in Emergency Health Services
EHS 4101Humanitarian Relief Operations
EXNS 1114Community Nutrition
EXNS 2116Exercise and Health Psychology
EXNS 2119Introduction to Nutrition Science
EXNS 2122Food Systems in Public Health
EXNS 2123Nutrition and Chronic Disease
EXNS 2126WInternational Nutrition
EXNS 2127Introduction to Food Policy
EXNS 3114WCultivating Food Justice in Urban Food Systems
EXNS 3995Undergraduate Research *
EXNS 4199Advanced Topics in Exercise and Nutrition Sciences (Multi-level Determinants of Childhood Obesity Prevention Strategies)
GEOG 1003Society and Environment
GEOG 2104Introduction to Cartography and GIS
GEOG 2127Population Geography
GEOG 2137Environmental Hazards
GEOG 3105Techniques of Spatial Analysis
GEOG 3106Intermediate Geographic Information Systems
GEOG 3143Urban Sustainability
or GEOG 3143W Urban Sustainability
GEOG 3275Sustainable Food Systems
HIST 3301WTopics: U.S. History (Epidemics in American History)
or AMST 4701W Epidemics in American History
HIST 3301WTopics: U.S. History (Race, Medicine, and Public Health)
or AMST 4702W Race, Medicine, and Public Health
or HIST 3363 Race, Medicine, and Public Health
or HONR 2047 Self and Society Seminar
or HONR 2047W Self and Society Seminar
HLWL 1106Drug Awareness
HLWL 1109Human Sexuality
HONR 2047Self and Society Seminar (Pediatric Ethics)
or HONR 2047W Self and Society Seminar
HONR 2047Self and Society Seminar (Humanitarian Governance)
or HONR 2047W Self and Society Seminar
HONR 2047Self and Society Seminar (Ethics in Public Health)
or HONR 2047W Self and Society Seminar
HONR 2047Self and Society Seminar (Applied Health Equity)
or HONR 2047W Self and Society Seminar
HONR 2047Self and Society Seminar (Leading Social Change: Social Entrepreneurship in the Nonprofit Sector)
or HONR 2047W Self and Society Seminar
HONR 2047Self and Society Seminar (Food and Cities)
or HONR 2047W Self and Society Seminar
HSCI 1108Introduction to Food and Nutrition
HSCI 2050Foundations of Health Equity
HSCI 2100Writing and Composition in the Health Sciences
HSCI 2101Psychosocial Aspects of Health and Illness (Residential Delivery)
HSCI 2105Current Issues in Bioethics
or PUBH 3151W Current Issues in Bioethics
HSCI 2107Healthcare in Literature
HSCI 2110Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Concepts
HSCI 2112Writing in the Health Sciences
or HSCI 2112W Writing in the Health Sciences
HSCI 2118Global Women's Health
HSCI 3100Applied Health Equity in Washington, DC
HSCI 4103Healthcare Law and Regulation (Residential Delivery)
or PUBH 3136 Health Law
IAFF 3190Special Topics in International Affairs (Global Mental Health: Policy, Practice, and Research)
MGT 4085Social Entrepreneurship
MLS 2005Plagues, Pandemics, and Epidemics
PHIL 2124Philosophies of Disability **
or PHIL 2124W Philosophies of Disability
PHIL 2125Philosophy of Race and Gender
or PHIL 2125W Philosophy of Race and Gender
or WGSS 2225 Philosophy of Race And Gender
PHIL 2134Philosophy of Human Rights **
PHIL 2136Contemporary Issues in Ethics
PHIL 2281Philosophy of the Environment
PSC 2224Issues in Domestic Public Policy
PSC 2240Poverty, Welfare, and Work
PSC 2367Human Rights
PSC 2454Humanitarianism
PSC 2992Special Topics in American Politics and Government (Race and Ethnic Politics)
PSC 3192WProseminar: Political Science (Healthcare Policy)
PSYC 3126Multicultural Psychology
or PSYC 3126W Multicultural Psychology
PSYC 3128Health Psychology
PSYC 3173Community Psychology
PSYC 3199Current Topics in Psychology (Substance Abuse and Addictions)
PUBH 1102History of Public Health
PUBH 1299Undergraduate Public Health Study Abroad
PUBH 2117Service Learning in Public Health
PUBH 3115Global Health and Human Rights
PUBH 3150Sustainable Energy and Environmental Health
PUBH 3199Topics in Public Health (not including Research Methods Foundations or Research Methods in Public Health)
PUBH 3299Undergraduate Public Health Study Abroad
PUBH 3995Undergraduate Research in Public Health *
PUBH 4199Independent Study *
PUBH 6242Clinical Epidemiology and Public Health: Reading the Research
PUBH 6243Topics in Clinical Epidemiology and Public Health: Reading the Research
PUBH 6378HIV Policy in the US
SOC 2102Techniques of Data Analysis
SOC 2181Special Topics in Sociology (Demography and the Social World)
SOC 2181Special Topics in Sociology (Health, Illness, and Society: Health Inequalities in the United States)
SOC 2189Special Topics in Criminal Justice (Rethinking DC Youth and Policing)
STAT 2118Regression Analysis
STAT 2183Intermediate Statistics Lab/Packages
or STAT 2183W Intermediate Statistical Laboratory: Statistical Computing Packages
SUST 1001Introduction to Sustainability
SUST 3093Topics in Sustainability (Gender and Sustainable Development)
UW 2020WAdvanced Topics in Writing (Black Girls' and Women's Health)
WGSS 3170Topics in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (Writing/Righting Black Girl's and Women's Health)
Elective courses offered online can only be taken in the summer term.

*Up to 6 credits in EXNS 3995 Undergraduate Research and/or PUBH 3995 Undergraduate Research in Public Health and/or PUBH 4199 Independent Study can be counted toward the guided electives requirement. To count as guided electives, these courses must be taken for a letter grade, not graded on a Pass/No Pass (P/NP) basis. Up to 3 additional credits can be counted towards general electives.

**Counts toward the University General Education Requirement in oral communication.

Students must comply with policies and procedures outlined under University Regulations and School of Public Health regulations in this Bulletin and in the SPH BS in public health program guide. Students should pay special attention to the SPH requirements for completing human subjects research training, completing eight hours of professional enhancement activities, and passing the academic integrity quiz.

Combined programs