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 to 13 credits in public health guided elective courses; 51 to 52 credits in general elective courses; and a 0-credit field experience.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required | ||
| Public health core courses | ||
| PUBH 1010 | First-Year Experience in Public Health | |
| PUBH 1101 | Introduction to Public Health and Health Services | |
| PUBH 2000 | Navigating Internships with Strategies for Professional Development (Required only for students planning to complete an internship as part of PUBH 3000.) | |
| PUBH 2110 | Public Health Biology | |
| PUBH 2112 | Principles of Health Education and Health Promotion | |
| PUBH 2140 | Foundations of Research Methods | |
| PUBH 2142 | Introduction to Biostatistics for Public Health | |
| PUBH 3000 | Field Experience in Public Health | |
| PUBH 3130 | Health Services Management and Economics | |
| PUBH 3131 | Epidemiology | |
| PUBH 3132 | Health and Environment | |
| PUBH 3133 | Global Health and Development | |
| PUBH 3135W | Health Policy | |
| PUBH 4140W | Senior Seminar | |
Public health guided electives
Students should review this Bulletin for the most up-to-date information related to credits taken as part of study abroad, at non-GW institutions, as independent studies, as research courses, or as Lifestyle, Sport, and Physical Activity (LSPA) courses.
At least 6 credits in guided electives must be Milken Institute SPH courses, i.e., PUBH, EXNS, HLWL, or HSML.
Students can petition the BS in public health program director for approval to use a GW course not listed here as a guided elective.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| American studies | ||
| AMST 4701W | Epidemics in American History | |
| AMST 4702W | Race, Medicine, and Public Health | |
| or HONR 2047 | Self and Society Seminar | |
| or HONR 2047W | Self and Society Seminar | |
| Anthropology | ||
| ANTH 2502 | Anthropology of Science and Technology: Twenty-First Century Brave New Worlds | |
| ANTH 3503 | Psychological Anthropology | |
| ANTH 3504 | Illness, Healing, and Culture | |
| ANTH 3513 | Anthropology of Human Rights | |
| or ANTH 3513W | Anthropology of Human Rights | |
| Business administration | ||
| BADM 1004 | The Age of Globalization | |
| Biological sciences | ||
| BISC 2339 | Parasitology | |
| BISC 2450 | Organic Evolution | |
| Communication | ||
| COMM 3172 | Health Communication | |
| Economics | ||
| ECON 2151 | Economic Development | |
| or ECON 2151W | Economic Development | |
| Emergency health services | ||
| EHS 2109 | Infectious Diseases and Bioterrorism | |
| EHS 3174 | Foundations of Emergency Health Services Systems | |
| EHS 3175 | Community Risk Management and Safety in Emergency Health Services | |
| EHS 4112 | Special Operations and Disaster Management | |
| Exercise and nutrition sciences | ||
| EXNS 1114 | Community Nutrition | |
| EXNS 2116 | Exercise and Health Psychology | |
| EXNS 2119 | Introduction to Nutrition Science | |
| EXNS 2122 | Food Systems in Public Health | |
| EXNS 2123 | Nutrition and Chronic Disease | |
| EXNS 2126W | International Nutrition | |
| EXNS 2127 | Introduction to Food Policy | |
| EXNS 3114W | Cultivating Food Justice in Urban Food Systems | |
| EXNS 3120 | Experiences in Community Nutrition | |
| EXNS 3995 | Undergraduate Research | |
| EXNS 4199 | Advanced Topics in Exercise and Nutrition Sciences (Multi-level Determinants of Childhood Obesity Prevention Strategies) | |
| Geography | ||
| GEOG 1003 | Society and Environment | |
| GEOG 2104 | Introduction to Cartography and GIS | |
| GEOG 2127 | Population Geography | |
| GEOG 2137 | Environmental Hazards | |
| GEOG 3105 | Techniques of Spatial Analysis | |
| GEOG 3106 | Intermediate Geographic Information Systems | |
| GEOG 3143 | Urban Sustainability | |
| or GEOG 3143W | Urban Sustainability | |
| GEOG 3275 | Sustainable Food Systems | |
| Global food institute | ||
| GFI 3003 | World on a Plate | |
| History | ||
| HIST 3301W | Topics: U.S. History (Epidemics in American History) | |
| or AMST 4701W | Epidemics in American History | |
| or HONR 2047 | Self and Society Seminar | |
| HIST 3301W | Topics: U.S. History (Race, Medicine, and Public Health: The African American Experience) | |
| or AMST 4702W | Race, Medicine, and Public Health | |
| or HIST 3363 | Race, Medicine, and Public Health | |
| or HONR 2047W | Self and Society Seminar | |
| Health and wellness | ||
| HLWL 1106 | Drug Awareness | |
| HLWL 1109 | Human Sexuality | |
| Honors | ||
| HONR 2047 | Self and Society Seminar (Pediatric Ethics) | |
| HONR 2047 | Self and Society Seminar (Ethics in Public Health) | |
| HONR 2047 | Self and Society Seminar (Applied Health Equity) | |
| HONR 2047 | Self and Society Seminar (Leading Social Change: Social Entrepreneurship in the Nonprofit Sector) | |
| HONR 2047 | Self and Society Seminar (Food and Cities) | |
| HONR 2047W | Self and Society Seminar (Epidemics in American History) | |
| HONR 2047W | Self and Society Seminar (Race, American Medicine and Public Health) | |
| or HIST 3301W | Topics: U.S. History | |
| or AMST 4702W | Race, Medicine, and Public Health | |
| Health sciences | ||
| HSCI 2050 | Foundations of Health Equity | |
| HSCI 2101 | Psychosocial Aspects of Health and Illness | |
| HSCI 2107 | Healthcare in Literature | |
| HSCI 2118 | Global Women's Health | |
| International affairs | ||
| IAFF 3190 | Special Topics in International Affairs (Global Mental Health Policy, Practice, and Research) | |
| Management | ||
| MGT 4085 | Social Entrepreneurship | |
| Medical laboratory sciences | ||
| MLS 2005 | Plagues, Pandemics, and Epidemics | |
| MLS 2007W | Microbes and Society | |
| Philosophy | ||
| PHIL 2124W | Philosophies of Disability | |
| PHIL 2125 | Philosophy of Race and Gender | |
| or PHIL 2125W | Philosophy of Race and Gender | |
| or WGSS 2225 | Philosophy of Race and Gender | |
| PHIL 2134 | Philosophy of Human Rights | |
| PHIL 2136 | Contemporary Issues in Ethics | |
| PHIL 2281 | Philosophy of the Environment | |
| Political science | ||
| PSC 2224 | Issues in Domestic Public Policy | |
| PSC 2240 | Poverty, Welfare, and Work | |
| PSC 2367 | Human Rights | |
| PSC 2454 | Humanitarianism | |
| PSC 3192W | Proseminar: Political Science (Healthcare Policy) | |
| Psychology | ||
| PSYC 3126 | Multicultural Psychology | |
| or PSYC 3126W | Multicultural Psychology | |
| PSYC 3128 | Health Psychology | |
| PSYC 3173 | Community Psychology | |
| Public health | ||
| PUBH 1102 | History of Public Health | |
| PUBH 1299 | Undergraduate Public Health Study Abroad | |
| PUBH 2117 | Service Learning in Public Health | |
| PUBH 3115 | Global Health and Human Rights | |
| PUBH 3136 | Health Law | |
| PUBH 3150 | Sustainable Energy and Environmental Health | |
| PUBH 3151 | Current Issues in Bioethics | |
| or PUBH 3151W | Current Issues in Bioethics | |
| PUBH 3199 | Topics in Public Health | |
| PUBH 3299 | Undergraduate Public Health Study Abroad | |
| PUBH 3995 | Undergraduate Research in Public Health | |
| PUBH 4199 | Independent Study | |
| PUBH 6021 | Essentials of Public Health Practice and Leadership I | |
| PUBH 6242 | Clinical Epidemiology and Public Health: Reading the Research | |
| PUBH 6243 | Topics in Clinical Epidemiology and Public Health: Reading the Research | |
| PUBH 6378 | HIV Policy in the US | |
| Sociology | ||
| SOC 2102 | Techniques of Data Analysis | |
| SOC 2181 | Special Topics in Sociology (Food and Workers of the World) | |
| SOC 2181 | Special Topics in Sociology (Health, Illness, and Society) | |
| Statistics | ||
| STAT 2118 | Regression Analysis | |
| STAT 2183W | Intermediate Statistical Laboratory: Statistical Computing Packages | |
| Sustainability | ||
| SUST 1001 | Introduction to Sustainability | |
| SUST 2004 | Introduction to Sustainability Communication | |
| SUST 3003 | World on a Plate | |
| University writing | ||
| UW 2020W | Advanced Topics in Writing (Black Girls' and Women's Health) | |
| Women's, gender, and sexuality studies | ||
| WGSS 2225 | Philosophy of Race and Gender | |
| or PHIL 2125 | Philosophy of Race and Gender | |
| or PHIL 2125W | Philosophy of Race and Gender | |
| WGSS 3170W | Topics in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (Writing/Righting Black Girl's and Women's Health) | |
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.
BS graduation requirements
Students should review the Bulletin for the most up-to-date information.
- Credits: Students must complete 120 credits towards their undergraduate degree.
- Curriculum: Successful completion of required courses for the major.
- Grades: Students must meet all minimum grade requirements.
- Time limit: The degree must be completed within six years.
- CITI training requirement: All students are required to complete training regarding human subject protection regulation and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).
- Integrity quiz and plagiarism requirement: All students are required to review the George Washington University Code of Academic Integrity and take the SPH Academic Integrity Quiz within their first semester of study.
- Professional enhancement requirement: Students must participate in eight hours of public health-related lectures, seminars, and symposia, related to their field of study.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | ||
| One course that has an approved oral communication component . | ||
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, ENGL 1365, ENGL 3918, FREN 2500, GTCH 2003, GTCH 3101, HSSJ 4195, ITAL 2600, ITAL 3330, PHIL 2124 or PHIL 2124W, PHIL 2134, PSTD 1010, RGSS 3400, SLHS 1011, SUST 2004, WLP 1020 | ||
| One course in quantitative reasoning. | ||
| One course in scientific reasoning with laboratory experience. | ||
For exercise science and nutrition majors, this requirement must be fulfilled with BISC 1111. | ||
| UW 1020 | University Writing | |
| After successful completion of UW 1020, 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.