The Gallatin School of Individualized Study and the School of Global Public Health (GPH) offer a dual-degree program to enable students to earn both a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Gallatin’s Individualized Major and a Master of Public Health (MPH) in the Global Public Health program in less time than it would take to complete the programs separately. The dual degree option is available to students going into the following MPH concentrations: Biostatistics, Epidemiology, Global Health, Social and Behavioral Sciences or Public Health Nutrition. Because both the Gallatin School and the School of Global Public Health have a strong commitment to interdisciplinary study, this partnership is desirable for faculty and students in both programs.
By challenging students to enhance and focus their opportunities for learning, while also helping them to build a meaningful career in public service, this dual degree is designed for academically strong students with an equally strong commitment to public leadership. In addition, the BA-MPH dual degree will position students well for entry into the field of public health, as it helps them find practical application for their ambitions to engage in the work of the public sphere.
Students admitted to the BA-MPH dual degree program will accelerate their progress to an MPH degree with a concentration in Biostatistics or Global Health by earning 15 credits of the 46 credits required for the MPH during their undergraduate program. Students pursuing a concentration in Epidemiology, Social & Behavioral Health or Public Health Nutrition will accelerate their progress to an MPH degree by earning 18 credits of the 46 credits required for the MPH during their undergraduate program. These 15-18 credits, for some concentrations, comprise the six MPH required core courses. Students may count up to 15 of these credits toward both the BA and the MPH degrees. Full-time students in the Biostatistics or Global Health concentration who complete five MPH required courses as part of the BA degree, and full-time students in the Social & Behavioral Health, Epidemiology, or Public Health Nutrition concentrations who complete six MPH core courses while also earning the BA degree, can complete both degrees within five years and a total of 159 credits. Taken separately, both degrees would take a minimum of six years and a total of 174 credits.
Admission to the dual-degree program is open to Gallatin undergraduate students who have completed 64 units toward the BA degree, with a GPA of 3.5 or higher, and have completed the equivalent of a college level pre-calculus course.
Students in the dual-degree program must earn grades of C or higher in all the MPH graduate courses to receive credit toward the MPH and also maintain a 3.0 cumulative GPA during the remainder of their Gallatin program. If either standard is not met, the student would be subject to extra review and may be dismissed from the dual-degree program, but would be able to earn the BA upon completion of the requirements for that degree.
For more information, please visit the BA-MPH Dual Degree FAQ page.