Public Health Minor - Five-Year BS or BA/MPH Program

Overview

Public Health Minors pursuing any Bachelor of Science (BS) or Bachelor of Arts (BA) who plan to apply to UTK’s Master of Public Health Program (MPH), may apply to the Five-Year Accelerated program during junior year for advanced placement in the MPH degree program, saving time and money.

Eligibility Requirements

To be considered for this program, students must:

1. Have a minimum overall UT GPA of 3.3.
2. Be declared as a Public Health Minor.
3. CompletePUBH 201* , PUBH 202 , and PUBH 320*  with at least a B grade. Conditional admission is possible if the above courses are in process and students have a grade of B or higher at the time of application.
4. By fall of senior year, complete at least 90 out of required total credit hours for Bachelor’s degree.
5. Graduate with Bachelor’s degree in spring.

* Meets Volunteer Core  Requirement

Program Benefits

If accepted to the program, Five-Year Accelerated students may take up to three approved graduate public health courses (9 credit hours) during senior year that count toward Undergraduate Electives and MPH Foundation Courses.

• An MPH degree is 42 graduate credits and traditionally completed on a full-time basis in two academic years: fall 1, spring 1, fall 2, spring 2.
• A Five-Year Accelerated student will save 9 credits of graduate tuition cost by completing up to three graduate courses (9 credits) as a senior, and then enrolling in Graduate School to complete the remaining 33 graduate credits in the summer + one academic year: summer 1, fall 1, spring 1, summer 2.

Accelerated MPH Program Plan*

Year 4 – Undergraduate Tuition, 9 credits		Year 5 – Graduate Tuition, 33 credits
Senior Year Fall 3 credits	Senior Year Spring 6 credits	MPH Summer 1 6 credits	MPH Fall 1 11 credits	MPH Spring 1 10 credits	MPH Summer 2 6 credits

*Summer courses are extremely time-intensive due to the university’s condensed summer session, therefore students are advised not to work during summer sessions. All graduate public health summer courses are in an online format.

Traditional MPH Program Plan*

Graduate Tuition, 42 credits
MPH Fall 1 12 credits	MPH Spring 1 11 credits	MPH Fall 2 10 credits	MPH Spring 2 9 credits

*9-12 graduate credits per semester is considered full-time. There may be slight variations to the above depending on your concentration.

Graduate Courses

Approved Courses for Seniors:

1. Term 7 (senior year, fall):
   • PUBH 530 - Biostatistics (3 Credit Hours)
2. Term 8 (senior year, spring):
   • PUBH 510 - Environmental Health (3 Credit Hours)
   • PUBH 520 - Health Systems, Policy, and Leadership (3 Credit Hours)

Additional Considerations

• Graduation - The Accelerated program is only available to undergraduates who graduate with their Bachelor’s degree in spring (e.g., May) and can start Graduate School in the summer. Due to graduate course sequencing, undergraduates who graduate in fall (e.g., December) or summer (e.g., August) are not eligible for the Five-year program but are encouraged to apply for the traditional MPH program. More information about MPH program concentrations is available in the Graduate Catalog﷟
• Program Modality – Undergraduates in the Campus program format will take Campus graduate courses senior year. Similarly, undergraduates in the Distance Education (DE) program will take DE graduate courses senior year. In other words, campus students may not take DE courses, and DE students may not take campus courses. However, for the MPH degree, you may choose to change your modality as a Graduate Student by applying to either the Campus MPH program or DE MPH program modality. As an MPH student, you will only take courses in the modality that you enroll for graduate school. All summer MPH courses are fully online format for both the campus and DE program modality.
• Advising Note - If you have an undergraduate course conflict during senior year, you may not be able to complete all 9 graduate credits as an undergraduate, which may result in extending your time in the MPH program. Consult with your undergraduate academic advisor and the MPH program director.

Admission Process

Students will apply to two different programs:

1. Accelerated Program
2. MPH Program

Acceptance into the Accelerated Program does not guarantee acceptance into the MPH program.

When to Apply

1. Apply to the Accelerated Program by March 1 of junior year. Application window is December 1 – March 1.
2. Apply to the Graduate School and MPH program by February 1 of senior year for a summer MPH admission. 

How to Apply

Accelerated Program

Submit an electronic application form via the Public Health website by March 1st of junior year. Applications do not require letters of recommendation but do include short answer / essay questions and a current resume. Students will be notified of acceptance by April 1, in time for fall course registration. A graduate advising orientation will be subsequently provided to review the MPH course plan of study.

MPH Program

During senior year, Accelerated students will apply to the MPH program through the Graduate School using the standard application procedures. Acceptance into the Accelerated program does not guarantee acceptance into Graduate School or MPH program itself. Minimum GPA for graduate admissions is 3.0. Accelerated students won’t be eligible to apply for a graduate assistantship until a bachelor’s degree is completed. Accelerated students will apply for summer admission into the MPH program.

More information about MPH program concentrations is available in the Graduate Catalog. Refer to OneStop for the Graduate Tuition and Fee schedule