Education and Student Services

Undergraduate Curriculum

Undergraduate concentrators take 12 courses, plus the option to pursue Honors.

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Five-Year MPH Program

The 5-year integrated Undergraduate/MPH (UG/MPH) degree is a rigorous program in professional public health education open to Brown undergraduates of any concentration.

Undergraduate Curriculum

Undergraduate concentrators take 12 courses, plus the option to pursue Honors.

Courses in the concentration allow students to explore the ways in which the social, political, behavioral and biological sciences contribute to the understanding of national and international healthcare systems, resource allocation and the distribution of health and disease. The concentration also provides students with courses in basic research methods and statistics necessary for problem solving and critical thinking in the emerging emphasis on evidence-based healthcare and public health.

The Public Health concentration is relevant for students with career interests in public health, disease prevention and health promotion, health policy and epidemiology, clinical health care delivery, health care administration, international health and health law.

Curricular Requirements

The following courses must be completed to earn a concentration in Public Health.

Concentrators must take five required Core Courses:

  1. HSP 0310, Health Care in the United States 
  2. PHP 0320, Introduction to Public Health 
  3. EPI 0850, Fundamentals of Epidemiology
    UG/MPH students may take EPI 2120, EPI 2140, or EPI 2150 instead of EPI 0850.
  4. STAT 1501, Essentials of Data Analysis 
    For a calculus-based introduction to biostatistics, you may take STAT 1510 in place of STAT 1501.
    UG/MPH students may take STAT 2507 or STAT 2510 in place of STAT 1501.
  5. PHP 1910, Public Health Senior Seminar
    Candidates for honors should take PHP 1915, Public Health Honors Senior Seminar

Concentrators must complete electives in the following areas. Many courses listed cover two content areas, but one course cannot be used to fulfill two separate requirements.

Biology/Human Physiology Elective 

Complete one of the following electives from this list. Please note that AP/IB credit for BIOL 0200 does not satisfy this requirement.

  • BIOL 0200, The Foundation of Living Systems
  • BIOL 0380, Ecology & Evolution of Infectious Disease
  • BIOL 0420, Principles of Ecology
  • BIOL 0470, Genetics
  • BIOL 0500, Cell and Microbiology
  • BIOL 0510, Microbiology
  • BIOL 0530, Principles of Immunology
  • BIOL 0800, Principles of Physiology
  • EPI 2130, Human Biology for Public Health

Environmental Health and Policy Elective

Complete one of the following electives from this list.

  • PHP 0720, Public Health and the Environment
  • BSS 1101, World of Food
  • EPI 1700, Current Topics in Environmental Health
  • EPI 1720, Environmental Exposure Assessments in Practice
  • EPI 1725, Rural Public Health
  • EPI 1730, Climate Risks and Health Solutions

Global Health Elective

Complete one of the following electives from this list.

  • BSS 0700, Global Health Interventions
  • PHP 0720, Public Health and the Environment
  • PHP 1070, Global Burden of Disease
  • HSP 1580, Pandemic Game Changers
  • BSS 2710, Global Health Perspectives

Health Disparities Elective

Complete one of the following electives from this list.

  • BSS 0400, Introduction to Health Disparities
  • HSP 1460, Public Health Law and Policy
  • HSP 1580, Pandemic Game Changers
  • BSS 1650, Race, Racism, and Health
  • BSS 1680I, Pathology to Power
  • HSP 1681, Reproductive Health, Rights, & Justice
  • PHP 1796, Historical Determinants of Public Health
  • BSS 1810, Community-Engaged Research
  • HSP 1821, Incarceration, Disparities, & Health
  • PHP 1830, Harm Reduction as Public Health
  • PHP 1920, Social Determinants of Health
  • BSS 1998, Public Health Nutrition

Health, Health Care Systems and Policy Elective

Complete one of the following electives from this list.

  • HSP 0330, Health Law and Policy
  • HSP 0650, From Manufacturer to Patient: Why is the Cost of Prescription Drugs So Darn High
  • HSP 1100, Comparative Health Care Systems
  • HSP 1450, COVID-19, Public Health, & Health Policy
  • HSP 1460, Public Health Law and Policy
  • HSP 1480, Introduction to Public Health Economics
  • HSP 1580, Pandemic Game Changers
  • HSP 1681, Reproductive Health, Rights, & Justice

Social and Behavioral Science for Prevention Elective

Complete one of the following electives from this list.

  • BSS 0400, Introduction to Health Disparities
  • BSS 0700, Global Public Health Interventions
  • BSS 1101, World of Food
  • BSS 1300, Parenting Behaviors and Child Health
  • PHP 1540, Alcohol Use and Misuse
  • BSS 1550, Substance Use and Vulnerability to Addiction
  • BSS 1551, Substance Use Treatment Prevention & Policy
  • BSS 1610, Tobacco, Disease, & the Industry
  • BSS 1650, Race, Racism, and Health
  • EPI 1670, Public Mental Health
  • BSS 1690, Digital Health
  • PHP 1830, Harm Reduction as Public Health
  • PHP 1920, Social Determinants of Health
  • BSS 1998, Public Health Nutrition

Public Health Elective

Complete one public health elective. This can be any PHP course 1000-level or higher, including but not limited to:

  • PHP 1040, Qualitative Methods
  • STAT 1560, Using R for Data Analysis
  • PHP 1685, Digital Innovations & AI in Healthcare
  • PHP 1689, Technology & Mental Health
  • EPI 1854, Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases
  • EPI 1855, Infectious Disease Modeling 
  • EPI 1856, A One Health Approach to Public Health
  • BSS 1880, Medication, Mindfulness, and Health
  • BSS 1890, The Craving Mind
  • EPI 1895, Mindfulness Epidemiology
  • EPI 1900, Epi of Childhood and Young Adult Disorders
  • EPI 1964, Cancer Epidemiology
  • PHP 1970, PH Independent Study

Note for the Class of 2027

Students in the Class of 2027 have the option to take a Humanities/Fine Arts/Humanistic Social Sciences elective to satisfy this requirement, including:

  • AFRI 0550, African Amer. Health Activism from Emancipation to AIDS 
  • AFRI 1060W, Policy, Culture & Discourse that Shape Health & Access to Healthcare 
  • AFRI 1060Z (HMAN 1973A), Race, Sexuality, & Mental Disability History 
  • AFRI 1920, Health Inequality in Historical Perspective
  • AMST 1600C, The Anti-Trafficking Savior Complex 
  • AMST 1601/0601 (STS 1110, GNSS 1960B), Hlth & Healing in American History 
  • AMST 1906D, Bodies of Knowledge: Health & Disease in American Culture  
  • COLT 0610Y, Women’s Writing in the Arab World
  • COLT 1810P, Literature and Medicine
  • COST 0032, Music and Meditation
  • COST 0100, Intro to Contemplative Studies
  • ENGL 1030C, Writing Science
  • ENGL 1050R, Writing About Health $ Healthcare
  • ENGL 1140D, Writing Diversity: A Workshop
  • ENGL 1180Z, Healthcare Journalism
  • ETHN 1750B, Treaty Rights & Food Fights
  • GNSS 0090C, Reproductive Hlth: Science and Politics
  • GNSS 0120, Intro to Gender and Sexuality Studies
  • GNSS 1300, Gender Based Violence Prevention
  • GNSS 1510A, Reproductive In/Justice
  • HISP 0490A, Spanish for Health Care Workers
  • HISP 0750Q (LACA 0750Q), Health, Illness, & Medicine in Spanish American Literature & Film
  • HIST 0150H, Food and Drugs in History
  • HIST 0270B, From the Columbian Exchange to Climate Change
  • HIST 0286A, History of Medicine I
  • HIST 0286B, History of Medicine II
  • HIST 0537B (LACA 0537B, POBS 0970), Tropical Delights: Imagining Brazil in History & Culture
  • HIST 1080, Humanitarianism and Conflict in Africa
  • HIST 1830M, From Medieval Bedlam to Prozac Nation
  • HIST 1960Q, Medicine and Public Health in Africa
  • HIST 1977I, Gender, Race, and Medicine in the Americas
  • HMAN 1973P, Neurodiversity: Science, Politics, Culture
  • HMAN 1975G, Planning the Family: Gender, Reproduction, & the Politics of Choice
  • LACA 1503V, Health of Hispaniola
  • LITR 1151T, Poetry for Healing Territories
  • MCM 1506N, From Pathogens to Memes: Media, Pandemics, and Globalization
  • PHIL 0060, Modern Science and Human Values
  • PHIL 0207, Food and Philosophy
  • PHIL 0390, Global Justice
  • PHIL 0650 (CLPS 0710), Psychology and Philosophy of Happiness
  • TAPS 1281W, Artists and Scientists as Partners
  • TAPS 1281Z, Artists and Scientists as Partners: Theory to Practice

Note: Course availability may vary depending on faculty sabbaticals, etc.

Two or fewer courses can overlap in any concentration as a means to satisfy multiple concentration programs. BIOL0200 is one exception to this rule and can act as a third overlapping course.

Concentration Planning Worksheet

Students can explore the Public Health Concentration Planning Worksheet, which can help students determine how they will satisfy the requirements of our concentration.

Honors Track

An Honors track is available in the Concentration in Public Health. Honors track students are required to enroll in PHP1980: Honors Thesis Preparation with their primary thesis adviser both semesters of their senior year. Students who wish to be considered a candidate for Honors should discuss their plans with their identified thesis advisers before submitting the required prospectus.

Honors Guidelines

To receive Honors, students must:

  • Be in Good Academic Standing as defined by University rules.
  • Demonstrate academic excellence. In addition to two semesters of PHP1980, the student must also successfully complete 11 courses for the concentration. The student must achieve a balance of A’s over B’s in all graded courses taken to fulfill concentration requirements. Remember that an S with distinction is equivalent to an A. However, since the S_Dist does not appear on the internal transcript, the student must inform us when they receive this grade. Students with questions regarding whether they qualify should contact the Honors Adviser.
  • Submit a prospectus to the Honors Director by the deadline stated in the Honors Guidelines. Students must identify a primary adviser for their thesis who signs off on the thesis prospectus. A second adviser must also be specified, but does not have to sign.
  • Must complete two semesters of PHP 1980, which is an independent study during which their thesis work and guidance will take place. PHP1980 must be taken for a grade in both semesters of senior year, and cannot have a grade of INC in either semester; an INC disqualifies the student from Honors. Two writing assignments with feedback from the primary adviser will meet the WRIT criteria required for the first of the two PHP 1980 courses, and will be submitted to the Director of UG Studies.
  • Submit an Honors Thesis judged to be of superior quality by each of the two advisers.
  • Deliver an oral presentation, based on the Thesis, which is reviewed favorably by the Honors Director and primary thesis adviser. For May graduates, Honors Thesis presentations occur in early to mid-April; for mid-years, presentations are in November.

The final copy of the thesis is due on or before the 5pm deadline stated in the Honors Guidelines. In order to meet the deadline, students should plan to submit a next-to-final draft of their project to their advisers at least one month before the end of classes. Please refer to the guidelines that outline the Honors Track as well as specify the expectations of the faculty who serve as honors advisers.

Additional Courses Required

Students in the Honors Track must take PHP 1915, Public Health Honors Senior Seminar, in the fall of senior year instead of PHP 1910. Students will take two semesters of PHP1980 in addition to PHP1915 during fall of senior year.

If you have any questions, please contact the program director.

Study Abroad

To get started, attend an Information Session and/or meet with an OIP advisor at the Study Abroad website.

General Information:

  • It is recommended that students study abroad during the second semester of junior year
  • UG/MPH students cannot study abroad during their senior year. Contact Elizabeth Jackvony (elizabeth_jackvony@brown.edu) for further clarification.
  • Students can transfer up to two credits per semester abroad towards the concentration
  • Students are required to take core and required public health selective courses at Brown. Students may petition to use transfer credits for Biology or Humanities electives, or for public health courses that count towards graduation, but not public health concentration requirements.
  • Students can petition to have a course considered, however, most do not meet the requirements or do not provide the ability for requirements to be assessed
  • Students interested in pursuing honors and spending the second semester of their junior year abroad should identify a topic and their primary and secondary advisors before they leave

Transfer Credit Approval Forms (from the Office of the Registrar) 

To obtain concentration credit for courses taken abroad:

  • Meet with your concentration advisor before going abroad to discuss your study abroad course plan
  • Provide your advisor with course syllabi for any courses you plan on taking abroad and petitioning for concentration credit
  • Manually enter planned courses into ASK and upload course syllabi
  • If approved by your advisor and the Director of Undergraduate Studies, your advisor will post a comment stating approval in ASK
  • Upon arrival, re-enter the courses taken abroad into ASK from your IAR

ASK Resources for Transferring Credits

More information on Travel Planning

Study Abroad Course LisT

Five-Year MPH Program

The 5-year integrated Undergraduate/MPH (UG/MPH) degree is a rigorous program in professional public health education open to Brown undergraduates of any concentration.