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Education and Student Services

Declaring and Advising

Learn how to declare, read advising FAQ, and explore student funding opportunities.

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Declaring and Advising

Learn how to declare, read advising FAQ, and explore student funding opportunities.

An academic concentration is the focal point for a student's undergraduate educational experience at Brown. It is an in-depth study centering on a discipline or disciplines, a problem or a theme, or a broad question. All students must formally request, in writing, admission to a concentration.

Steps for Declaring a Concentration in Public Health

Students interested in the Public Health concentration should:

  1. Refer to the Public Health concentration requirements.
  2. Complete the Public Health Concentrator's Worksheet. Include courses you have taken and those you would like to take to fulfill the concentration requirements. This form will be the basis for your conversation with the director of the program, so please bring it with you to your meeting. If you are considering the 5-year UG/MPH Degree (formerly AB/MPH), please contact and schedule a meeting with Elizabeth Jackvony). You may find UG/MPH requirements here.
  3. Book a meeting or email Academic and Student Affairs Coordinator Kira Philips to learn about the concentration requirements, declaring in the ASK (Advising Sidekick) portal, to discuss your course plan and get answers to your questions.
  4. After the meeting, she will process an override in ASK which will allow you to declare the concentration. 4th-semester students should schedule this meeting early, preferably by the first week of March. Remember, April 1 is the University deadline for all 4th-semester students to file a concentration. Any student who does not have an approved concentration on file will be blocked from pre-registering for Fall semester courses.
  5. Declare your concentration using the online declaration process. Go to ASK (Advising Sidekick), log in and then click on the "Declarations" tab. This will give you access to the necessary information. Note: If you have not obtained an override code, you will not be able to begin the declaration process in ASK.
  6. You will be assigned a concentration adviser upon submitting your declaration. Meet with your adviser after you declare to begin your advising and mentoring relationship, obtain answers to any remaining questions and finalize the concentration plan. 
  7. Your concentration adviser will use the ASK system to comment on, request revisions to and ultimately approve your course plan. This process can be repeated as many times as is necessary as your plans evolve over the years in the concentration.

UTRA Funding Opportunity

Undergraduate Teaching and Research Award (UTRA)

  • Amount: $1,000 (semester) to $3,500 (summer)
  • Deadline: February (summer), May (fall), and November (spring)
  • Money can be spent on: student living expenses while conducting research with a Brown faculty member
  • Application: consists of a project proposal by both the student and faculty mentor
  • Available for: all undergraduates; most applicants are sophomore or juniors

More information about UTRA awards

Advising: Frequently Asked Questions

The Concentration in Public Health is administered by the Concentration Adviser/Honors Adviser and the Program Coordinator for Student Engagement. Students should feel free to contact the appropriate or pre-assigned adviser with questions.

"Public Health" is a broad theme, and our graduates pursue many paths. 

Eventually, almost all of our graduates go on to an advanced degree, even if they take a year or two off. Medical school is a common next step (both PLME and non-PLME), though not for a majority of our concentrators. 

Applications to Schools of Public Health have become increasingly common. 

Other students take positions with non-governmental organizations (NGOs), both domestically and abroad. Some graduates become managers of health promotion programs funded by research grants and/or through departments of health. We have had graduates go to degree programs in social work and in midwifery; others go to entry-level positions in healthcare consulting companies.

  • HSP0310 (Health Care in the US) and PHP0320 (Intro to Public Health) should be taken as early as possible, preferably by the end of the sophomore year since they serve as prerequisites for other courses.​
  • STAT1501 (Statistics) should be taken in the students sophomore or junior year. There are no pre-reqs. In some cases, students take this course in the fall of their senior year.​
  • EPI0850 (Epidemiology): Students typically take this course in their sophomore or junior year. In some cases, students take this course in the fall of their senior year.​ PHP0320 is a pre-req. 
  • PHP1910 (Senior Seminar), a requirement for non-honors students only, must be taken in the fall semester of the senior year.

Up to two courses may count for credit in both concentrations.

Courses taken abroad that are pertinent to the concentration may be counted with approval. Students generally bring back 1-2 courses per semester abroad for the concentration.

Undergraduate Curriculum

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

Brown University School of Public Health
Providence RI 02903 401-863-3375 public_health@brown.edu

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