The mission of Public Health is to preserve, promote, and improve the health and well being of populations, communities, and individuals. To fulfill this mission, we foster collaborations among public health students and the health professions in education, research, and service.

Please visit the Public Health website or contact the Human Ecology Advising Center for more information about the program.

Course Schedule Updates

Course Schedule Updates FOR Spring 2024

Reserved Classes: All Upper-Division PBH classes are reserved for Public Health majors (unless consent is given by the professor). If you meet the pre-requisites, you will be able to register for the class.

PBH 362 Epidemiology II: Quantitative Methods | Dr. Taylor | TTH 11:00am-12:00pm | 51715

Pre-requisites: Upper-Division Standing (open to all majors)

PBH 363 Project Management, Planning, and Evaluation | Dr. Jorgensen | TTH 2:00pm-3:30pm | 51719

Pre-requisites: PBH 354 and SDS 320E

Pre-requisites with SDS 320E: If you took SDS 320E Elements of Statistics (formerly SDS 328M Biostatistics), you will be able to register for any PBH class that lists SDS 328M as a pre-requisite.

New Upper division Public Health Elective Courses

The Public Health Department has developed four new courses to compliment the required upper division PBH classes required for your degree. Any of the classes listed below can count towards any of the Concentration lists found in the "Concentration Course Lists" section. You can begin taking these courses after completing PBH 354 and SDS 328M.

1) PBH 362: Epidemiology II (currently being taught by Dr. Taylor)

2) PBH 367: Emerging and Re-Emerging Infectious Diseases (currently being taught by Dr. Field)

3) PBH 337: Diverse Communities and Health Equity (currently being taught by Dr. Schnarrs)

4) PBH 337: Maternal and Child Health (currently being taught by Dr. Jorgensen)

5) PBH 364: Field Epidemiology (currently being taught by Dr. Felkner)

6) PBH 366: Global Health in Action (currently being taught by Dr. Felkner)

7) PBH 363: Project Management, Planning and Evaluation (currently being taught by Dr. Jorgensen)

8) PBH 365: Public Health Informatics (in development)

Currently, you can combine both the courses listed above and courses from a single concentration list (see section below) to fulfill the "specialization requirement" listed on your Interactive Degree Audit (IDA).

PBH Degree Requirements & Concentration Lists

Degree Requirement Reminders

Upper-Division Sequence: The Upper-Division PBH classes required for your degree must be taking in the following order in back-to-back semesters:

Semester 1: PBH 354 Epidemiology
- Pre-reqs: PBH 317 with a grade of at least C-; credit with a grade of at least C- or registration for Biology 325 and Statistics and Data Sciences 320E or 328M
Semester 2: PBH 358D Health Policy/Health Systems; and PBH 356 Health Behavior Theory/Practice
Semester 3: PBH 334 Global Health; and PBH 338 Environmental Health

PBH sequence 2021

Click link to open PDF version: B.S. Public Health Course Sequencing

Concentration requirement: You can view updated Concentration lists under the "Concentration Lists" tab at the top of this page, including a consolidated list of only Spring 2024 classes offered.

Reminder: Upper-Division PBH courses not required as part of the Upper-Division sequence can count towards any Concentration and can be taken as soon as you meet the pre-requisites!

Foreign Language and Culture requirement: View details about the different ways you can fulfill the Foreign Language and Culture requirement for your BS degree here

What is the Concentration Requirement

The Public Health major offers six concentrations: Biostatistics and Public Health Informatics, Environmental Health Science, Health Policy and Management, Infectious Disease and Microbiology, Social and Behavioral Sciences, and Nutrition.

The concentration requirement for the PBH degree requires at least 9 hours of coursework from approved concentration lists. The concentration hours can be completed by taking courses from a single approved concentration list, or through taking approved upper-division PBH courses. Students can choose to take all 9 hours from one approved list, some from an approved list and some from upper-division PBH courses, or all 9 hours from the upper-division PBH courses. The concentration does not need to be “declared” and the concentration you choose will not be noted on your transcript.

The approved concentration course lists do not guarantee availability of courses. If you have questions about registering for a course that is outside of the School of Human Ecology, please reach out to the department offering the class for more information about registration. The Human Ecology Advising Center will not be able to help students register for courses outside of SoHE.

Concentration Lists

The following lists contain the approved courses for the 14-16, 16-18, 18-20, and 20-22 catalogs. You must choose at least 9 hours of coursework to fulfill the concentration. Courses must be taken from the same list.

Biostatistics Public Health Informatics

Environmental Sciences

Health Policy Management

Infectious Diseases Microbiology

Nutrition

Social Behavioral Sciences

(Last updated October 5, 2023)

Additional options for any Concentration list: Students can count any of the Upper-Division PBH classes listed below towards any concentration list. There is no maximum, and you can fulfill your entire concentration requirement with just Upper-Division PBH courses:

PBH 341R Public Health Research (internship program, details here)
PBH 337: Diverse Communities and Health Equity
PBH 337: Maternal and Child Health
PBH 362 Epidemiology II
PBH 363 Project Management, Planning and Evaluation
PBH 364 Field Epidemiology
PBH 365 Public Health Informatics (in development)
PBH 366 Global Health in Action
PBH 367 Emerging and Re-Emerging Infectious Diseases

Please note:

Concentration courses CANNOT satisfy other major requirements
ALWAYS confirm prerequisites, restrictions, and flags in course schedule

**Students on the 22-24 catalog do NOT have to take concentration courses. Students are required to take PBH 363 and 6hrs of additional Advanced Public Health courses (excluding PBH 354, 356, 358D, 334, 338). These courses can be chosen from the above list.**

Foreign Language and Foreign Culture Requirement

What is the Foreign language AND culture requirement?

Students pursuing the BS in Public Health are required to complete foreign language and/or a foreign culture courses for their degree.

There are three ways that students can satisfy this degree requirement.

2^nd semester proficiency in a single foreign language

(Ex. Spanish 1 and Spanish 2)

1^st semester proficiency and a foreign culture course from the same language area.

(Ex. Spanish 1 and a Central and South America culture course)

Two foreign culture courses from a single foreign culture category.

(Ex. Two courses from the Central and South America culture category)

Students can take their foreign language at UT, outside of UT, or can claim foreign language credit gained through advanced placement or credit-by-exam.

If students plan to take foreign culture courses, they must be taken from the pre-approved Natural Sciences Foreign Culture category lists.

A full list of languages amd foreign culture courses in each area can be found here.

Foreign Culture Courses offered Spring 2024

African Foreign Culture List

American Sign Foreign Culture List

Central and South American Foreign Culture List

China Foreign Culture List

French Foreign Culture List

Germany and Scandinavian Foreign Culture List

Greek Foreign Culture List

Italian Foreign Culture List

Japan Foreign Culture List

Korea Foreign Culture List

Latin and Roman Foreign Culture List

Middle Eastern Foreign Culture List

South Asia Foreign Culture List

Russia and Slavic Foreign Culture List

(Updated October 25, 2023)

PBH Advising FAQs

Public Health Advising FAQs:

What is the concentration requirement?

The concentration requirement for the PBH degree requires at least 9 hours of coursework from approved concentration lists. The concentration hours can be completed by taking courses from a single approved concentration list, or through taking approved upper-division PBH courses. Students can choose to take all 9 hours from one approved list, some from an approved list and some from upper-division PBH courses, or all 9 hours from the upper-division PBH courses. Please see the website linked above for details and the concentration options. The concentration does not need to be “declared” and the concentration you choose will not be noted on your transcript.

I want to take XYZ course for my concentration, but it is reserved/closed/has pre-requisites. How do I take this class?

Can I take two PBH 337 courses?

Yes; PBH 337 is what is sometimes called a “topics course”, where a course will have the same number but cover different material and topics. As long as the courses are different “topics”, or different titles, PBH 337 can be counted more than once. Two PBH 337 courses can be taken at the same time, and can count for the concentration.

Do I need writing flags? What courses can I take for a writing flag?

PBH students need at least two writing flags: one needs to be from an upper-division course, while the other can be either upper or lower-division. Upper division writing flags will need to be taken at UT, but writing flags can be taken over the summer at UT. The only course that can transfer with a writing flag is RHE 309J, which is a lower-division course.

(3 hours of courses with a writing flag that are not used elsewhere in the core curriculum are required, so sometimes additional writing flag hours are necessary. Please reach out to headvising@austin.utexas.edu if you are unsure if you may need an additional writing flag.)

Students can either take degree requirement courses that carry writing flags, or can take an elective to meet the writing flag requirement. The public health degree does not include specific coursework with a writing flag. Below are some common requirements that could be met with a course that also carries a writing flag (please note that course availability varies):

Foreign language and culture requirement
Core VAPA requirement - the course schedule can be searched by using the “3 core curriculum” drop-down menu
Concentration course - please note that very few concentration courses carry a writing flag, and that they may be reserved by the department or have pre-requisites
Minor/certificate - if you are completing a minor or certificate, there may be a writing flag course opportunity available