Director: Bryan Brooks

The BS/MPH in Environmental Health Science accelerated program is a 5-year program of study. This accelerated degree program enables qualified students to obtain a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Health Science (see undergraduate catalog) and a Master of Public Health in Environmental Health Science in a minimum of five years of full-time study. All requirements for both the BS and MPH degrees must be met, and the degrees are awarded concurrently.

Admission

Applicants must be BS in Environmental Health Science (BS-EHS) majors and have a GPA of 3.2 or higher in the major prior to applying for the accelerated program. During their junior year (year 3) of the BS-EHS program, applicants must discuss with the BS-EHS program director the possibility of being considered for entry into the BS/MPH in EHS accelerated degree program. (The GRE is not required for this accelerated degree program. However, other requirements for MPH program applicants will be required for the accelerated degree program.) Application and admission to the program is a 2-step process.

1. During their junior year, with permission from the BS-EHS director, the student submits a provisional application to the graduate school. Ifaccepted, they are awarded provisional status in the accelerated program.
2. During their senior year, with permission from both directors (BS-EHS and MPH in Environmental Health Science), the student submits a formal application in SOPHAS for full admission into the MPH program.

The BS-EHS degree will be awarded with the MPH upon completion of all degree requirements. Students who decide to withdraw or who do not maintain a 3.2 will be allowed to finish the BS-EHS but will have admission to the graduate MPH degree program canceled, and any graduate work completed will appear on the undergraduate transcript and will count on the bachelor’s degree. These students will not be allowed to re-enter the accelerated degree program at a later date.

Undergraduate vs Graduate Student Designations

Students in this accelerated degree program are categorized in the Baylor system as undergraduate students during their senior year (year 4) regardless of any combination of BS- and MPH-level courses completed that year. These students are designated as graduate students in year 5 (final year of program) after being accepted into the graduate school for that final year.

These distinctions (undergraduate student versus graduate student) will be linked to financial aid and scholarship eligibility for each level. In year 4, these accelerated degree students are eligible for any financial aid or scholarships for which they qualify as an undergraduate student. When these students become graduate students in year 5, though they lose their eligibility for undergraduate-level support, they are eligible to apply for graduate-level scholarships and financial aid.

In their BS-EHS senior year (year 4) these accelerated degree students must complete all core 1st-year requirements of the 2-year MPH program. In year 5 of the accelerated degree program, students complete all core 2nd-year requirements in this final year of the MPH program. Students are encouraged to contact appropriate advisors in each program for further details.