How to Apply to Public Health (BSPH) at The Ohio State University: A Bachelor of Science in Public Health with Environmental Public Health (STEM-designated), Public Health Methods and Public Health Sociology Specializations, Chosen When You Apply to the University, and the Path for Domestic, International (Including Chinese) and Transfer Applicants

At The Ohio State University (Ohio State, Columbus campus), the undergraduate public health degree is offered by the College of Public Health and awards a Bachelor of Science in Public Health (BSPH). Unlike our general life-sciences guide for Ohio State, this one covers public health only: how you get in, what the thresholds are, what you study and what it costs. This guide summarises the university’s published information for fall 2027 entry for U.S. applicants, international applicants and applicants from China, followed by transfer students.

1. Degrees and programs

• BSPH: the college calls it a nationally accredited degree that builds a foundation in data analysis, environmental health, epidemiology, health behavior and health policy. The degree has a minimum of 121 credit hours: 34–41 major core, 15–16 specialization, 32–37 general education, 6–12 major electives, 18–25 open electives/supporting science and 3 prerequisite credits (PUBHLTH 2010, Critical Issues in Global Public Health).
• Three specializations: environmental public health (listed as STEM-designated), public health methods, and public health sociology. Curriculum guides come in two sets: students admitted autumn 2026 and later have guides for all three; students admitted before summer 2026 have guides for public health sociology and environmental public health only. There are also versions that build in pre-medicine and pre-dentistry requirements.
• Capstone: required for all BSPH students, as an internship, research or education abroad experience of 80 hours, completed in one of the last three semesters before graduation, after a required Capstone Preparation course (PUBHLTH 3180; 3180E for honors students). Two education abroad programs are pre-approved (PUBHLTH 3189.05 Costa Rica and EARTHSCI 5797.20 Japan). Honors students complete an honors capstone project.
• Combined BSPH/MPH (3+2): bachelor’s and master’s in five years, with four options (public health sociology or environmental public health paired with epidemiology, health behavior and health promotion, or environmental health sciences). Conditions: be a BSPH student, meet an adviser for a pre-application at least a year before applying, complete at least 90 undergraduate credit hours with a 3.5 cumulative GPA, and meet Graduate School requirements. Graduate coursework starts in the fourth year; nine credit hours count toward both degrees, and the graduate courses taken in the combined fourth year (22–24 credit hours) are charged at undergraduate tuition. Admission follows the standard graduate process, with no preference for BSPH students. Whether international students are accepted is not stated on the page we read.
• Minors: Global Public Health, Epidemiology and Public Health and the Arts have curriculum guides.
• STEM: only the environmental public health specialization is labeled STEM-designated; the other specializations are not addressed.

2. How you get into the major, and the thresholds

• Choose public health when you apply to the university: apply to the Columbus campus through the Common App and select public health as your intended major. The college page says students admitted to the university “will be directly admitted to the Bachelor of Science in Public Health major.”
• The undergraduate admissions “enrollment criteria” page is more specific (read the two together and confirm with the college and admissions): the College of Public Health’s “selective direct enrollment criteria” are a high school GPA of 3.0 or higher OR a rank in the top 60% of the high school class for direct enrollment in the major; students not directly enrolled enroll as pre-majors. The page also says a pre-major does not guarantee the major, and that international students cannot be enrolled in University Exploration. How an entering pre-major student moves into the declared major is not stated on the pages we read; ask a college adviser. The rule for current Ohio State students changing majors is below.
• Current Ohio State students changing into public health can request it at any time through an adviser; students with a 2.5 GPA, 12 graded hours and a C or higher in PUBHLTH 2010 can change into the major, and students in good standing who have not met these are placed in the public health pre-major.
• Quotas and acceptance rates: not stated on the pages we read.

3. Prerequisites and curriculum

• High school minimums (university-wide): English 4 units, mathematics 3, natural science 3 (with significant lab experience), social science 2, foreign language 2 (same language), visual or performing arts 1, plus 1 additional unit in any of these subjects. The table also has “recommended” and “additional consideration” columns; check the original table for the unit counts. No extra high school prerequisites are listed for public health.
• Sample courses listed on the BSPH page: PUBHLTH 2010 Critical Issues in Global Public Health, PUBHLTH 3060 Technology, Innovation and Public Health, PUBHHBP 3510 Role of Behavior in Public Health, PUBHLTH 4060 U.S. and International Health Policy, and PUBHLTH 5050 Public Health Foundations of Maternal and Child Health. The specific statistics, biostatistics, epidemiology and environmental health requirements are not listed course by course on the pages we read; see the curriculum guides (PDFs).
• AP/IB credit: not stated on the public health pages we read; the transfer page mentions credit for AP, IB and other exams (go.osu.edu/creditbyexam).
• Practice requirement: the 80-hour capstone (internship, research or education abroad).

4. Rounds, fees and materials (first-year)

• Dates (autumn 2027): the Common App opens August 1; early action November 1, 2026 (non-binding); regular decision January 15, 2027; financial aid priority date February 1; acceptance fee deadline May 1, 2027. Early action decisions: December 11 for Ohio residents and Stamps Eminence applicants, January 22 for non-Ohio residents and international applicants; regular decisions March 5. Summer-term first-year applications are not accepted.
• Testing: required. First-year applicants to the Columbus campus must submit the ACT or SAT (not required if out of high school two or more years by the term of enrollment). Ohio State superscores; the ACT science section and the writing essay are not required; school codes are ACT 3312 and SAT 1592; scores must come directly from the testing agency. The university reports that the middle 50% of admitted students scored 27–33 on the ACT and 1280–1470 on the SAT (all admitted students, not public health specifically), and says there are no minimum ACT, SAT or GPA requirements.
• Materials: the Common App, the application fee or a fee waiver, an official high school transcript (including senior-year courses) and official ACT/SAT scores. Recommendations are optional (a counselor may send up to two letters). Essay: the Common App personal essay; whether there is a supplemental essay is not stated on the pages we read.
• Application fee: the first-year pages do not state the amount; the transfer page says $70 (non-refundable).
• Review criteria, in no particular order: completion of university preparatory courses, high school performance (class rank or GPA, including honors, AP and IB), ACT/SAT, leadership or engaged involvement, first-generation status, outstanding talent, contribution to the campus community, and personal qualities such as collaboration, determination and resilience.

5. Three groups of readers

U.S. applicants

• 2026-27 first-year estimates (Columbus): Ohio residents tuition (including instructional and general fees) $14,050, housing and food $15,738; non-residents tuition $44,271 (including the out-of-state surcharge), housing and food $15,738. Ohio residents’ tuition, general fees and housing and food are held steady for four years (Ohio State Tuition Guarantee). Non-Ohio residents may qualify for the National Buckeye Scholarship. Whether public health charges a program fee is not stated on the pages we read.
• File the FAFSA and Scholarship Universe by the February 1 priority date; applicants who apply by November 1 are automatically considered for university merit scholarships. In-state preference: tuition differs for Ohio residents and non-residents.

International applicants

• English: minimums are TOEFL iBT 79 for exams before January 21, 2026 and 4.0 on or after that date; IELTS 6.5; Duolingo 120; ACT English 21; SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing 550. Alternatively, complete three full years at a U.S. regionally accredited high school and graduate, or be a citizen of, or hold a bachelor’s degree from, one of the listed countries (Australia, Belize, British Caribbean, British West Indies, Canada except Quebec, England, Ghana, Guyana, Ireland, Liberia, Kenya, New Zealand, Nigeria, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, the United States or Wales). The American Language Program offers intensive English with a separate application, and Ohio State does not offer conditional admission.
• Materials and dates match the domestic first-year ones (Common App, ACT/SAT, transcripts or official examination certificates for grades 9–12). The international spring-term deadline is October 1, 2026.
• Proof of funds: after you are admitted and pay the $100 non-refundable acceptance fee, you submit a signed Visa Request Form and support documents to receive an I-20 or DS-2019; do not submit them before admission.
• Costs: the 2026-27 single-student estimates are tuition (including instructional and general fees) $47,374 (including a $3,103 annual International Undergraduate Student Fee), housing and food $15,630, books and supplies $1,020, health insurance $4,108 and miscellaneous personal expenses $4,046. International students must buy the university’s student health insurance (exemptions exist for some).
• Scholarships: the university says incoming first-year students compete for university-funded merit scholarships and that “international students are not eligible.” A page for scholarships for international students exists; we did not read it. Limits on internships or work for international students in public health: not stated.

Applicants from China

• Not stated on the pages we read: whether the Gaokao is considered, Huikao records, and any Ohio State statement specific to Chinese applicants.
• General rules on the pages: non-English documents must be translated into English by the issuing institution, an authorized translator or a teacher of the language; international applicants send transcripts or official copies of examination certificates for grades 9–12, which a counselor can upload through the Common App, Naviance or another secure service or email to ugdocs@osu.edu; faxes are not accepted. Contact the admissions office for anything else.

6. Transfer students

• Be admitted to the university first, then declare: the college says transfer students must first be admitted through Undergraduate Admissions, then meet an adviser (614-292-8350 or cph@osu.edu) to declare a specialization. The admissions transfer page lists professional programs you may be able to apply to directly if you already meet certain prerequisites, including “Public Health (BS)”; check its enrollment criteria.
• Admission: with 30 or more earned semester hours, admission is based on cumulative GPA across all colleges attended; a 2.5 or better is typically competitive, with grade trends and performance in major-related courses considered. With fewer than 30, a holistic review includes the high school record and ACT/SAT. Credit transfers if the course is from a regionally accredited institution, non-remedial, and graded C- or better; AP, IB and similar exams can earn credit.
• Deadlines (Columbus): by the page’s column order, spring 2027 November 1, 2026; summer 2027 March 1, 2027; autumn 2027 May 15, 2027 (the table is terse; please verify). International transfer applicants: spring 2027 entry October 1, 2026 and autumn 2027 entry March 1, 2027. The $70 application fee applies.
• For international transfers, credit is converted by comparing one year of work with 30 semester hours when the listed hours do not carry the same weight.

7. Pre-health and graduate school

The BSPH has curriculum guides that build in pre-medicine and pre-dentistry requirements, and the college says the degree also prepares students for a Master of Public Health, medicine, dentistry or other healthcare fields. The combined MPH route is covered in Section 1.

Checklist

U.S. applicants:

• Common App with public health as your intended major; early action November 1, 2026 or regular decision January 15, 2027; submit the ACT or SAT
• High school GPA 3.0+ or top 60% of class for direct enrollment, otherwise a pre-major; current students changing in need a 2.5 GPA, 12 graded hours and a C or higher in PUBHLTH 2010

International applicants (including China):

• TOEFL 79 (4.0 on the new scale) / IELTS 6.5 / Duolingo 120; the ACT or SAT is also required; proof of funds only after admission
• Not eligible for the university-funded first-year merit scholarships; Gaokao use not stated

Transfer students:

• Apply to the university first (international transfers: autumn March 1, 2027; others please verify), cumulative GPA typically 2.5+, then declare a specialization with a college adviser

Sources: The Ohio State University, College of Public Health: BSPH; Undergraduate admissions; Undergraduate curriculum guides; Capstone experience; Combined BSPH/MPH; First-year application steps; Who gets in; Enrollment criteria; International first-year application; After you are admitted (international); Transfer application; Transfer admission criteria; International transfer application; Costs; Scholarships. Information is for fall 2027 entry (costs are 2026-27 estimates). The deadlines shown on the admissions pages (November 1, 2026; January 15, 2027 and so on) carry years; the first-year application fee amount is not stated on the pages we read, so check the university’s website for the latest.