How to Apply to Public Health (BS) at the University of Texas at Austin: It Sits in the College of Natural Sciences, First-Year and Outside Transfer Applicants Are Admitted Directly to the Major by University Admissions, On-Campus Switchers Apply Once a Year in Spring, and Liberal Arts Also Has Health and Society (BA), for U.S., International (Including Chinese) and Transfer Applicants

The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) does have a bachelor’s degree called public health: the Bachelor of Science in Public Health (BSPublichealth), in the College of Natural Sciences. The catalog’s degree list files it under a “School of Health and Human Sciences,” while the program page says the degree “is administered by the School of Human Ecology”; the two names differ and we report both. The College of Liberal Arts also offers Health and Society (BA), and the catalog lists a Health Promotion and Behavioral Science (BSKin&Health) degree in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education in the College of Education, which we mention only in passing. See our separate guides for UT Austin nursing and life sciences in general. This guide uses the university’s own CourseLeaf catalog, the admissions office website and the One Stop cost page.

1. Degrees and programs

• Public Health BS (College of Natural Sciences): 120 credits in total. The catalog says it prepares graduates for entry-level public health positions and for certificate and graduate study; every option offers broad training in the five core areas of public health, and it suits students interested in health careers and in dual graduate degrees in medicine and public health.
• Three options:
  • Option I (regular): the standard four-year path.
  • Option II (Public Health Honors): the College page says students must first be admitted to the Dean’s Scholars Honors Program; the program page says they must be admitted to the Dean’s Scholars, Health Science Scholars or Polymathic Scholars Honors Program. The two pages differ, so check the latest catalog. The college also has Public Health Departmental Honors: apply to the honors advisor no later than the start of senior year (earlier, from junior year, is encouraged), with a University GPA of at least 3.00 and a public health GPA of at least 3.50; graduation with honors requires two semesters of PBH 379H, a thesis and presentation, and at least 60 hours completed at the University.
  • Option III (Advanced program, BS plus MPH): run with the UT Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth Houston) School of Public Health; the BS is awarded by UT Austin and the MPH by UTHealth Houston. An Option I student may apply after the sixth semester with a GPA of at least 3.40, and Option III students follow the admission schedule and policies of the UTHealth Houston School of Public Health. In the senior year students complete 16 hours of graduate coursework at the UTHealth Austin campus, earning a graduate certificate in public health whose courses apply to the MPH; nine hours of graduate coursework must be transferred in before the BS is awarded; the second MPH year is at a UTHealth School of Public Health campus (the catalog says “five campuses” but lists six cities: Austin, Brownsville, Dallas, El Paso, Houston and San Antonio). The application deadline and whether international students are accepted are not stated on the pages we read.
• Internships and practice: the advanced coursework requirement asks for 6 hours chosen from PBH 341R Public Health Research, 361P Public Health Internship, 362 Epidemiology II, 364 Field Epidemiology, 365 Public Health Informatics and 366 Global Health in Action, so an internship is not mandatory; internship or practice hours are not publicly stated.
• STEM designation: not stated on the pages we read. Minors and certificates in the catalog include Health Communication, Health Care Reform and Innovation, and Child and Family Health minors and pre-health professions certificates; see the catalog for details.
• Health and Society BA (College of Liberal Arts): 120 credits, with 30 in the major (H S 301, 302, 350E Foundations of Epidemiology and so on, plus courses chosen across areas such as health policy, global health and social and cultural context); the BA also has foreign language and general education requirements. Its degree is named Health and Society, not public health.

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

• Public Health BS: first-year and outside transfer students are admitted directly. The College of Natural Sciences says all new freshmen and transfer students enter the college in an entry-level major and are normally admitted to the major after completing specified entry-level math and science courses with at least a C- in each. For public health, however, the college says: freshman and external transfer students who wish to become Public Health majors are evaluated and admitted into the major by University Admissions in the fall and spring.
• On-campus transfer: internal transfer applications to Public Health are evaluated once a year in spring for admission the following fall by public health faculty and college administrators, based on the student’s GPA in the basic-sequence science and math courses, the University GPA and other factors (course load difficulty, repetitions, proven mathematical ability). The page says to be competitive the student should have a GPA of at least 2.75. The college’s general internal-transfer rules, on the same page, say: apply by April 15 for the following fall; at least 24 hours in residence; a GPA of at least 3.00 in residence; one calculus-type course at B- or better; two of BIO 311C, CH 301, CH 302, PHY 303K and PHY 303L at B- or better; and an essay on goals. Both 3.00 and 2.75 appear on the same page, so the website is inconsistent here; check the latest catalog and a college advisor. Seat numbers and acceptance rate: not publicly stated.
• Public Health entry-level majors admitted through internal transfer who are not admitted to the BS may transfer into any other Natural Sciences entry-level major except computer science, neuroscience, and statistics and data science.
• Health and Society BA: first-year applicants list it as their first-choice major (the catalog says ApplyTexas, while Admissions now names the Common App for summer/fall, so follow Admissions). Internal transfer: a minimum 2.75 cumulative UT GPA with at least 12 hours in residence for a letter grade, before the fifth long semester, plus a statement of interest; applications are accepted twice a year.

3. Prerequisites and curriculum

• High school prerequisites (Admissions): language arts 4 credits; mathematics at least 3 (4 strongly recommended), including Algebra II or equivalent; science at least 2 (4 strongly recommended; biology, physics and chemistry suggested); social studies 3; foreign language 2 in one language; PE, fine arts and electives recommended. The college adds that calculus or statistics is required for all natural sciences degrees and new students take a math placement exam; the catalog’s admission chapter names engineering, geosciences and environmental science for the calculus-readiness expectation and does not name public health. AP/IB: an IB diploma may earn 24 hours of credit; other score tables are on another page that we did not read.
• Public Health BS major core: PBH 317 Introduction to Public Health (year one, spring in the plan), PBH 354 Epidemiology I, PBH 356 Health Behavior Theory and Practice, PBH 358D Health Policy and Health Systems, PBH 334 Global Health, PBH 338 Environmental Health, SDS 320E Elements of Statistics, and PBH 363 Project Management, Planning, and Evaluation (3 credits); a 3-hour capstone experience chosen from PBH 341R, 379H, 366 or 137.1 (Senior Seminar); all of these public health courses need at least a C-.
• Foundation and science: MBS 326M or 326R (microbiology), NTR 312 or 306 (nutrition), INB 365S (Human Systems Physiology), and one economics, psychology, sociology or public policy course (ECO 304K/L, PSY 301, SOC 319, SOC 354K, GOV 358 or MAN 320F); calculus M 408C/N/R (4 credits); BIO 311C, 311D and 325 Genetics (9 hours); CH 301, CH 302, CH 104M, CH 104N, organic chemistry CH 320M and BCH 369 Biochemistry; and 6 hours of foreign language or culture.
• Graduation rules: a major and degree GPA of at least 2.00; at least 36 hours of upper-division coursework, 21 of them in residence at UT.
• The catalog’s suggested four-year Plan of Study starts with BIO 311C, CH 301 and M 408C in the first fall and BIO 311D, CH 302, PBH 317 and RHE 306 in the spring.

4. Rounds, fees and materials (first-year, fall 2027)

• Deadlines: the application opens August 1; Early Action October 15 (supplemental materials October 22); regular deadline December 1 (supplemental materials December 10); Early Action decisions January 15, 2027, all decisions February 15, honors decisions March 1. Spring enrollment: September 1.
• Platform and fee: the Common App (summer/fall); a nonrefundable fee of $75 for domestic and $90 for international applicants; fee waivers are not available for international applicants.
• Essays: at least one essay plus the required short answers. Recommendations are optional (up to two, not accepted by email); a resume is optional.
• Testing: at least one official SAT or ACT score is required (SAT code 6882, ACT code 4240); official CLT scores also satisfy the requirement; SAT Essay, ACT Writing and ACT Science are not required.
• Transcripts: all high school coursework from grades 9–11 with class rank; official college transcripts for any college credit, including dual credit.
• Decision method: Texas residents may qualify for automatic admission by class rank (the university must use automatic admission to fill at least 75 percent of the spaces for Texas residents); everyone else is reviewed holistically, including the competitiveness of the major applied to. By Texas law 90 percent of spaces are reserved for Texas residents and 10 percent for out-of-state and international students. Automatic admission does not guarantee admission to a requested major.

5. Three groups of readers

U.S. applicants

• 2026-27 estimates for the two long semesters (full-time undergraduate): tuition for Texas residents $10,858–$13,576 (the page gives a range and does not say where public health falls; Admissions adds that tuition varies by academic college), housing and food $15,420–$15,580, transportation $1,840, books $724, personal $3,666, total $32,508–$35,386; living with parents, $24,998–$27,716. Non-resident tuition is $42,554–$51,106, for a total of $64,204–$72,916.
• A public-health-specific program fee is not listed on the page we read; not publicly stated. Check the One Stop tuition page. In-state preference: Texas residents have the 90 percent allocation and automatic admission described above.

International applicants

• English: official TOEFL, IELTS or Duolingo English Test (DET) scores are required; institutional TOEFL (ITP), TOEFL Essentials and IELTS General Training are not accepted. Minimum scores: TOEFL iBT 79 (120 scale) or 4 (6-point scale), IELTS Academic overall 6.5, DET 115. Exempt: applicants from a country where English is the sole official language and the primary conversational language (the list includes Australia, Canada except Quebec, Ireland, New Zealand, Singapore, the United Kingdom, India, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and others), or who graduate from a high school in the U.S. or a listed country after at least three years. TOEFL code 6882.
• Materials: transcripts showing completion (or being on track to complete) an accredited secondary series equivalent to U.S. grades 9–12; SAT or ACT; evidence of sufficient financial support while studying in the U.S. (the catalog requires it of international freshmen; the amount is not publicly stated).
• Scholarships and limits: international scholarships and limits on internships or off-campus work are not stated on the pages we read; ask Admissions and International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS).

Applicants from China

• The international pages have no China-specific note. Whether the Gaokao is considered and how to submit Huikao records: not publicly stated. The international transfer page asks for external examination results, school leaving certificates or matriculation scores for your education system (examples given: GCSE, CBSE, SSC), official English translations of non-English transcripts, and does not accept transcripts sent by email. For China-specific practice, write to admissions@austin.utexas.edu.

6. Transfer students

• Transfer to UT Austin: you must have earned 24 transferable semester hours (30 recommended). Fall: March 1 deadline (supplemental materials March 10), decisions June 30 (international transfer June 15); spring: September 1. Common App, $75 fee ($90 international), one essay, all college transcripts, a resume; recommendations are optional. International applicants cannot count coursework in progress toward the 24 hours. UT prioritizes transfer students who have completed fewer than 70 hours and can finish a degree in four years.
• Into the College of Natural Sciences (public health): the college recommends a GPA of at least 3.0 (the competitive GPA is generally higher), completing or being in progress on 24 transferable hours, one calculus-type course or SDS 302F at B- or better, and two of BIO 311C, BIO 311D, CH 301, CH 302, C S 311, C S 312, PHY 303K and PHY 303L at B- or better, plus an application that expresses interest in the intended field. The page says meeting all criteria does not guarantee admission and missing some does not rule you out. The pages do not state a separate public health transfer quota; outside transfers are admitted to the major by University Admissions (section 2).
• International transfer: the same 24 hours and March 1 deadline, plus secondary school documentation, TOEFL/IELTS/DET if applicable and proof of financial support.

7. Pre-health and graduate school

The catalog has a Preparation for Health Professions page and pre-health certificates, and says the public health degree suits students interested in dual graduate degrees in medicine and public health; the medical school has a separate MD/MPH catalog page. For pre-medical advising, see our general life-sciences guide for UT Austin.

Checklist

U.S. applicants:

• Common App, choose public health (College of Natural Sciences); Early Action October 15 or regular December 1; $75; at least one essay; SAT or ACT required
• After entry, plan BIO 311C/D, CH 301/302, calculus and PBH 317; public health core courses need C- or better

International applicants (including China):

• $90 fee; TOEFL iBT 79 / IELTS 6.5 / DET 115 (or check the exemption list); SAT or ACT; proof of financial support; transcripts
• Gaokao and Huikao: not stated; write to admissions@austin.utexas.edu

Transfer students:

• March 1; 24 transferable hours; science and calculus courses at B- or better; on-campus switchers apply once a year in spring (2.75 and 3.00 GPA both stated)

Sources: The University of Texas at Austin, Catalog: degree programs; Catalog: Public Health BS; Catalog: Public Health advanced program; Catalog: Health and Society BA; Catalog: College of Natural Sciences; Catalog: undergraduate admission; Admissions: freshman; Admissions: high school prerequisites; Admissions: international freshman; Admissions: info for international students; Admissions: transfer; Admissions: international transfer; One Stop: cost of attendance. The admissions pages give dates for fall 2027 entry (decisions on January 15 and February 15, 2027); the deadline table in the catalog’s general undergraduate admission chapter still shows 2026 terms, so use the admissions pages. Costs are 2026-27 estimates.