USC Undergraduate Admissions for a Public Health Path: The Pages Read Show No Major Named “Public Health”; the Closest Is the BA in Health and Human Sciences in Dornsife (Keck School Website Not Read), for U.S., International (Including Chinese) and Transfer Students

The short answer first: the University of Southern California (USC) pages read for this guide list no undergraduate major named “Public Health”. A note on scope: USC’s majors page lists a Department of Population and Public Health Sciences among its departments; the Keck School of Medicine of USC website (keck.usc.edu), which we tried, returned 403 on its home page and was not requested again; the university catalogue (catalogue.usc.edu) is third-party hosted and was not opened. So whether Keck offers an undergraduate public health degree cannot be confirmed here; please check the Keck School website and USC’s majors and minors page (its filter loads dynamically, and the static content read does not list undergraduate majors).

The closest path on the pages that could be read is the BA in Health and Human Sciences in the Department of Sociology of the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. Its page says it is for students who want to identify and address health disparities and learn about public health, learn how social context shapes health, understand how health organizations work, or pursue careers in the health industry from medicine to genetic consulting. The guide below follows the pages for fall 2027 entry, split into U.S. applicants, international applicants, applicants from China and transfer students. The broader life-sciences picture at USC is in our separate overview article.

1. Degree and program

• Health and Human Sciences (BA): offered by the Department of Sociology and listed on the Dornsife majors list. The requirements sheet (updated 5/2025) gives 41-44 total units. It argues that a traditional biology degree does not prepare students for health careers on its own, and combines science with the “human” side (psychological, cultural, social, economic and ethical influences on health). It is designed so that every student can choose a semester abroad.
• Learning objectives (four on the program page): foundational knowledge in biology and chemistry; how social, demographic, psychological, cultural, economic and ethical factors influence health; causes and consequences of health disparities locally, nationally and globally; and experiential learning through an internship to understand community contexts of health and wellness.
• Structure (requirements sheet): lower-division core 16 units; a module in the human sciences 16 units (choose one of six); an experiential learning component 1-4 units; upper-division electives 8 units. Courses are listed in section 3.
• Honors: the program page links an Honors Program; its requirements were not read.
• STEM designation: not on the pages read; not published there.
• Other related majors on the Dornsife list include Environmental Science and Health and Human Biology; these are covered in our overview article.
• Link to the MPH: USC’s majors page filter lists several joint degrees with the Master of Public Health (for example MD/MPH and MPH/MUP), mainly graduate-level; whether an undergraduate 4+1-type pathway exists was not read and is not published on the pages read. Check the Keck School website.

2. Getting into the major

• Who it is open to: the requirements sheet says the major is “open to all students” and students are not required to pursue a pre-health track to declare it.
• Whether you can choose it on the application: the Dornsife page says to learn about the majors you can apply to via the Common Application. The list read is alphabetical and does not mark which can be chosen at application, so whether Health and Human Sciences can be selected directly, and how to move into it after enrolling, is not published on the pages read. Ask Dornsife’s Office of Admission and Student Success or the sociology department advisors (the last page of the requirements sheet names two academic advisors).
• Minimum GPA, capacity limits, internal transfer rules: not given on the requirements sheet or the program page.
• Separate application: the first-year page does not say this major needs a separate application or supplement. It lists additional requirements only for schools such as architecture, art and design, cinematic arts, dance, drama and music; Dornsife is not on the first-year list (it is on the transfer list).

3. Prerequisites and curriculum

• High school preparation (“What We Look For”): students are expected to have earned a grade of C or better in at least three years of high school mathematics, including Advanced Algebra (Algebra II). Outside mathematics no specific curriculum is required, but admitted students typically take the most rigorous program available in English, science, social studies, foreign language and the arts, and careful attention is paid to preparation for the intended major.
• Lower-division core (16 units): one 4-unit biology course (BISC 150Lx The Nature of Human Health and Disease, or BISC 120Lg or 220Lg General Biology); CHEM 105aL General Chemistry (4); one of MATH 114x Foundations of Statistics, MATH 125 Calculus I or MATH 208x Elementary Probability and Statistics (4); SOCI 242 Sociology, Human Behavior, and Health (4). A note says BISC 305, HP 305, HP 340 or PSYC 274 may replace MATH 208 for the pre-health statistics requirement.
• Human sciences module (choose one of six; 16 units, four courses each): A Health, Gender and Ethnicity; B Health and the Mind; C International Health (including IR 339 Public Health and International Relations); D Sociology of Health; E Health and Aging; F Biology of Health (human anatomy, nutrition and metabolism or immunology, physiology).
• Experiential learning (1-4 units, choose one): AMST 365 Leadership in the Community, GERO 495 Practicum in Geriatric Care, MDA 250 Internship for Liberal Arts (1-2), POSC 395 government internship, SOCI 450 NGO/Non-profit Field Practicum or SWMS 311 Gender Studies in the Community: Internship. The sheet gives no hours.
• Upper-division electives (8 units, two courses): the list includes Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Genetics, Neurobiology, Biodemography of Aging, Evolutionary Medicine, Drugs, Diseases, and Medicine in History, Global Ethics: Poverty, Health, and the Human Condition, and SSCI 340 Community Health Scan.
• AP/IB credit: the program pages do not give course equivalents; the transfer page says a maximum of 32 units is accepted for standardized examinations. Details are not published on the pages read; see USC Transfer Credit Services.

4. Rounds, deadlines and materials (fall 2027 entry)

• Deadlines (first-year page; it prints no year, so confirm they apply to fall 2027 entry): Early Decision (binding) November 1; Early Action (non-binding) November 1; Regular Decision (most majors) January 10. Performing arts majors have a single December 1 Regular Decision deadline and do not take part in ED/EA. Notification: ED mid-December, EA late January, RD by April 1. Extensions are considered case by case through the admission counselor.
• Financial aid deadlines (page prints years): ED November 1, 2026; EA November 15, 2026; RD February 3, 2027; FAFSA and CSS Profile required. California residents’ Cal Grant deadline is March 2, 2027.
• Platform and materials: the Common Application; official transcripts of all high school and college coursework; one letter of recommendation from a school counselor or a teacher (some programs ask for more); fall grades via the Mid-Year Report; application affirmations. The admission office does not conduct interviews and does not track demonstrated interest.
• Application fee: the page only says a fee waiver can be requested in the Common App Profile section if the fee is a burden; the amount is not on the pages read, so check the Common App or the admission office.
• Testing: first-year applicants for 2027-28 remain test-optional; if you send scores they must be official (SAT code 4852, ACT code 0470), not self-reported. Not submitting does not disadvantage you, and merit scholarships use no score or GPA cut-offs.
• Review: holistic, looking at academic performance and rigor in the context of your school, essays and activities; USC is need-blind for domestic students. The profile section says fall 2026 first-year admissions had 79,331 applicants, 10,006 admitted (12.6%) and 3,766 enrolled; international students (student-visa holders) were 19% of the class.

5. Three groups of readers

1. U.S. applicants

• USC is private; the cost page (in its 2025-26 section) says tuition is the same for in-state and out-of-state residents; the 2026-27 section does not repeat it. Home-state preference is not mentioned on the pages read.
• Domestic applicants use the FAFSA and the CSS Profile; the admission page says about two-thirds of undergraduates receive some form of financial aid.
• Whether the Dornsife major has a capacity limit was not read and is not published there.

2. International applicants

• Who counts: someone who will enter or has entered the U.S. with a visa; DACA and undocumented students are not international students. International applicants follow the same steps as others, submit official records from all secondary and later schools sent directly by the schools or testing agencies (with certified English translations if not in English), and send external exam results or predictions (IGCSE, predicted IB or A-Levels, Indian board exams, Australian ATAR and others). Secondary records should cover the equivalent of U.S. grades 9-12. USC does not work with education agents.
• English: every international applicant whose native language is not English must submit an approved exam, and the page says waivers are not granted “under any circumstances”. Recommended minimums: TOEFL iBT taken before January 21, 2026, 100 overall and at least 20 per section; taken on or after that date, 5 overall and at least 4 per section; IELTS 7; C1 Advanced 185 with 169 on each skill; PTE 68; SAT EBRW 650; ACT English 27. The page says the average TOEFL iBT for admitted students is above 111 with 25 or higher per section, and that applicants below the minimums are admissible at reduced rates. If you cannot sit an approved exam, the Duolingo English Test with a minimum 130 is allowed; those admitted with Duolingo alone must take the International Student Exam at the USC American Language Institute on arrival. Scores are due within two weeks of the application deadline.
• Funds and scholarships: USC offers no need-based financial aid to international applicants. At application you must provide bank-verified financial documentation, dated within the past year, showing you can pay the full cost of attendance for at least the first year. Accepted: bank statement, bank letter, organizational sponsor, approved education loans (in-principle sanctioned loans are not accepted), investment portfolio; typically not accepted: tax documents, mortgages, salary statements, pending loans, property valuations, life insurance, retirement accounts. Documents must be dated August 2026 or later. All international applicants who apply by the deadline are eligible for USC Merit Scholarships; there are no minimum criteria, selection is highly competitive, no merit scholarship covers the full cost of attendance, and applicants may not rely on them to show ability to pay.
• Work: the page says U.S. regulations strictly limit employment authorization, student-visa holders must be full-time students, and job opportunities are extremely limited, so students cannot pay all expenses by working.
• Limits on internships or employment specific to public health students are not on the pages read.

3. Applicants from China

• Academic expectations (international academic expectations page): successful students in the Chinese National Curriculum “achieve high marks, primarily 90+ out of 100 and 135+ out of 150”. For an international curriculum, follow the IB or A-Level expectations (the full IB Diploma with 5-7 on HL and SL exams; competitive A-Level applicants with predicted B or above in at least three subjects).
• Whether the Gaokao is considered: not stated on the pages read; the page has a dynamic “International Qualifications” tool (select your country), which was not used.
• Transcripts and school-level exam materials: schools submit transcripts directly through the Common App with certified English translations. Whether school-level exam (huikao) materials are separately required is not published there.
• The page also notes that TOEFL ITP Plus is not accepted for China.
• Other China-specific guidance was not read; use the “Find Your Counselor” page to reach the counselor for your region.

6. Cost and scholarships

• 2026-27 estimate (on campus, two semesters of 12-18 units): tuition $75,384; fees $1,952; housing $13,510; food $8,442; books and supplies $670; transportation $1,188; personal and miscellaneous $2,016; the page’s total is $103,162. A note says to add a $450 new student fee for the first semester. Off-campus and with-parents columns are on the same page, with totals of $102,792 and $94,630.
• No program-specific surcharge is stated; the page says budgets for some majors may be higher because of laboratory or studio fees, and nothing specific to Health and Human Sciences is published there.
• Merit scholarships: administered by the admission office, ranging from a few thousand dollars to full tuition; last year over 1,000 admitted students earned scholarships of $10,000 per year or more; there is also a $20,000-per-year award for admitted National Merit Finalists who name USC as their first choice. To be considered, apply by the November 1 ED/EA deadline (December 1 for dance, drama and music).

7. Transfer

• Who and when: anyone who has enrolled in college since high school is a transfer applicant. USC accepts sophomore and junior transfers. Successful applicants show at least one year (by the end of spring term) of rigorous full-time coursework with strong grades, typically 14-16 units a term, a C or better in Algebra I, Geometry and Algebra II (or college Intermediate Algebra), and, for California community college students, the equivalent of Writing 130.
• Deadline (page prints years): February 15, 2027 for most majors (December 1, 2026 for some visual and performing arts programs); decision or request for spring grades by the end of May (decisions by mid-July if grades are requested). Financial aid priority date: March 2, 2027.
• Numbers (fall 2026 transfer profile): 11,508 applications, 3,004 admits (26.1%), 1,543 enrolled; average college GPA of admitted transfers 3.70-3.97; 2% came from colleges outside the U.S. No minimum GPA is published.
• Entering Health and Human Sciences: transfers must list a first-choice major and may add a second choice or Undecided/Exploratory. Lower-division courses for this major are in the “Additional Coursework by Major” document, which was not read; not published on the pages read.
• Credit: transfers must complete at least 64 units in residence (half the units typically required); up to 32 units of AP/IB and other standardized exams are accepted.
• International transfers whose native language is not English must submit TOEFL, IELTS, Cambridge, PTE or a qualifying SAT/ACT taken within two years of applying. The 2027-28 transfer cycle is also test-optional; with fewer than 30 transferable semester units, the decision rests largely on the high school record and any SAT/ACT submitted.

8. Last notes

• The requirements sheet says the curriculum is designed to educate a broadly thinking and prepared premedical student, while the major is open to all students; for pre-health advising, use USC’s own advising pages, which were not read here.
• If you are looking for a degree literally called “Public Health”, check the Keck School website and USC’s majors page and confirm with the admission office; it could not be confirmed here.

Checklist

U.S. applicants:

• No public health undergraduate major on the pages read; closest is the Dornsife BA in Health and Human Sciences (41-44 units)
• Common App; ED/EA November 1, RD January 10; one recommendation; test-optional; tuition the same in-state and out-of-state

International applicants (including China):

• English exam required, no waiver; bank-verified funds for the first year; no need-based aid, merit scholarships open
• China: Gaokao use, huikao materials and China-specific guidance not published on the pages read; Chinese National Curriculum applicants mostly 90+/100 and 135+/150; TOEFL ITP Plus not accepted

Transfer students:

• February 15, 2027 for most majors; at least a year of full-time coursework; sophomore and junior entry; at least 64 units at USC

Sources: University of Southern California, Majors and minors; Dornsife majors list; Sociology: Health and Human Sciences; Health and Human Sciences BA requirements (PDF, updated 5/2025); First-year students; What we look for; Test-optional FAQ; International students; Academic expectations for international students; Transfer students; Scholarships; Cost of attendance. Information is for fall 2027 entry (costs are 2026-27). The first-year page prints no year next to application deadlines, so confirm they apply to fall 2027 entry; USC’s website is the final authority. The Keck School of Medicine of USC website returned 403 on its home page and was not read; the university catalogue (catalogue.usc.edu) was not read either.