How to Apply to Public Health at the University of Connecticut: On the Pages We Read, Public Health Is the “Public Health & Health Promotion” Concentration of the Allied Health Sciences Bachelor’s Degree, Open to New First-Year and Transfer Students, for Domestic, International (Including Chinese) and Transfer Applicants

The University of Connecticut (UConn) has its main campus in Storrs. One thing first: on the pages we read, there is no stand-alone degree called “Public Health.” The Department of Allied Health Sciences (in the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources) lists “Public Health & Health Promotion” as a concentration of the Allied Health Sciences (AHS) major, aimed at public health, health education and counseling work and at graduate programs such as public health. We did not read UConn’s complete program list (the catalog site, catalog.uconn.edu, was flagged on scanning and we did not request it), so this article does not claim that no other public health bachelor’s program exists; check the program list on admissions.uconn.edu. Below, the content for fall 2027 entry is split into U.S. applicants, international applicants and applicants from China. Where the website says nothing, we say so and point to where to ask.

1. Degree and program

• Major and college: the Allied Health Sciences major, Department of Allied Health Sciences, College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources. The department says the major is for students who want broad training for general health careers or for graduate and professional programs, with a flexible plan. The department site also lists an AHS page for the Waterbury campus, which we did not read.
• Five concentrations (listed on the major page): Health Sciences Track A (formerly the Standard Plan) and Track B (formerly the HESC concentration), Healthcare Administration, Public Health & Health Promotion, Digital Health and Technology, and Genetic and Genomic Sciences. The department’s undergraduate overview says “four concentrations” while the major page lists five; the numbers disagree, so confirm with the advising center.
• Public Health & Health Promotion concentration: the website says it suits students interested in social service agencies, worksite health promotion programs, government health agencies, hospital wellness programs or business/education settings that emphasize health promotion. It is designed to prepare students for public health, health education and counseling positions and for graduate programs, including the department’s Master’s in Health Promotion Sciences, a Master’s in Public Health, gerontology, health education, health psychology, healthcare administration and health policy.
• Honors: the AHS Honors Program (students must also be in the UConn Honors Program). The department lists honors sections of AH 4239 and 4240W (3 credits together, research methods and writing), AH 4289 honors research (at least 3 credits), AH 4297W honors thesis (3 credits), 15 honors credits at the 2000 level or above with at least 9 inside the department, at least 20 hours of career-related “engagement in the major” activities, a research draft due by the fourth week of the junior spring, a research plan due by the fourth week of the senior fall, and a presentation at the AHS Honors Forum.
• Combined or 4+1 degrees: the department has a Dietetics 4+1 program, but that is nutrition, not public health. The pages we read show no 4+1 or 3+2 for the public health concentration; the website does not say. The Master’s in Health Promotion Sciences page describes a two-year, 30-credit program (thesis track or project and practicum track) and recommends that applicants already hold or be nearing a health-related bachelor’s degree.
• STEM status and practicum/internship hours: not on the pages we read; the website does not say. The course sequences are PDF sample plans hosted on a third-party service (Adobe), which we did not open; ask the advising center at alliedhealthadvising@uconn.edu.
• Professional programs: the department also runs Diagnostic Genetic Sciences, Dietetics and Medical Laboratory Sciences as upper-level programs with supplemental applications; they are not part of the public health concentration and are not covered here.

2. How you get into the major and its requirements

• First-year and transfer applicants: the department says the AHS major is “available to incoming freshman and transfer students through UConn Admissions”; current UConn students in other majors apply through a competitive internal process. The department’s undergraduate overview says students start in the Standard Plan (now called Track A) and can later declare a concentration. Whether a first-year applicant can pick Public Health & Health Promotion on the application itself is not stated on the pages we read; ask the advising center.
• Declaring the Public Health & Health Promotion concentration: the admissions page says that to petition into an optional concentration (this one included) a student needs good academic standing with a GPA of 2.0 or higher (not on academic notice or eligible for dismissal) and career goals consistent with the concentration. Healthcare Administration adds chemistry, biology, math and economics courses and a 3.0 GPA; the page lists no such extras for Public Health & Health Promotion. A concentration can be declared at the time of application or after admission to the major, using the CAHNR Concentration Change Form.
• Internal admission for current UConn students: enrollment is limited; applications are due by the 10th day of classes each semester, with no late applications (the page gives August 31 to September 14 as the fall 2026 window). Entry criteria: a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0; completed (not in-progress) 1000-level chemistry with lab (transfer courses must equal a UConn chemistry with lab), BIOL 1107 (preferred) or 1108, and STAT 1000Q or 1100Q or MATH 1060Q or higher (the math requirement varies with concentration). Reviewers consider science and math coursework, progress through the degree, advanced coursework and a personal statement of up to 500 words.
• Published internal admissions data (department page; for current students entering the major): spring 2025, 94 applications, 68% accepted, average accepted cumulative GPA 3.42; fall 2025, 138, 63%, 3.36; spring 2026, 120, 80%, 3.37; fall 2026, 141, 58%, 3.49. These are not first-year admission figures.
• Seats reserved for directly admitted first-year students and any separate GPA cut-off for them: the website does not say.

3. Prerequisites and curriculum

• UConn first-year baseline (admission requirements page): at least 16 units at high-school graduation, 15 of them college-preparatory: English 4, math 3, social science or history 2, a single foreign language 2 (3 strongly recommended), laboratory science 2 and electives 3. The page adds extra requirements for nursing (high school chemistry and biology) and engineering (chemistry or physics) but lists none specific to AHS.
• Core courses of the public health concentration: the pages we read give no course list (the requirements sit on the catalog site and in the PDF plans we did not open); the website does not say here. See the 2026–2027 sample plan for Public Health & Health Promotion or ask the advising center.
• Statistics/math: besides the internal-entry courses above, the page says the math requirement varies with concentration; details not stated.
• AP/IB credit: not on the pages we read; the website does not say.

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

• Deadlines (the page states “Applying for Fall 2027”): Early Decision November 1 (notifications from mid-December); Special Programs in Medicine, Dental Medicine and Law November 1; December 1 priority for merit and Honors consideration; Storrs campus January 15, notifications from early March; FAFSA February 15; regional campuses May 1, rolling decisions. For spring 2027, October 1 for all campuses.
• Application and fee: Common Application or Coalition Application (either one); the application fee is $80, non-refundable. For fall 2027 applicants who live in Connecticut or attend a Connecticut high school, the fee is waived if the application is submitted between October 15 and November 2, 2026. UConn does not issue fee-waiver codes; eligible applicants choose the waiver option in the application.
• Essay and recommendations: a personal essay of 250–650 words is required; two letters of recommendation are optional but preferred; interviews are not part of the process.
• Transcripts: U.S. high school students can self-report with the STARS system or send an official transcript; any record not in English needs an official certified English translation.
• Testing: SAT/ACT are optional (“for the foreseeable future”); the writing and science sections are not used; scores are superscored. For admitted fall 2026 students who submitted scores, the middle 50% was SAT 1320–1460 and ACT 29–34 at Storrs, and SAT 970–1250 and ACT 19–28 at the regional campuses.
• Review: holistic, looking at course rigor, grade trends, activities, character and circumstances; every first-year applicant is automatically considered for Honors and merit scholarships, with no separate application.

5. U.S. applicants

• Preference for in-state applicants: the website mentions only the fee-waiver window for Connecticut residents and the price differences below; whether in-state applicants get an admission preference is not stated.
• 2026–27 Storrs full-time undergraduate costs (Financial Aid page, US dollars, in-state / out-of-state / New England Regional): tuition 17,010 / 39,678 / 26,028; university and student fees 4,564 (same for all three); on-campus housing 8,288; meal plan (Value) 6,896; direct-cost subtotal 36,758 / 59,426 / 45,776. Waivable fees are health insurance 3,214 and the Husky Book Bundle 570; direct costs plus waivable fees come to 40,542 / 63,210 / 49,560. The estimated total expenses for on-campus students, including indirect costs such as books (1,020), transportation and personal expenses, are 44,230 / 67,108 / 53,458. These are university-wide Storrs estimates; AHS program fee: the Bursar’s 2026–27 undergraduate tuition and fees page (link) lists additional-program fees only for BGS, CEIN, Education Abroad, Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) and the Pre-Medical and Health Professions Post-Baccalaureate Program; AHS is not among them, and the AHS pages do not state a program fee. Confirm with the Bursar and the advising center.
• Scholarships: all first-year applicants are automatically considered for Honors and merit scholarships (amounts are not on the pages we read).

6. International applicants

• Who counts: non-U.S. citizens and non-permanent residents who have completed secondary school. Those with 12 or more transferable college credits apply as international transfer students. International students who completed all four years of secondary school in the U.S. must meet the domestic first-year requirements.
• Coursework: college-preparatory coursework in English (if offered), mathematics, physical science and social science; engineering also needs secondary-level physics and chemistry. Any extra AHS requirement is not stated.
• Materials: Common App or Coalition App (either one); an $80 fee, payable also by check or money order; an essay of 250–650 words; two optional recommendations; official secondary transcripts including senior-year classes and latest grades, sent directly by the school, with certified English translations if needed; country-specific credentials are on the International Credentials page; test scores are optional.
• English proficiency: required for applicants whose primary language is not English, sent directly by the test provider. Minimums as printed: TOEFL 4.5 (the page prints “79 out of 120” in brackets), IELTS 6.5, Duolingo 110, LanguageCert Academic 70, PTE Academic 60; meeting a minimum does not guarantee admission. Waivers include: English as the primary language; at least two years and graduation at a U.S. secondary school (excluding ESL); SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing of 510 or higher; ACT 24 or higher on English, Reading and Composite; IB Higher Level English of 5 or higher; one full-time year at a U.S. college with a 3.0 GPA; or an English-medium degree. Applicants who are otherwise admissible but lack the score may receive conditional admission with UConn’s American English Language Institute (UCAELI).
• Proof of funds and visa: after admission, prepare electronic copies of the passport, a signed Financial Declaration Form, a financial support document showing the source of funds for the first year, current U.S. immigration documents if applicable, and the UConn offer letter. The Form I-20 appears in the ISSS Portal once documents and the enrollment fee are received. The dollar amount: the “funding guidelines” link leads to the page on international.global.uconn.edu, Cost of Attendance (Funding Requirements), which says students must show funds covering the estimated first-year cost, and lists for 2026–2027 “All Undergraduate Programs except BGS (B.A./B.S./B.S.E., BFA)”: tuition $39,678; fees $5,224; total tuition and fees $44,902; room and board $17,082; other (books, travel, insurance, misc.) $8,665; total living expenses $25,747; total cost of attendance $70,649. The page also says the fees include a $450 visa compliance fee each semester; an accompanying spouse adds $7,305 and each child $5,450; the estimates are not exact and actual costs may be higher or lower. Proof of funds must be issued within the last three months and in English (or with an official translation); bank statements must show the institution, the account holder and the currency (local currency allowed); personal sponsor or family funding must be liquid funds (savings or certificates of deposit; not investment funds, retirement plans, income or asset verification), and the sponsor completes Part 2 of the Financial Declaration Form. This page’s fees figure (5,224) and the Financial Aid page’s “university and student fees” (4,564) above are both quoted from UConn’s pages as published.
• International scholarships: the pages we read say only that every first-year applicant is automatically considered; no international-specific scholarship is listed.
• Seats for international students in AHS, internship or work restrictions: not stated on the pages we read; ask the advising center (alliedhealthadvising@uconn.edu) and international admissions.

7. Applicants from China

• Is the gaokao considered: the International Credentials page lists only transcripts and a graduation certificate for “China (National Curriculum)” and does not mention the gaokao; how it is used is not stated. Ask onestop@uconn.edu.
• Transcripts and the school-leaving exam: for “China (National Curriculum),” current high school students send the official Senior Middle School transcript for grades 10 and 11 showing grade 12 courses in progress; graduates send final transcripts for senior years 1, 2 and 3 plus official copies of the original Chinese Graduation Certificate; anything not in English needs an official certified translation. The page does not mention the academic proficiency (huikao) results; the website does not say.
• Special notes for Chinese applicants: the international applicants page carries a QR code for UConn Admissions on WeChat; there is no other China-specific note.
• The rest of the process (English scores, proof of funds, I-20) is the same as in section 6.

8. Costs and scholarships

Costs are in section 5. Scholarships: every first-year applicant is automatically considered for Honors and merit scholarships, and December 1 is the priority deadline. The funds an international student must show and the program-fee question are in sections 5 and 6; AHS-specific scholarships are not on the AHS department or admissions pages we read.

9. Transfer

• Who counts: anyone who has enrolled full-time at a post-secondary institution and completed 12 or more credits after high school.
• General criteria: holistic review; coursework comparable to UConn’s General Education requirements, typically a 2.7 cumulative GPA in challenging coursework (some limited-enrollment programs require 3.0 or higher; the minimum does not guarantee admission), and good standing at the last institution. Students dismissed from another institution must first complete a year of full-time coursework elsewhere.
• Transferring into AHS: the deadlines table lists Allied Health Sciences in the fall April 1 group (applications after that are reviewed on a space-available basis), and spring is October 1. The restricted-programs page lists, under the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources, a minimum of 24 earned credits, and separately a 3.0 GPA, junior standing and math/science prerequisites for Diagnostic Genetic Sciences, Dietetics and Medical Laboratory Sciences. The page does not say program by program whether the 24-credit line is the AHS condition, so confirm with AHS; prerequisites for transferring into the public health concentration are not stated.
• Review timeline: for fall, review begins February 1, notification about 4–6 weeks after materials are complete, deposit due May 1; for spring, review begins October 1. The page prints no year, so check that these are fall 2027 dates.
• International transfer: same admission requirements as domestic transfer; no spring applications from international students; $80 fee; official transcripts from every post-secondary institution, with certified English translations; a transcript evaluation is not required but strongly recommended (TEC is the preferred partner); a high school transcript showing the graduation date; SAT/ACT not needed at age 21 or older or with 24 transferable credits; English proficiency scores as above. Whether an international transfer student can enter the public health concentration is not stated.

10. Pre-professional and graduate study

The major page says the AHS degree prepares students for graduate or professional programs such as medical school, dental school, physician assistant, physical therapy, public health and health promotion sciences. The department runs its own MS and PhD in Health Promotion Sciences; the master’s page advises applicants to have a health-related bachelor’s degree and says applications by December 1 get preferred consideration. We did not read pre-professional advising in more detail.

11. Not found on the pages we read

• Whether first-year applicants can choose the Public Health & Health Promotion concentration on the application, and seats for directly admitted students;
• The concentration’s specific courses, any practicum or internship requirement, STEM status, any 4+1;
• Extra high school course requirements for AHS and AP/IB credit;
• International scholarships and AHS-specific scholarships;
• How the gaokao and school-leaving exam results are used;
• Prerequisites for transferring into the concentration; the transfer deadlines page prints no year, so check that the dates are for fall 2027 entry.

Checklist

U.S. applicants:

• Remember you are applying to “Allied Health Sciences with the Public Health & Health Promotion concentration,” not a stand-alone degree;
• Submit the Common App or Coalition App by January 15 for Storrs, with a 250–650 word essay; Connecticut residents should check the fee-waiver window;
• Submit everything by December 1 for priority merit and Honors consideration.

International applicants (including China):

• Prepare official transcripts and certified translations from the International Credentials page; Chinese applicants see section 7;
• Prepare an English test score (or check the waivers) and, after admission, proof of funds;
• After enrolling, declare the concentration within AHS; the page lists only a 2.0 GPA and career goals consistent with the concentration.

Transfer students:

• 12 or more credits means you apply as a transfer; a 2.7 GPA is typical and AHS is in the April 1 fall group;
• International transfer students cannot apply for spring.

Sources: University of Connecticut, Allied Health Sciences: undergraduate; AHS major and concentrations; AHS major admissions and data; Sample course sequences; AHS honors; Advising center; Health Promotion Sciences (graduate); First-year apply; Admission requirements; Application instructions; First-year deadlines; International first-year; International credentials; Financial and visa; International transfer; Transfer requirements; Restricted programs; Transfer deadlines; 2026-27 costs; International funding requirements and estimated costs; Bursar 2026-27 undergraduate tuition and fees. The first-year deadlines page states “Applying for Fall 2027”; the transfer deadlines page prints no year, so check that the dates are for fall 2027 entry. Please rely on the latest information on UConn’s website.