LSA/Bachelor’s Degree in Public Health Dual Degree

The School of Public Health (SPH) offers the option for undergraduate students to pursue a dual degree with the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA) at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. Applicants interested in dual degrees must be admitted by both degree programs independently. 

Students interested in pursuing a dual degree are encouraged to talk with an academic advisor in the School of Public Health and an Academic Standards Board member in the Newnan LSA Advising Center. Students pursuing a dual degree between SPH and LSA Honors should contact ask.honors@umich.edu for honors degree advising. Students must be in good academic standing in order to pursue a dual degree. Students will work with academic advisors in both degree programs to create a course plan that meets requirements. As part of the dual degree application, students are required to submit a course plan. See below for further information regarding degree requirements and degree course planning tools.

Dual degree students are required to have a home school on record. The home school determines academic and registration policies. Each semester, students must be enrolled for all classes under their home school, regardless of the courses taken.

Students are responsible for scheduling meetings with academic advisors in both programs to track progress toward graduation. Students must apply for graduation from each degree program, along with completing any other required documents. Both degrees must be awarded simultaneously. If any degree requirement is incomplete for either degree, neither degree will be awarded. Completion of both degree requirements results in two different degree citations on the transcript and in two separate diplomas.

Students pursuing a dual degree may not count LSA courses towards the 45 credits of public health courses needed to meet public health degree requirements. Students pursuing both dual degrees and an academic minor may share a maximum of one course of the 45 credits of public health courses needed to meet public health degree requirements toward the requirements of the non-public health minor. This only applies if the minor allows public health courses to fulfill a requirement. Students pursuing dual degrees and an academic minor should consult with their academic advisors for specific policies within their degrees and minor programs.

Declaration Eligibility

Degree Requirements

Complete all SPH degree requirements, including:

  • Prerequisite courses
  • A minimum of 60 upper-level credits, with 45 of those credits coming from courses offered by the School of Public Health (see the details of those 45 credits here). The remaining 15 credits, the general upper-level electives, can be fulfilled by any upper-level course (300-level or above). These can be additional courses in public health or courses from another school/college. Some lower-level pre-health and language courses can count towards this requirement, a list of those courses can be found on the upper-level elective exceptions page.


Complete all LSA degree requirements, including:

  • LSA general requirements:
    • 100 LSA credits (minimum)
    • First Year Writing
    • Upper Level Writing
    • Quantitative Reasoning
    • Race & Ethnicity
    • Foreign Language Proficiency
    • LSA Area Distribution
  • Degree requirements of your chosen LSA major
  • Degree requirements of your chosen LSA minor (if applicable)

Please consult with an LSA academic advisor for complete details regarding LSA requirements.

Maintain minimum GPA requirements (check with your advisor in both schools for minimum requirements). Complete 150 total credits (minimum). 

Degree Details

  • Students may select the School of Public Health or the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts as their home school. 
  • Public health students may apply for dual degrees with an approved mainstream LSA program, the Honors Program, or the Residential College.
  • Students pursuing an academic minor may share a maximum of 3 credits of public health courses needed to meet public health requirements towards the requirements of the academic minor.  
  • Consult with your academic advisor(s) for specific policies within your non-public health major or minor.
  • Students will not graduate until an advisor from each degree program confirms completion of all necessary degree requirements.

Prospective Students

Is a dual degree right for you? We strongly encourage students to make thoughtful and informed decisions when it comes to deciding whether or not to pursue a dual degree. Public health students who are considering a dual degree should first review our information for prospective public health dual degree students.

Applicants

Are you ready to apply to be a dual degree student? Refer to the dual degree applicants page for important information and steps for applying. 

Further questions?

Schedule an advising appointment or email your academic advisor.

If you would like to receive more information about a specific department or program, please connect with us through our prospective student inquiry form.

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