BHS in Public Health with Emphasis in Pre-Professional Studies
- Degree Program Description
- Major Program Requirements
- Semester Plan
- Degree Audit
- Major and Career Exploration
Degree Program Description
The Bachelor of Health Science in Public Health with a Pre-Professional Emphasis prepares students to address today’s most pressing health challenges while building a strong foundation for advanced clinical and professional programs such as medicine, dentistry, and physician assistant studies. Public health focuses on improving population health through prevention, policy, and evidence-based practice-skills that are increasingly vital in today’s healthcare landscape. Students complete core coursework in epidemiology, health policy, biostatistics, and environmental health, while the emphasis adds rigorous science prerequisites including biology, chemistry, anatomy, and physiology. Career opportunities include roles in public health practice, research, and health education, as well as preparation for graduate and professional programs leading to careers in medicine and other clinical professions. This emphasis offers competitive preparation and a pathway to diverse health professions in high-demand fields.
Major Program Requirements
In addition to the BHS in Public Health Core Courses and Program Requirements, University of Missouri graduation requirements, including University general education, the Bachelor of Health Science in Public Health emphasis in Pre-Professional Studies degree requires the following:
| Pre-Professional Emphasis Required Courses | ||
| Grade of C- or higher required. | ||
| BIO_SC 1010 & BIO_SC 1020 | General Principles and Concepts of Biology and General Biology Laboratory | 5 |
| or BIO_SC 1500 | Introduction to Biological Systems with Laboratory | |
| BIO_SC 2200 | General Genetics | 4 |
| or MICROB 2800 | Microbiology for Nursing and Health Professions | |
| or MICROB 3200 | Medical Microbiology and Immunology | |
| MATH 1100 | College Algebra | 3 |
| CHEM 1400 & CHEM 1401 | College Chemistry I and College Chemistry I Laboratory | 4 |
| CHEM 1410 & CHEM 1411 | College Chemistry II and College Chemistry II Laboratory | 4 |
| CHEM 2100 | Organic Chemistry I | 3 |
| CHEM 2110 & CHEM 2130 | Organic Chemistry II and Organic Laboratory I | 4-5 |
| or PHYSCS 1210 | College Physics I | |
| MPP 3202 | Elements of Physiology | 5 |
| or BIO_SC 3700 | Human Physiology | |
| PTH_AS 2201 & PTH_AS 2203 | Human Anatomy Lecture and Human Anatomy Laboratory | 5 |
Semester Plan
Below is a sample plan of study, semester by semester. A student's actual plan may vary based on course choices where options are available.
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| MATH 1100 | 3 | CHEM 1400 | 3 |
| BIO_SC 1500 or 1010 and 1020 | 5 | CHEM 1401 | 1 |
| P_HLTH 2200 | 3 | BIO_SC 2200 or MICROB 2800 | 4 |
| Any-level Psychology | 3 | ENGLSH 1000 | 3 |
| P_HLTH 1000 | 1 | American History/Government | 3 |
| 15 | 14 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| CHEM 1410 | 3 | CHEM 2100 | 3 |
| CHEM 1411 | 1 | STAT 1200 | 3 |
| Humanities | 3 | Humanities | 3 |
| Any-level Sociology | 3 | Writing Intensive Elective | 3 |
| P_HLTH 3310 | 3 | P_HLTH 3400 | 3 |
| General Elective | 3 | ||
| 16 | 15 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| Humanities | 3 | PTH_AS 2201 | 3 |
| P_HLTH 3450 | 3 | PTH_AS 2203 | 2 |
| P_HLTH 3700 | 3 | P_HLTH 3620 | 3 |
| General Elective | 2 | P_HLTH 3800 | 3 |
| PHYSCS 1210 or CHEM 2110 and CHEM 2130 | 4-5 | General Elective | 3 |
| General Elective | 1 | ||
| 15-16 | 15 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| MPP 3202 | 5 | P_HLTH 3910W | 3 |
| P_HLTH 4350 | 3 | P_HLTH 4610 | 3 |
| P_HLTH 4485 | 3 | P_HLTH 4975 | 3 |
| General Elective | 3 | P_HLTH 4900 | 1 |
| General Elective | 3 | ||
| General Elective | 3 | ||
| 14 | 16 | ||
| Total Credits: 120-121 | |||
Degree Audit
The degree audit is an automated report reflecting a student’s academic progress toward the completion of a degree.
MU students can request a degree audit by logging in to myDegreePlanner. Students may also access myDegreePlanner via myZou, in the Student Center, click on the Academic Progress Tile, then select Request Degree Audit. The audit automatically pulls in the student’s MU course work, transfer courses and courses in progress. This is available to current students, admitted students, and those who last attended less than three terms ago.
Past MU students can request a degree audit by contacting the Academic Advising Unit of the division in which they were last enrolled at MU. For contact information, go to https://advising.missouri.edu/contact/.
Prospective students, can access a preliminary MU degree audit via https://www.transferology.com. Information on the college credits already earned will have to be manually entered before it can be evaluated against current degree requirements.
For additional details on degree audits, go to https://registrar.missouri.edu/degrees-audits/degree-audits/.
Major and Career Exploration
The University of Missouri has many resources to assist you in exploring majors and career possibilities. For guidance, visit the Majors and Careers website or view specific resources below.
- Change your Major. If you are considering changing your undergraduate major or are choosing between several majors, schedule an appointment with an advisor in the Discovery Center by calling (573) 884-9700 or through the Discovery Center service in your MU Connect success network.
- Decided on a Major. If you have decided on a major, visit an academic advisor in the School or College that you are interested in to discuss the process of declaring that major.
- Identify your Interests and Strengths. If you would like to learn more about your career interests, abilities, values, and talents, visit the staff at the MU Career Center. No appointment is necessary to explore career options with one of our staff members.
- Explore MU Majors. If you would like information about MU majors and degree programs, visit Majors at Mizzou or the Degrees, Majors (Degree Programs), Emphasis Areas, Minors and Certificates page in the catalog.
For additional major and career exploration resources, visit Major & Career Exploration in the catalog.