The B.S. in Environmental Health is a "minimum requirements" major, which means that all students who meet the minimum requirements listed below, and who can complete the degree within the UW's maximum time frame are admitted. The application deadline is the third Friday of each quarter.
Minimum requirements
Students with 30-90 credits, and/or fewer than 6 quarters completed at the time of application will apply under early admission. Students with more than 90 credits and/or 6 quarters or more completed will apply under upper division requirements. Applicants must have a 2.0 in each of the pre-requisites courses. Early Admission applicants must have a cumulative GPA of 3.0. Upper Division applicants must have a cumulative GPA of 2.5.
Students may have prerequisites courses in progress at the time of application. Students who have questions about the major or the admission process are encouraged to meet with an adviser.
Early Admission Prerequisites
30-90 credits / fewer than 6 quarters completed at time of application
CHEM 142, 152 Chemistry series
ENGL 131 or equivalent English composition
Upper Division Admission Prerequisites
90 or more credits / 6 or more quarters completed at time of application
complete all early admission prerequisites above plus:
BIOL 180, 200, 220 (15) Introductory Biology with labs
CHEM 142, 152, 162, CHEM 237, 238, 241 OR
CHEM 142, 152, CHEM 223, 224, 241 OR
CHEM 142, 152, CHEM 220 General and Organic Chemistry (choose one sequence)
Mathematics Preparation
Environmental Health majors must have sufficient competency in mathematics to perform and understand the approaches, measurements and computations used in several of the required courses, including physics and chemistry. The recommended preparation for PHYS 114 is a previous algebra course covering concepts such as trigonometry and exponential functions. The recommended preparation for CHEM 142 is a good working knowledge of algebra.
Students who do not have college credit for math are encouraged to take the Guided Self-placement test offered by the Department of Mathematics. If you placed below MATH 120 and are hesitant about your math skills, you are strongly advised to complete coursework to get up to the level of MATH 120.
Application checklist
The application opens 4 weeks before the application deadline. The upcoming application deadlines for entry to the following quarters are:
Summer Quarter 2023: April 14, 2023
Fall Quarter 2023: July 7, 2023
The application consists of three components which you should prepare before you access the online application form
1. Personal statement: Your statement should be approximately 500 words, and should address the following questions:
- Why do you want to be an Environmental Health major?
- How will completing this degree help you to achieve your professional and academic goals?
2. Unofficial UW transcript: Current students may access unofficial transcripts through the Grades and Transcripts section found on the Academics block on MyUW. Select the Academics block at the bottom of the page. Next, select Unofficial Transcript under the Grades and Transcripts section. Select Printer-Friendly Version on the Unofficial Transcript page. It will create a PDF file of your unofficial transcript, which you can save and then upload into the application form.
3. Prerequisites and satisfactory progress: In the application you will be asked whether you are applying for early or upper division admission, and you will need to list out the prerequisites that you've already completed. You will also need to indicate how many quarters and credits you have completed. If you have any questions about early versus upper division admission, or prerequisites, please contact an advisor.
online application form
Notification: All applicants will be contacted by an adviser 2 weeks after the application deadline. Applicants who meet the minimum prerequisites and can complete the degree within the UW's maximum time frame will be asked to come in for an advising appointment to formally declare the major.
Transfer student information
Transfer students can apply to the major after they have been admitted to UW. Please consult the transfer admission website for more information about applying to the UW. Local students should plan to attend the weekly Transfer Thursday sessions, if possible. Washington State Community College students should use the online equivalency guide to help plan for transfer. Students transferring in as juniors should complete the upper division prerequisite courses prior to enrolling at UW.
All transfer students are encouraged to talk with a UW Environmental Health adviser before applying. To schedule an appointment either in person or over the phone, see the Contact an Adviser page.
