School Information

Health Promotion & Human Performance 319J Porter, 734.487.2815 

Christopher Herman, PhD, Director

Advisor Information

College of Health and Human Services Advising Center | Make an Appointment, 214 Marshall, 734.487.0918 

Student Eligibility

A student’s eligibility to graduate from this major is determined by the following.

• Apply and be granted admission to Eastern Michigan University (emich.edu/admissions).
• Apply and be granted admission to their major (See Program Admission for specific information).
• A completed associate degree, certificate, or adequate coursework. Students eligible to follow an articulation agreement typically transfer 60 credit hours to EMU. Eligible students who transferred in less than 60 credit hours had unique circumstances and were granted permission to follow the articulation agreement, by the Director of Community College Relations (emich.edu/ccr).

Interested students should meet with their community college advisor for information on the articulation agreement before transferring to EMU. After transferring to EMU, a student must consult with the Community College Relations Office to confirm eligibility.

Critical Graduation Information

Each undergraduate student will be responsible for fulfilling the requirements (or their equivalents) of the Eastern Michigan University catalog in force at the time of their initial registration at a college or university or a subsequent catalog, including the one in effect at the time of their graduation.

In the event an undergraduate student does not complete the degree requirements within seven years of the date of their original registration at a college or university, the student may be required to have their credits re-evaluated by the academic department(s) of their major/minor in keeping with catalog requirements in force during the year of their graduation.

Minimum requirements for all bachelor’s degrees awarded by Eastern Michigan University

Some majors and minors require more than the minimum in one or more of the areas below; students are urged to consult this catalog for the requirements of their particular programs.

• Earn a minimum total of 120 credit hours at the 100-level and above.
  • Courses numbered below 100 are not counted toward this degree requirement.
  • At most, eight credit hours of physical education (PEGN) activity courses are counted toward this requirement.
• Meet the requirements of the General Education program (see information below), including completing a Writing Intensive (GEWI) course in the student’s major.
• Earn a minimum of 60 credits from a four-year college or university; courses taken at community colleges cannot be used to meet this requirement (Some formal program-to-program articulation agreements modify this requirement. See specific agreements for details).
• Earn a minimum of 30 credits from courses taken at EMU.
• Complete 10 of the last 30 hours for the degree from courses taken at EMU.
• Have a minimum of 30 unique credit hours in their major and 20 unique credit hours in their minor for a total of at least 50 unique credit hours between them. Some majors that require 50 or more hours themselves do not require a minor. A double major automatically satisfies the need for a minor unless one of the two majors requires a specific minor. Students should check the requirements of the selected major in the undergraduate catalog to see if a minor is required. 
• Earn no more than 60 credit hours in one subject area (prefix). Credits over the 60 maximum will not be counted toward the minimum of 120 credits required for a bachelor’s degree.
• Earn the minimum number of credits in 300-level and above courses in each major and minor as specified below - these credits must be earned in distinct courses; that is, no course can be used to fulfill this requirement in more than one major or minor.
  • Earn a minimum of 6 credits in 300-level or higher courses at EMU in each minor
  • Earn a minimum of 9 credits in 300-level or higher courses at EMU in each major that requires a minor.
  • Earn a minimum of 15 credits in 300-level or higher courses at EMU in each major that does not require a minor
• Transfer credit will be awarded for courses taken at colleges and universities that are accredited by one of the recognized regional accrediting bodies only if the courses are college-level (equated to 100-level or above at EMU) and the student earned a “C” (or 2.0 on a 4 point scale) or better. Transfer credit may be awarded on a case-by-case basis for college-level courses in which a “C” (2.0) or better was earned at institutions outside the U.S. or at non-accredited U.S. institutions; individual departments/schools conduct the internal review of such courses within EMU, and additional documentation may be required. Please note: EMU awards only credit for transferred courses; grades are not used to calculate an EMU GPA.
• Earn a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 in courses taken at EMU to graduate. In addition, a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 must be reached in each major and minor. Only courses a student takes at EMU and those applied to their major or minor are used to calculate their major and minor cumulative GPAs. (Note: some programs may require a higher GPA - check with your program advisor.)

General Education Requirements - EMU’s General Education Program requires students to choose from a menu of approved courses in several different areas; do not assume that other courses in the same department or similar names will fulfill these requirements. A detailed description of General Education requirements is available in the General Education  section of the catalog.

Students who transferred to EMU may have modified general education requirements based on Michigan Transfer Agreement (MTA) or articulation agreements; consult your academic advisor for additional information.

Program Admission

Admission Requirements

To be considered for admission to the public health program, students must meet the following minimum criteria:

• Earn a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 GPA
• Successfully complete 56 hours of college coursework (at EMU or approved transfer credits) including the following courses (a minimum grade of “C” in each course):
  • Effective Communication: 6 hours
    • COMM 124  (or satisfied by these approved courses)
    • WRTG 121  (or satisfied by these approved courses)
  • Natural Science: 7-8 hours
    • PSY 101  (or satisfied by these approved courses)
    • PSY 103  
    • BIO 105  (or satisfied by these approved courses)
    • or CHEM 115  (or satisfied by these approved courses)
      • CHEM 115  only counts towards Knowledge of the Disciplines - Natural Sciences [GEKN]  if taken with CHEM 116 . 
  • Social Science: 6 hours
    • SOCL 105  (or satisfied by these approved courses)
    • PLSC 112  (or satisfied by these approved courses)
  • Mathematics: 3 hours
    • STAT 170  (or satisfied by these approved courses)
  • Medical Terminology: 1 hour
    • AHPR 200  (or satisfied by these approved courses)
  • Research Methods: 3 hours
    • SOCL 345  
  • Writing Course: 3 hours Choose one course from the following:
    • WRTG 225  
    • WRTG 310W  
    • WRTG 323W  
  • Additional Coursework: 27-28 hours
    • In addition to the required courses listed above, students must also complete an additional 27-28 credit hours of coursework prior to admission to the major.

A note for Second Degree and transfer students: students who have completed their general education requirements at another college or university still may be required to take additional courses to meet these requirements. Your transcript must show transfer credits addressing these specific topics for the pre-requisite courses to be waived.

Application Process

Applications for the public health program will be accepted on a rolling basis. Prospective students should meet with CHHS Advising to complete the application form. At this meeting, students will verify their interest in the public health major, choose their track, and discuss their eligibility for the program (see admission requirements above). Applications will be reviewed, and students will be notified within four weeks regarding their acceptance into the public health program. Students must be admitted to the public health program prior to beginning a course in their chosen track. Please plan accordingly, as classes may fill up.

General Education Requirements

The MiTransfer Pathways builds on the Michigan Transfer Agreement (MTA). The MTA allows transfer students to select designated courses to complete a minimum of 30 credit hours fulfilling MTA distribution requirements. Students following MiTransfer Pathway agreements should complete the MTA in accordance with the sending institutions’ course designations and consider whether or not any recommended MiTransfer Pathways major-specific courses will “double count” to fulfill MTA distribution requirements in planning their transfer. Be aware that “double count” policies differ from institution to institution. More information about the MTA is available at www.mitransfer.org.

The MTA Mathematics distribution area allows students to complete one of three math pathways. The Public Health MiTransfer Pathways faculty recommended that students complete a course in the Statistics pathway.

Students who do not have “MTA Satisfied” on their community college transcript, will be required to satisfy EMU’s general education requirements as applied to transfer students. For specific General Education requirements, click here  or print a General Education Worksheet .

Public Health Major: 55-57 hours

Minor Requirement:

This major does not require a minor.

Program Total:

Students must earn a minimum total of 120 credits at the 100-level or above. If sufficient credits hours are not transferred in, additional EMU credits must be completed to reach the minimum of 120 credit hours required to graduate.