Home > Prospective Students > Requirements, Deadlines, and Forms
Admission to Environmental Health
The Environmental Health major offers both a rigorous introduction to the physical sciences as well as the specific professional skills needed to thrive in the environmental health field. Most full-time students who want to complete the EH program within four years will need to begin chemistry courses in their freshman (first) year of college and complete most or all the prerequisites to the major by the end of their sophomore (second) year.
The Environmental Health undergraduate program is a minimum requirement major. In other words, students who complete the prerequisite coursework, earn a 2.5 overall grade point average, and submit the required personal profile stand an excellent chance of being admitted into this major. While you can apply to the department during any of the four academic quarters, we encourage you to submit your personal profile by the end of sophomore year or the beginning of the junior (third) year.
The personal profile is a series of brief questions about your academic background and space for your personal statement. This information helps us advise you better.
Contact Us
You can always call the Environmental Health Program Office at 206-543-4207 or email us at ehug@u.washington.edu with questions. Please visit our contact page for more information.
Admission Prerequisites
| General Chemistry | 1 year: CHEM 142, 152, 162 |
| Organic Chemistry* | 1 year: CHEM 237, 238, 239 ( or CHEM 223, 224) |
| Introductory Biology** | 1 year: BIO 180, 200 220 |
| English Composition | 1 quarter: ENGL 131 or equivalent |
| Calculus | 1 quarter: MATH 124 or equivalent |
* Physics coursework is not required for admission to the Environmental Health major. However, students must complete PHYS 114/117 and 115/118 (or PHYS 121 and 122) to satisfy Environmental Health graduation requirements.
*Organic Chemistry labs are not required for admission to the Environmental Health major
**UW students must complete CHEM 152 before beginning BIO 180.
Dates and Deadlines
-
Prospective students can enter the Environmental Health major autumn, winter, spring or summer quarters.
-
A prospective student who is within one quarter of completing all prerequisite coursework can submit the personal profile to the Environmental Health Program Manager at any time before seeking admission to the program. You can hand-deliver or mail your forms to the following address:
Environmental Health Undergraduate Program
C/o Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences
Health Sciences Building F461D
Box 357234
Seattle, WA 98195-4234
Transfer Students
If you are a transfer student who cares about how environmental factors affect human health, and you enjoy the sciences, Environmental Health may be an excellent major for you. To make sure you are completing all the correct prerequisites, you should consult the course equivalency guide on the UW admissions website.
Transfer students must be admitted to the University of Washington before beginning the Environmental Health major. Please consult the UW transfer admission website for more information about applying to the University of Washington.
Diversity
The Department of Environmental Health welcomes students who have varied cultural experiences or educationally or economically disadvantaged backgrounds, and will therefore contribute to the intellectual and social enrichment of the department.
