4+1 Pathway: Public Health

Applicants must have a minimum GPA of 3.5. All applicants must complete Calculus I prior to application. (Note that Mailman’s website says applicants can take statistics or calculus, but for the Barnard pathway specifically Calculus I is required.) Applicants to Environmental Health Sciences must complete at least one year of biology or chemistry coursework prior to application. 

AP/IB credit for Calculus I, completion of Calculus I or higher at Barnard/Columbia (for a letter grade), or transfer credit equivalent to Calculus I from another institution (also for a letter grade). Calculus I taken for a grade of P is not acceptable. Calculus must be completed prior to application.

Applicants may submit Mailman’s internal application form (not the SOPHAS application) by December 1 of their junior year. Applications are first considered by Barnard’s faculty liaisons, who interview selected applicants. After interviews, Barnard’s faculty liaisons move some applications forward for consideration at Mailman. There, each application is reviewed by the department to which the student has applied and a final decision is issued (typically by February-March). 

4+1 pathway students are Barnard students first, and the coursework completion worksheet is intended to help you think through how the 4+1 pathway intersects with your Barnard degree so that you can complete that degree on time. It is also crucial that all students seriously considering the MPH 4+1 pathway make a solid plan for the fall of their senior/fourth year, because most of their credits will need to be taken at Mailman during that semester. Students who are unable to create a plan that leaves them free (aside from any required senior seminars) during fall of the fourth year should consider other options for MPH studies. 

MPH 4+1 students are required to participate in Mailman’s core curriculum during fall of the fourth year. Mailman’s core courses are offered only in the fall, and serve as the foundation for all subsequent coursework. Students must take a minimum of 10.5 credits (most register for 15) at Mailman during the fall semester of year four. Students who need to take more than one course at Barnard in fall of the fourth year will have difficulty registering for necessary courses at Mailman and may not be a good fit for the pathway. Students are not expected to take Mailman courses during the spring semester of the fourth year. Students work with Mailman administrators to register for courses in the fall of the fourth year and in the entire fifth year. 

No. Though premed (or other prehealth) students are eligible to apply to the pathway, most current students and alumnae of the pathway do not plan on pursuing clinical careers in the future. Public health is a distinct career path from medicine, and the MPH 4+1 is not an appropriate record enhancement option for premed students who are seeking to improve their GPAs before applying to professional schools. 

Successful applicants will be able to demonstrate their interest in public health and the relevance of the MPH degree to their future career plans. Applicants may consider taking public health courses (or courses with relevance to public health) in their first three years of study. Service and research experiences related to public health are strongly recommended.

Strong letters are the product of strong relationships; letters should come from faculty who know the student well and who are able to speak to the student’s interest in the MPH. Letters should speak to the skills and competencies the applicant has demonstrated which will be of relevance to the MPH. The required letter of support can come from any faculty member (though often will come from a major advisor) who will commit to reviewing the student’s degree progress to ensure that Barnard requirements are completed by the end of the fourth year. This letter of support can be a third, stand-alone document, or the statement of support can be included in one of the two letters of recommendation. 
 

Students should consult one of the Barnard faculty liaisons for the MPH 4+1 pathway to discuss planning major/minor/general degree requirements as they relate to the 4+1 pathway. Any faculty advisor can work with any student, but note the following Barnard departmental affiliations:

• Beck Jordan-Young: Women’s, Gender, & Sexuality Studies
• Lesley Sharp: Anthropology
• Brian Mailloux: Environmental Science

Students may wish to speak with an advisor whose scholarly expertise aligns with their academic path at Barnard or plans for Mailman. 
 

During year four of the pathway, you will still be a Barnard student, so any undergraduate financial aid you receive will still apply. In year five of the pathway, you will be matriculated as a Mailman student, and all financial aid, tuition payments, scholarships, etc. will be arranged with Mailman directly. Financial aid for master’s degrees is typically less comprehensive than financial aid for undergraduate degrees. See Mailman’s tuition and financial aid page for more information. 

All MPH students must complete a practicum requirement; for Barnard 4+1 students, this is almost always done in the summer following the fifth year of the pathway. Therefore, Barnard 4+1 students can typically expect their degrees to be conferred in October of the fifth year.