Approved Non-SPH Courses
Students must meet the core course and concentration requirements for the MPH degree, including the practicum experience.  The remaining credits of the MPH program may be met by taking electives, which are courses in other concentrations that are not part of the required core courses. Students are free to register for any course offered at the School of Public Health to meet the elective credits requirement, assuming they meet the stated prerequisites. In additon, electives taken at other schools within Boston University or through the Academic Consortium may count towards the elective credits of the MPH program. Any course taken outside of BUSPH is subject to the Transfer Credit and Waiver Policy.

Pre-approval must be obtained for courses outside of the School of Public Health except for the courses listed below which have already been approved and are eligible for MPH elective credit.  A transfer credit form must be completed in order for the course to count toward MPH elective credit; no other approval is necessary unless otherwise noted.  Students who wish to register for these classes must register through the school or college that offers them and are subject to the registration policies and dates for these schools/colleges.  Courses taken at Tufts are subject to Cross Registration policies.

Courses that are not numbered SPH 700 or above are subject to the Transfer Credit Policy.  This means that SPH students may take no more than 8 credits of classes on this list and must earn a B or better in all classes for the course to count toward the MPH degree.  Unless otherwise stated, all courses count only for elective credit.

The following courses have been approved for elective credit by the BUSPH Education Committee:

School Course Number Title Credits
COM CM707* Writing for Media Professionals 4
COM JO519* Narrative Radio 4
COM JO702* Advanced Science Writing
 4
COM JO703* Magazine Writing 4
GMS CI670 Biostatistics with Computer waiver**
GMS MA622 Religion & Public Health 3
GMS  MA700 History and Theory of Medical Anthropology (Part I) 3
GMS MI713† Comprehensive Immunology 4
GMS MS700 Biostatistics waiver**
GSM HM833 Health Sector Marketing 3
GSM HM840 Health Sector Consulting 3
GSM IM853 Indian Field Seminar 3
GSM OB802 Leading Transformation in Health and Social Sector Organizations 3
GSM OB844 Managing Organizational Change 3
GSM OB830 Leading the Mission-Driven Organization 3
GSM OM840 Managing and Improving Quality: Six Sigma Green Belt Certification 3
MET ML721 US Food Policy 4
MET CS581 Electronic Health Records 4
SAR HS551 Human Nutrition Science 4
SAR HS776‡ Nutritional Epidemiology 4
SAR OT713 Developmental Disabilities 2
Tufts*** NUTR201 Fundamentals of Nutrition Science 4
Tufts*** NUTR217†† Monitoring & Evaluation for Nutrition & Food Security Projects 4
Tufts*** NUTR228 Community and Public Health Nutrition 4
* Instructor must agree to work with students on public health-focused projects.
** Core course waiver for MA/MPH students, 2 credits for others.
*** Through Academic Consortium
† For Environmental Health Concentrators only. Carries EH concentration credit only with written approval from the department.
‡ Counts toward concentration credit for Epidemiology concentrators.
†† Counts toward concentration credit for IH concentrators.

See the following for more information: