Exploratory Track
Find a public health and health sciences undergraduate degree path to fit your goals and interests.
UMass Amherst’s exploratory track in public health and health sciences spans a broad range of fields from communication disorders to kinesiology, nutrition, and public health sciences.
Designed for any undergraduate curious about these fields, this unique program is geared toward students interested in the quantitative, scientific, and behavioral aspects of population health and wellness, or in working directly with individuals and communities to improve health and wellness.
The exploratory track program will help you declare a major based on your interests, eligibility, and academic proficiency within your first three semesters, so you can transition seamlessly and complete your degree on time.
The fall semester features a first-year seminar of 19 students or less that supports your transition to college. Besides exposing you to such issues in the public health and health sciences realm as obesity, nutrition, global health, and health equity, this class will also orient you toward campus-wide resources and strategies for succeeding at UMass Amherst.
Benefits list
Explore All the Public Health Majors
As a student in UMass Amherst’s exploratory track in public health and Health sciences program, you’ll benefit from working closely with academic advisors to explore potential majors. You’ll also get to sample a variety of courses, including a first-year embedded seminar.
Dive Into a Wide Range of Topics
Topics in the public health and health sciences exploratory track cover a range of issues from obesity, diabetes prevention, and nutrition to women’s health, global health, healthy aging, environmental exposures, health equity, and health policy.
Find Courses That Match Your Interests
UMass Amherst offers a guide to help undeclared students in the School of Public Health and Health Sciences become familiar with Gen Ed requirements and electives. Before meeting with your advisor to discuss your degree options, it’s a good idea to consult this guide.
Featured class
An interdisciplinary approach to the science of human movement. Topics include motor control, exercise physiology, biomechanics, sports medicine, exercise neuroscience, and exercise psychology. (Gen Ed BS) (formerly exercise science).
Gloria DiFulvio
Senior Lecturer in Community Health Education
Co-Director, Center for Program Evaluation
Focus on substance abuse prevention, suicide prevention, adolescent health, LGBT health, evaluation.
Elizabeth Donohoe Cook
Graduate Program Director, Biostatistics & Epidemiology
Focus on principles of and applied epidemiology.
Gwyneth Rost
Undergraduate Program Director, Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences
Focus on language development, developmental language disorders, word learning, lexical-semantic organization.
Eliza Frechette
Focus on health and wellness
Claire Norton
Undergraduate Program Director, Nutrition
Didactic Program in Dietetics Director, Nutrition
Focus on dietetics and eating disorders
Application information & deadlines
Prospective students interested in the nutrition major begin by applying to the university.
Fall 2023 Early Action Deadline
Prospective first-year students must submit their application via the Common App by Nov. 5.
Regular Decision Deadline
Prospective students should apply to the Common App by Jan. 15.
Spring Semester Application Deadline
Prospective students who wish to begin in the spring term should submit the Common App by Oct. 15.
Exploratory Track in Public Health and Health Sciences
Find a public health and health sciences undergraduate degree path to fit your goals and interests.