Pre-Reqs for Epidemiology

[bankruptinhades]

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Hi,
I'm a junior in college currently majoring in political science and minoring in biology. I'm planning on going to graduate school for epidemiology. I'm thinking of applying to Emory, U of M, University of Minnesota, and John's Hopkins. So far, I've only taken 2 intro bio courses and a whole host of political science courses, as well as several math courses up to Calc 1. My senior year, I'll be taking microbio, ecology, biostats, and intro to epidemiology to technically complete my minor. However, due to time/schedule conflicts, I have to choose between taking virology and parasitology (both 400 level) and basic Anatomy and Phys classes (100 level). Which of these might be more beneficial for grad schools, and should I be doing anything else to buff up my application?

Also, I'll be doing an internship in DC this summer in the field of public health (not 100% sure where yet - but definitely have the internship)

 

[kateosee]

For what it's worth, I got in to Columbia and Minnesota's EPI program (the only 2 EPIs I applied to) with ONE bio class- human sexuality. The rest of my science classes were physics or geography. I think the first class would be more beneficial though.

 

[Epi12345]

Hi,
I'm a junior in college currently majoring in political science and minoring in biology. I'm planning on going to graduate school for epidemiology. I'm thinking of applying to Emory, U of M, University of Minnesota, and John's Hopkins. So far, I've only taken 2 intro bio courses and a whole host of political science courses, as well as several math courses up to Calc 1. My senior year, I'll be taking microbio, ecology, biostats, and intro to epidemiology to technically complete my minor. However, due to time/schedule conflicts, I have to choose between taking virology and parasitology (both 400 level) and basic Anatomy and Phys classes (100 level). Which of these might be more beneficial for grad schools, and should I be doing anything else to buff up my application?

Also, I'll be doing an internship in DC this summer in the field of public health (not 100% sure where yet - but definitely have the internship)

I got into 5 epi programs with 0 bio classes and no prior public health experience. I would say take whichever class interests you more, and consider what your goals for your grad studies are. Make sure you get as much out of your stats and epi classes as possible to see how you like statistical thinking, and demonstrate your interest with a successful internship. Best of luck!