About HEAL
To begin a career in epidemiology and public health, you often need both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree, which typically takes at least six years of higher education. Admission to the master’s program usually also requires a strong score on the Graduate Record Exam (GRE).
The Health and Epidemiology Advanced Learning (HEAL) program allows you to skip the GRE exam before entering into your fifth year as a master’s candidate at the University of Rochester. When accepted to the HEAL program as an undergraduate, you’re also given conditional admission to the MS program in epidemiology offered through the Department of Public Health Sciences in the School of Medicine and Dentistry (part of Rochester’s campus).
The program provides you with advising by renowned faculty mentors, extensive research and professional development opportunities, and access to premier research facilities as both an undergraduate and graduate student. Additionally, HEAL students receive a 40 percent tuition scholarship during their full-time graduate work.
As an undergraduate in the HEAL program, you are expected to major in one of the following:
- BA in epidemiology
- BS in environmental health
As a graduate student, you will complete your Master of Science in epidemiology.