Students in the Global Health (GBHL) and Environmental Science and Policy - Environmental Justice (ENSP-EJ) majors have access to a number of resources and opportunities to enhance and support your academic, co-curricular, and career goals.
Academic Advising
GEOH Undergraduate Team
You can contact us by email at gbhl@umd.edu.
Ms. Catherine Donohoe advises all prospective and current Global Health and ENSP-Environmental Justice majors. Ask Catherine about:
- courses and scheduling,
- degree audits and graduation planning,
- registration blocks and course permissions,
- declaring a major in Global Health or ENSP-Environmental Justice, or adding another major/minor,
- mandatory advising for new-to-UMD GBHL majors,
- study abroad programs,
- Accelerated BS/MPH applications,
- life at UMD in general
Ms. Claire Keanna is the GEOH Department Graduate Assistant and a Ph.D. student in Environmental Health Sciences. Claire can answer questions about:
- career-building opportunities for GEOH students,
- finding research and internship opportunities,
- experiential learning planning,
- graduate school preparation and application process
Dr. Hassanatu Blake is the Director of the GEOH Undergraduate program. Current Global Health majors can contact Dr. Blake with questions about
- GBHL course content,
- experiential learning,
- career or internship planning, and
- general questions about the field of global health
Ms. Arielle Wharton is the Faculty Advisor for ENSP-Environmental Justice majors. Current ENSP-EJ majors can contact Ms. Wharton to ask about
- ENSP-EJ course content or substitutions
- career and internship preparation, and
- general questions about the field of environmental justice.
During the summer and fall of 2026, ENSP-EJ majors should contact Catherine with all advising questions.
Current GEOH Students
Schedule an appointment
Current UMD students can schedule a 30-minute appointment with a member of the GEOH Undergraduate Advising Team through your TerpEngage Advising portal (UMD login required).
Drop-in advising
During the fall and spring semesters, Catherine and Claire are available for virtual and in-person drop-in advising a few hours a week.
Check back after August 15 for the fall drop-in schedule!
Prospective GEOH Students
Interested in Public Health? See how to connect with the SPH recruitment advisor.
Interested in Environmental Science and Policy? Learn about applying to ENSP at UMD.
Current UMD Students interested in GEOH programs can email gbhl@umd.edu or schedule a Major Exploration appointment with Catherine in TerpEngage.
Certain SPH majors are required to meet with an advisor before registering for fall or spring semester classes:
- All first year and transfer students in your first semester at UMD (if not enrolled in UNIV100, UNIV106, or SPHL206
- All NCAA Student-Athletes
- All students on academic probation or dismissal
- ENSP-Environmental Justice majors, every semester
- Global Health majors with 75 or more credits
- Accelerated BS-MPH applicants who are GBHL or ENSP-EJ majors
Learn more about SPH mandatory advising
What about everyone else?
We encourage you to check in with a major advisor at least once a semester, whether in drop-in advising or by scheduling an appointment in TerpEngage.
GBHL and ENSP-EJ major policies and resources
Ultimately, you, the student, are responsible for abiding by university and SPH academic policies, making decisions and meeting requirements and deadlines for your degree.
See all SPH major benchmarks and sample 4 year plans
Permission to Enroll at Another Institution
Once you are enrolled at UMD, you must take Fundamental English (FSAW) and Fundamental Math (FSMA) requirements at UMD.
Once you declare the Global Health major, you must take GBHL200 at UMD.
For all other courses, you must request advance approval to take courses away from UMD.
Procedure: Complete the SPH Exceptions to Policy: Permission To Enroll Form first. At the conclusion of the form, you will be prompted to log in with your credentials and click on request Permission to Enroll to fill out a second form.
Study Abroad courses: see the Education Abroad course selection and approval process.
Maximum credits
Students in the School of Public Health can register for up to 17 credits during early registration. As of the first day of the fall semester, you will be able to register for up to 20 credits. The 17 credit limit is designed to give all students equal access to a full schedule during early registration.
When prioritizing courses, you will want to register first for those that are part of a progression in your major (like ANTH210) and then those that you need but that fill quickly. If there are requirements for which you have a choice of courses, or courses that you have a guaranteed seat (like a living-learning program) then you can plan to register for those on the first day of the semester.
During winter term, you may register for one course, up to 4 credits.
During summer, you may register for a maximum of 16 credits total across Sessions I and II with a maximum of eight credits per six-week session and a maximum of four credits per three-week session (IA, 1B, 2C or 2D).
Exceptions to policy
If you are facing extreme or extenuating circumstances, you may request an exception to certain university policies through the SPH Dean’s Exception to Policy process. You have the opportunity to provide supporting documentation, but note that there is no guarantee that an exception request will be approved. Common examples of exception to policy requests are:
- benchmark extension
- third attempt at a course
- withdrawing from a course after the deadline
- credit overloads (in final term only)
- course time conflicts
- exceeding the total number of repeatable credits
Review all UMD academic policies and the procedures for requesting a Dean's Exception to Policy as an SPH major.
FERPA
It is SPH policy that if a student wishes to bring parents, legal guardians or family members to a meeting with an advisor, faculty member or other School official, the student must schedule the meeting at least 1 business day in advance, and University parties involved must be notified that the student’s parent, legal guardian, or family member will be present at the meeting.
The student must also have a Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) Academic Release Information Form on file with the department.
Global Health Major Policies and Requirements
See all GBHL Major Requirements and Approved courses
- Global Health Experiential Learning Requirement handbook
- World Language requirement
- GBHL major course substitution policy and procedures
- SPH Major Policy Agreement (BS, Global Health)
GBHL Sample Plan and Major Checklist
- More GBHL Sample Plans (Freshmen Connection, pre-health, transfer students, etc.)
Environmental Science and Policy Major Policies and Requirements
ENSP Environmental Justice overview and contacts
Note: Declared ENSP-EJ majors follow SPH procedures for requesting exceptions to policy and permission to enroll at another institution
GEOH Advising Resources
ELMS: GBHL and ENSP-EJ majors are invited to the GEOH Undergraduate Advising Toolkit in Canvas (UMD login required).
Email: We send official communications, including academic deadlines, career events and internship opportunities, to students’ Terpmail. Archives can be seen by current majors in the GEOH-UGstudents Google Group.
GEOH Advising shares specific opportunities targeted for declared GBHL and ENSP-EJ majors through:
- "GEOH Opportunities Roundup" emails
- GEOH Student Opportunities database and discussion threads in the GEOH UG Advising Toolkit in Canvas
- GEOH Department LinkedIn page
The University Career Center@SPH provides all students guidance in applying to internships or jobs, and preparing for life after college.
- See all UMD Career Center events
- Search UMD Handshake for opportunities
Exploring a specific career path after college?
- Pre-health: Visit the Reed-Yorke Health Professions Advising Office (HPAO)
- Pre-law: Visit the Pre-Law Professions Advising Office
- Explore research: Visit the Office of Undergraduate Research
- Learn about funding opportunities from the National Scholarships Office