Public Health, B.S.

Degree Type
Bachelor of Science
Department

The Bachelor of Science degree in Public Health enables students to understand the underlying social, political and behavioral forces that shape health status. Our students also learn how to assess critically factors that contribute to the health of populations, integrating real-world experience with coursework and learning how to  improve the public’s health at the policy and the community level.

Accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health, the degree will help students pursue careers and graduate training in a broad array of health fields including public health, health education, counseling, social work, environmental and occupational health, epidemiology and health administration. The degree will also be useful for those already working as health professionals, enhancing the careers of Registered Nurses, health administrators, technicians and technologists and dental hygienists, among others.

Curriculum

 

Requirements


In addition to College-wide requirements including Liberal Education Curriculum, students who plan to pursue a degree in Public Health must take a minimum of 11 courses to fulfill degree requirements. The basic requirements for the degree are:

1. One semester of Biological Sciences (4 credits):

  • BS 2100 Biology for Non-Majors

OR

  • BS 2300 Anatomy and Physiology I

OR

  • BS 2310 Anatomy and Physiology II

OR

  • BS 2400 Basic Biological Sciences I

OR

  • BS 2410 Basic Biological Sciences II.

 

 

2. Seven core courses in Public Health (28 credits):

  • PH 3600 Introduction to the Social Determinants of Health
  • PH 3610 Introduction to the U.S. Health Care System
  • PH 4670* Biostatistics
  • PH 4800 Epidemiology
  • PH 4900 Field Placement
  • PH 5900** Senior Research Seminar !
  • PH 5920*** Senior Research Seminar II

*Students must complete MA 2000, Applied Statistics, or equivalent, as a prerequisite to PH 4670, Biostatistics.
**PH 3600 and PH 3610 and Senior status required
***PH 5900 required as a prerequisite

 

3. Three Public Health Department electives (12 credits).

 

  • PH 2900 Black Lives Matter: Health Inequities in the U.S.
  • PH3200 Nutrition, Health, and The Food System
  • PH3700 Medical Anthropology
  • PH4450 Human Sexuality
  • PH4600 Health Program Planning and Evaluation
  • PH4610 Women's Health
  • PH4631 Mental Health
  • PH4650 Substance Use: Social and Structural Determinants
  • PH4661 Health Education
  • PH4680 Environmental Health
  • PH4750 Aging and Social Policy
  • PH4760 Health Administration
  • PH4770 Occupational Health
  • PH4790 Health Policy
  • PH4810 Ethics in Public Health
  • PH4820 Health Law
  • PH4850 Global Health
  • PH4890 Environmental Justice
  • PH4920 Special Topics in Public Health
  • PH4930 Immigrant and Refugee Health
  • PE4430* Health Economics
  • PY3020* Health Psychology
  • SY3750* Medical Sociology

*These courses, in other departments, are also accepted as Public Health electives.

 

Field Placement

All Public Health students must complete a 90-hour internship. Depending on their interests, students work in a wide variety of health settings. The fieldwork experience is an integral part of the Public Health program.