Public Health

The Public Health department seeks to educate students with a social determinants of health perspective; identify the economic and social context within which individuals make health choices; examine social forces (e.g. social class, gender, racism) that shape individuals’ destinies; and plan, implement, evaluate and advocate health programs and policies throughout the world.

The Public Health department at SUNY Old Westbury has offered a B.S. degree in Health and Society in since 1975, with a focus on social determinants of health. The major offering in the Department of Public Health is a 120-credit academic program that results in a B.S. degree.  This program will prepare students for entry into a broad range of professions in public health at the local, state, and national levels. Students from this program go on to graduate school in public health and other health-related disciplines, enter professions such as those in hospitals and local non-profit health agencies, and many go on to obtain training in health professions such as nursing, physical and occupational therapy and physician assistant.