Public Health
A Bachelor of Science degree in Public Health provides students with a thorough grounding in the science and art of maintaining and promoting the health of communities and populations. The degree will prepare students for a broad spectrum of careers in public health including health promotion, community development, health care administration, epidemiology, public health research, public health program planning and management.
Public Health Core
The Public Health core is based on the recommendations of the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH) for undergraduate programs in Public Health. The core includes courses that introduce the concepts and practice of public health as well a series of courses that explore the different ways in which the public’s health is promoted through preventing and controlling disease and managing health services. Many of the courses contain opportunities for service learning and community engagement to ensure that students have practical experience of working as public health professionals by the time they graduate.
Students majoring in Public Health take courses from the core and elect one of four emphases - Community Health Specialist, Epidemiology, Health Administration, and Nutrition. Each emphasis contains a sequence of courses designed to teach students skills and provide them with the entry-level knowledge and experience they will need to become effective professionals in their chosen field within public health.
Community Health Specialist Emphasis
The Community Health Specialist focus emphasis (PHCH) is designed to provide students with the experience and background they need to be eligible for entry-level jobs as health educators and health promoters in district and county health departments, governmental agencies non-governmental organizations and health-based not-for-profit organizations. The emphasis also provides a good foundation for post-graduate study and is particularly useful for Master’s degree programs in public health and community health education. Students in the community health specialist emphasis take core courses in public health. In addition, they take a series of courses that focus on community health promotion and health education.
The HERS Department encourages its public health majors to become members of its academic Public Health Club.
