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.
Health Administration Emphasis
The Health Administration emphasis (PHHA) is designed to prepare students for employment in public health administration and management in health departments, hospitals and clinics. Courses included in the emphasis provide an introduction to the management and administration of healthcare organizations for students who are interested in entry-level healthcare administration jobs and/or those who wish to attend graduate school to pursue graduate level study in health administration.
Students in the health administration emphasis take core courses in public health that are taught in a traditional classroom setting. In addition, they take a series of health administration and health leadership courses, some of which are offered online. The emphasis includes two courses that are only offered online summer semester.
The HERS Department encourages its public health majors to become members of its academic Public Health Club.
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