Public Health

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Major and minor offered  

Major Requirements 

The public health major consists of 14 units, including six core public health courses, six from cross-listed electives addressing global and cross-cultural, critical humanistic, and scientific perspectives on health, STAT 113, and one unit of public health-related courses.  

Core Courses

The core courses provide students with foundational knowledge of public health. 6 units. 

  • 1 unit PH 216. Introduction to Public Health 

  • 1 unit Introduction to Global and Cross-Cultural Health 

  • ANTH 3072. Medicines and Meanings (CBL);  

  • HIST/AFS 294. Medicine and Empire: Global Health in Historical Perspective; 

  • GS 264. Global Public Health: Critical Perspectives (prereq: GS 101 or GS 102) 

  • 1 unit PH 3009. Introduction to the Health Humanities  

  • 1 unit PH 3001. Basic Principles of Epidemiology (pre-reqs: STAT 113 and PH 216)  

  • 1 unit PH 3013. Public Health Research Methods (pre-reqs: PH 216)  

  • 1 unit PH 4001. Social Determinants of Health (prereq: PH 216) 

Cross-Listed Electives

6 units, at least one from each of the following 3 areas, drawn from at least 3 departments. 

  • Global and Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Health - These courses require students to take a cross-cultural perspective on health and public health interventions, examining relations of power and structures of inequality operating at local and global scales.  

  • Critical Humanistic Perspectives on Health - These courses draw from the humanities, arts, and humanistic social sciences, requiring students to uncover and analyze diverse conceptions of health, illness, and the body and situate them in their social, cultural, and historical contexts.  

  • Scientific Perspectives on Health - These courses explore the scientific basis of illness, health, and well-being at the intersection of the mind, body, and environment.  

Additional Requirements 

  • 1 unit STAT 113. Applied Statistics  

  • 1 additional unit of public health-related courses (e.g., another Global/Humanistic/Scientific Elective, GEOL 233. Geographic Info Systems, independent study, SYE) 

Experiential Learning Component (ELC) 

The public health major requires students to carry out an experiential learning component (ELC). The ELC will provide students with an opportunity to gain public health experience that complements their coursework. Unless the experience is pre-approved, students should receive approval in advance by the Chair of the Public Health Department. Majors must complete at least one of the following experiential learning options: 

  • Take a pre-approved Community-Based Learning (CBL) course with a public health placement. 

  • Carry out public health-related research (summer or semester). 

  • Complete an internship relevant to public health. 

  • Complete an internship, research, or community-based component relevant to public health as part of an off-campus program. No additional credit is necessary to fulfill the ELC requirement. Can be fulfilled with existing requirements or with another public health-related experience.  It can be fulfilled with opportunities listed above or with an alternative public health-related experience. Alternatives must be approved in advance by the Chair of the Public Health Department. Alternative experiences should typically involve a minimum of 50 cumulative hours and be at least six weeks in duration.  

Students are required to write an ELC Reflection Statement (400-500 words) on how the ELC relates to at least two PH Learning Goals (on the website) after completion of the experience. Students who fulfill the ELC with a pre-approved CBL course do not have to submit an ELC Reflection Statement. 

Restrictions for the major: 

  1. A maximum of two courses at the 100-level can be counted toward the major. 

  1. No more than two approved courses from other institutions or University-approved study abroad/off-campus programs may transfer into your major. Permission from Chair of the Public Health Department is required for transfer. 

  1. All courses, except STAT 113, taken from other institutions or off-campus programs can only count as electives for the major. 

Minor Requirements 

The public health minor consists of 6 units in three areas including two introductory public health core courses, one advanced public health core course, and three electives.   

Two introductory core courses:  

  • PH 216. Introduction to Public Health AND 

  • PH 3009. Introduction to the Health Humanities OR 

  • A course in Global and Cross-Cultural Health: 

  • ANTH 3072. Medicines and Meanings (CBL);  

  • HIST/AFS 294. Medicine and Empire: Global Health in Historical Perspective; 

  • GS 264. Global Public Health: Critical Perspectives (prereq: GS 101 or GS 102) 

One advanced core course: 

  • PH 3001. Basic Principles of Epidemiology (prereqs: PH 216 and Stats 113) OR 

  • PH 4001. Social Determinants of Health (prereq: PH 216). 

Three electives from at least two different pools. Core courses that are not chosen as required courses can be taken as electives. 

  • Global and Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Health. 

  • Critical Humanistic Perspectives on Health. 

  • Scientific Perspectives on Health. 

Final Minor Reflection Statement: Students are required to submit a 1-2 page final reflection statement evaluating their work in the public health minor including how the courses taken fit together to create an integrated study of public health.  Students should also describe which two of the Learning Goals listed on the PH website were most relevant to their experience.  The statement must be done after all courses for the minor have been completed or are in progress for completion and prior to graduation. 

Restrictions for the minor:  

  1. A maximum of two courses at the 100-level can be counted toward the major. 

  1. No more than two approved courses from other institutions or University-approved study abroad/off-campus programs may transfer into your major. Permission from Chair of the Public Health Department is required for transfer. 

  1. All courses taken from other institutions or off-campus programs can only count as electives for the major. 

See Public Health courses