Program Overview

Introduction to Public Health Programs

The B.S. in Public Health Sciences and the B.A. in Public Health Policy degree programs train students in multidisciplinary approaches to public health practice and research. The degrees explore both quantitative and qualitative aspects of public health at all levels of analysis. Graduates will advance, through selective employment or further education, to become the new generation of public health professionals prepared to face the emerging challenges to human health from a population perspective using cutting-edge approaches for preventing diseases.

Program Overview

Students who are interested in pursuing a premedical program should note that additional courses will be needed beyond the requirements of the public health degrees to fulfill requirements for medical school. Students considering the public health degrees should carefully evaluate their academic preparation and career goals before enrolling in either the B.S. or B.A. degree program. Changing from one degree program to the other is possible but will require completion of the required lower- and upper-division courses specified for each degree. It is also possible for a student to enroll in both the B.S. and B.A. degree programs (double major), provided the student completes all the requirements outlined under each degree.

Academic Advising

The Public Health Student Affairs Office coordinates the advising program and provides academic counseling. Undergraduate Public Health students should consult the Public Health Student Affairs Office for information on academic requirements for their degree(s), career opportunities, the Public Health 198/199 Research Program, the Public Health Honors Research Program, and student organizations such as the Public Health Association and the Global Health Research, Education, and Translation (G.H.R.E.A.T.).

Peer Academic Advisors

The Peer Academic Advisors are upper-division Public Health majors who bring with them valuable academic, social, and professional experiences. Their functions include counseling students in matters of major selection, program planning, petitioning, tutoring, development of learning skills, and participation in co-curricular and extracurricular activities.

Career Advising

Information on graduate and professional schools in public health can be obtained from the Public Health Student Affairs Office. Areas of opportunity open to those with a Bachelor of Science in Public Health Sciences degree include:

• Public health agencies
• Clinical laboratories
• Biotechnology and health care companies
• Not-for-profit organizations specializing in health care
• Health management organizations
• Advanced public health training programs in county, state, and federal agencies
• Graduate and professional education in public health and related health-care disciplines

Areas of opportunity open to those with a Bachelor of Arts in Public Health Policy degree include:

• Population health management organizations
• Health care administration and planning
• Health insurance companies
• Public health agencies
• Public health advocacy groups
• Corporate planning
• Health promotion
• Health education (in hospitals, clinics, government agencies, etc.)
• Mental health
• Chemical dependency
• Case managing
• Insurance
• Health strategizing
• Fundraising
• Community organization
• Social and legislative work for health
• Graduate and professional education in public health and related health-care disciplines

Major Requirements

Lower-Division Requirements

• PUBHLTH 1 Principles of Public Health
• PUBHLTH 2 Case Studies in Public Health Practice
• PUBHLTH 5 Foundations of One Health
• PUBHLTH 7A Public Health Statistics I
• PUBHLTH 7B Public Health Statistics II
• Select two of the following:
  • PUBHLTH 10 Special Topics in Public Health 1
  • PUBHLTH 30 Introduction to Urban Environmental Health
  • PUBHLTH 60 Environmental Quality and Health
  • PUBHLTH 80 AIDS Fundamentals
  • PUBHLTH 90 Natural Disasters
• Select three of the following:
  • Anthropology: ANTHRO 2A Introduction to Sociocultural Anthropology
  • Anthropology: ANTHRO 2B Introduction to Biological Anthropology
  • Anthropology: ANTHRO 2C Introduction to Archaeology
  • Anthropology: ANTHRO 2D Introduction to Language and Culture
  • Anthropology: ANTHRO 41A Global Cultures and Society
  • Economics: ECON 1 Introduction to Economics
  • Economics: ECON 13 Global Economy
  • Economics: ECON 20A Basic Economics I
  • Economics: ECON 20B Basic Economics II
  • International Studies: INTL ST 11 Global Cultures and Society
  • Political Science: POL SCI 31A Introduction to Political Theory
  • Political Science: POL SCI 51A Introduction to Politics Around the World
  • Psychology: PSCI 9/COGS 7A Introduction to Psychology 2
  • Psychology: PSCI 11A/COGS 9A Psychology Fundamentals
  • Psychology: PSCI 11B/COGS 9B Psychology Fundamentals
  • Psychology: PSCI 11C/COGS 9C Psychology Fundamentals
  • Sociology: SOCIOL 1 Introduction to Sociology
  • Sociology: SOCIOL 2 Globalization
  • Sociology: SOCIOL 3 Social Problems
  • Social Ecology: UPPP 8 Introduction to Environmental Analysis and Design

Upper-Division Requirements

• PUBHLTH 101 Introduction to Epidemiology
• PUBHLTH 122 Health Policy
• PUBHLTH 144 Health Behavior Theory
• PUBHLTH 170 Introduction to Global Health
• Select four upper-division courses from the Health, Policy, Society, and Behavior topic area:
  • ANTHRO 128B Race, Gender, and Science
  • ANTHRO 134A Medical Anthropology
  • ANTHRO 134B Cultures of Biomedicine
  • ANTHRO 134C Medicine, Food, and Health
  • ANTHRO 134F Anthropology of the Body
  • ANTHRO 134N Disease, Health, and Inequality
  • ECON 123A Econometrics I
  • ECON 123B Econometrics II
  • MGMT 101 Management Science
  • MGMT 107 Introduction to Management Information Systems
  • MGMT 165 U.S. Healthcare Systems
  • MGMT 166 Business of Medicine
  • PSCI 103H Health Psychology
  • PSCI 136H Behavioral Medicine
  • PSCI 137H Human Stress
  • PSCI 138H Child Health Psychology
  • PSCI 143H The Science and Practice of Wellness and Resilience
  • PUBHLTH 102/PSCI 183S Social Epidemiology
  • PUBHLTH 115 Community, Social Justice, and Health Equity Research for Action
  • PUBHLTH 120 Nutrition and Global Health
  • PUBHLTH 125 Foundations of Community Health
  • PUBHLTH 126 Public Health Law: Fundamentals in Action
  • PUBHLTH 127 Public Health Programs for the Corporate World
  • PUBHLTH 129 Public Health Administration
  • PUBHLTH 132 American Public Policy
  • PUBHLTH 135 Medical Sociology
  • PUBHLTH 138 Tobacco Control Policy
  • PUBHLTH 139 Special Topics in Health Policy and Administration
  • PUBHLTH 141 Clinical Health Psychology
  • PUBHLTH 146 Health Promotion Programs
  • PUBHLTH 147 Drug Abuse and its Prevention
  • PUBHLTH 148 Public Health Communication
  • PUBHLTH 152 Happiness, Wellbeing, and Health
  • PUBHLTH 158 Sociology of Mental Health
  • PUBHLTH 159 Special Topics in Social and Behavioral Health Science
  • PUBHLTH 174 Global Health Ethics
  • PUBHLTH 177 Global Health Policy and Diplomacy
  • PUBHLTH 190 Geographic Information Systems for Public Health
  • SOCIOL 154 Medical Sociology
  • UPPP 102 Urban Inequality
  • UPPP 103 Comparative Approaches to Urban Regions
  • UPPP 112 Foundations of Community Health
  • UPPP 166 Urban Politics and Policy

Practicum Requirement

• PUBHLTH 195P Public Health Practicum
• PUBHLTH 195W Writing for Public Health Practice

The Public Health Practicum is a two-course sequence required for students majoring in Public Health Policy or Public Health Sciences. In the Public Health Practicum, students are given the opportunity to work in the community at agencies, non-profits, or laboratories dedicated to public health practice. Students gain practical work experience during the internship, and class discussions and assignments focus on the analysis of their experience, connecting the work environment to their academic studies, and understanding public health professional paradigms and their roles within them. In the Writing for Public Health Practice, which is taken concurrently or immediately after the practicum, students work to understand public health communication strategies through the production of two major writing projects that address issues they have identified at their practicum sites. This course fulfills the upper-division writing requirement.