Public Health (M)

This degree offers a mission-focused perspective on public health and prepares you to serve as a globally minded citizen working to protect and promote the public’s health. It is an engaging, multidisciplinary educational program filled with practical application opportunities to prepare you to be a strong, competitive candidate in the public health sector. In this degree program, you will have the opportunity to personalize your path depending on your interest. Regardless of which concentration you choose, all undergraduate students will complete a minimum of 120 credits, including 45 credit hours of general education core curricula, 25 credit hours of required public health coursework, and 3 credit hours of a culminating/capstone project. Students may choose to enroll in one of the following two concentrations:

Community health concentration:

This concentration integrates many disciplines and allows you to tailor your study with selectives from programs such as environmental studies, communication, nutrition, social work, sociology, psychology, political science, public policy, health and human performance, etc. to create an educational experience unique to you. You will be prepared to enter the public health field in numerous professional and community settings such as non-profit organizations, hospitals and health systems, governmental agencies, schools, and private businesses. A bachelor’s in public health also provides the foundation for future graduate degrees, such as a masters’ in public health, social work, occupational therapy, or healthcare administration.

Pre-clinical concentration:

This concentration provides the undergraduate public health student with a strong foundation in the basic sciences and is most relevant for students who may want to continue their education by pursuing a graduate degree in a health profession, such as medicine, pharmacy, physical therapy, physician assistant, or other clinical program.

Program Learning Outcomes

Through this degree program, all graduating students will be able to:

  • Demonstrate the concepts and core values of public and population health
  • Employ Christian service by protecting and promoting the public’s health
  • Apply teamwork, leadership, and professionalism principles to address health-related needs and concerns of populations
  • Locate, use, evaluate, and synthesize public health information
  • Communicate public health information, in both oral and written forms and through a variety of media, to diverse audiences

The community health concentration will also prepare you to:

  • Discuss the diversity and unique public health-related needs of specific populations in the context of achieving health equity
  • Build trust and rapport with communities served
  • Outline strategies to build individual and community capacity

The pre-clinical concentration will also prepare you to:

  • Demonstrate a robust understanding of various science and math concepts and how they relate to public health knowledge and skills
  • Compare and contrast individual health approaches and population-based public health approaches to care
  • Prepare to advocate for public health issues within the healthcare context

Curriculum

Core Requirements45
Major Requirements28
Concentration Requirements24-32
Electives15-23
Community Health Concentration
Community Health Concentration Selectives (32 credits) and Electives (15 credits)
Pre-clinical Concentration
Pre-clinical Concentration Required Courses (24 credits) and Electives (23 credits)
Total Hours120

Major Requirements

Required Core Courses
BIO 146
Essentials of Anatomy and Physiology 1
BIO 191
Human Anatomy and Physiology I 2
MATH 205
Statistics I
PHIL 350
Bioethical Dilemmas in Contemporary Society
Required Major Courses
PH 105Introduction to Public Health3
PH 205A Public Health Perspective on Community, Culture, and Advocacy3
PH 210Public Health Research, Evaluation and Ethics3
PH 300Introduction to the U.S. Health Care System3
NURS 340Community Wellness Theory3
PH 305Public Health Communication3
PH 310Public Health Interventions and Program Planning3
PH 320Navigating Public Health Careers3
IPE 490Understanding IPE through the Experiences of Working Professionals1
PH 350Baccalaureate Project in Public Health3
Required Concentration Courses24-32
Community Health Concentration Selectives (32 credits) 3
Pre-clinical Concentration Required Courses (24 credits)
BIO 151
Functional Human Biology I
BIO 152
Functional Human Biology II
CHEM 141
General Chemistry I
CHEM 142
General Chemistry II
CHEM 241
Organic Chemistry I
PHYS 151
General Physics I
Electives15-23
Total Hours75
1

Required for the Community Health Concentration

2

Required for the Pre-clinical Concentration

3

Courses will be selected in consultation with your advisor. Selectives may include, but are not limited to, courses from BIO, COMM, CSC, CSLL, ENV, EXPH, HCM, HHP, MGMT, NURS, PHIL, POLS, PSY, RSC, SOC, SW