Public Health, Minor

Liberal Arts (Code 488-401)

Advisors:  C. Pierce (Public Health and Environmental Studies), B. Rockler (Public Health and Environmental Studies), L. Suppes (Public Health and Environmental Studies).

Public health is an interdisciplinary field that takes a population-based approach to improving the health and well-being of people and communities by preventing disease, disability and death across populations. This field draws on the natural, quantitative, social, and behavioral sciences to study the distribution and determinants of human health and disease, and to develop interventions to preserve and promote health and well-being.

Because public health is such a broad interdisciplinary field it has wide appeal and utility. The public health minor is a natural complement to any of the health profession majors (athletic training, behavior analysis, communication sciences and disorders, environmental public health, health care administration, kinesiology, nursing, and social work). The minor augments the pre-professional curriculum of students preparing for post-baccalaureate health professions programs in chiropractic care, dentistry, medicine, occupational therapy, optometry, pharmacy, physical therapy, and veterinary medicine. In addition, the public health minor benefits those wishing to incorporate a better understanding of health in their chosen field, including majors not thought of as traditional health sciences. These majors include, but are not limited to, communication, economics, geography, journalism, management, mathematics (statistics and actuarial sciences), philosophy, political science, psychology, religious studies, and sociology.

The required core courses will expose students to the essential elements of public health. The elective courses will allow students either to align their public health minor to their major or to explore and investigate potential new areas of interest within public health.

Minimum of 24 credits required as follows:
Required core courses (9 credits):
PH 115Global Health3
ENPH 150Disease Detectives: Epidemics and Data3
or PH 450 Epidemiology
*PH 450 may count in either the core or elective category, but not both.
PH/NRSG 225Introduction to Public Health3
Elective courses (15 credits):15
No more than six credits from any one prefix. At least nine elective credits must be at the 300-level or above.
Administration/Policy
Sustainable Cities
Waste & Society: Energy, Food, and Efficiency
U.S. Environmental and Sustainability Policy
International Environmental Problems and Policy
Overview of the U.S. Health Care System
Leadership and Management Practices in Health Services
Navigating Health Care
State and Local Politics
Public Administration
Introduction to Social Welfare
Aging/Gerontology
Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Aging
Psychology of Adulthood and Aging
Social Gerontology
Aging and the Aged
Death and Bereavement
Biomedical/Health Sciences
Microbiology
Infectious Disease Biology
Medical Mycology
Survey of Biochemistry
Exploring Mind/Body Connections
Body, Mind, Spirit Wellness
Introduction to School Health Education and Current Health Issues
Applied Nutrition in Kinesiology
Integrating Knowledge for Improving Health
Wellness: Food for Fitness
Men's Health Issues
Communications
Introduction to Interpersonal Communication
Fundamentals of Human Communication
Health Communication
Science Writing
Cultural Rhetorics
Grant Proposal Writing
The Language of Health Care
Environmental/Occupational Health
Chemistry and Climate
Introduction to Environmental Health
Occupational Safety Management
Water and Wastewater
Microbial Safety of Food
Hazardous and Solid Waste Management
Vector-Borne Disease Control
Environmental Toxicology and Risk Assessment
Water Problems, Water Solutions
Planet Earth: Conservation of the Environment
Environmental Hazards
Public Health and Climate Change
Environmental Sociology
Quantitative/Research Methods
Biostatistics
Quantitative Analysis
Econometrics
Geographic Information Systems I
Geographic Information Systems II
Quantitative Methods in Geography
Elementary Statistics
Introduction to Probability and Mathematical Statistics
Introduction to Probability
Mathematical Statistics
Survey Sampling
Nonparametric Statistics
Field Epidemiology: Outbreak Investigations
Statistical Methods in Psychology I
Methods of Research in Psychology
Sociological Data Analysis
Methods of Social Work Research
Social Sciences/Humanities
Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
Environmental Economics
Health Economics
Behavioral Economics
Planet Earth: Human Geography
Geography of Food
Cross Cultural Health
Epidemiology (if not taken as a core course)
Ethical Reasoning
Ethics of Health Care
Environmental Ethics
Rural Public Health
Health Psychology
Sacred Earth: Religion and Nature
Principles of Demography
In addition, with the advisor's consent, other courses may be allowed to count as an elective when the topic is appropriate.

Program Learning Outcomes  

Students completing this program will be expected to meet the following learning outcomes:

  • Explain and analyze the role of socio-cultural, economic/political, physical and behavioral factors contributing to health disparities.
  • Apply quantitative and epidemiologic methods to address public health issues.
  • Appreciate the role of team- and community-based collaboration in promoting population health.