PUBH 100 Foundations of Public Health (3 credits)
This course will introduce students to the core concepts and methods in the field of public health, a field which has long been understood as the “science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting physical health and efficiency through organized community efforts.” Public health measures are the reason that more people today live longer, healthier lives than they did one century ago, although there are still vast disparities in health throughout the world that remain to be addressed. Through a brief survey of the history and philosophy of public health as it has developed in the United States and in other regions of the world, this course will offer students an initial exposure to some of the methods and tools of public health data collection. A closer, more-detailed examination of a few case studies will increase students’ understanding of the ethical, economic, and policy-related dimensions of public health, and why communications and knowledge of the underlying science of human health and disease are essential to successful public health initiatives. No prerequisites.
PUBH 110 Global Public Health (3 credits)
This course will introduce students to the core concepts and methods in the field of global health. National Institutes of Health has proposed definition for global health as collaborative trans-national research and action for promoting health for all. This course focuses on common health problems faced by the human population as a whole. The course explores foundations of global health as a professional and academic discipline, and provides an overview of global health research methods and social determinants of health. Other topics covered in this introductory course include: prevention of neonatal and pediatric deaths worldwide, chronic non-communicable diseases and aging, prevention and control of infectious diseases, environmental health, major initiatives to address global concerns like tuberculosis, malaria, HIV/AIDS; emerging issues of globalization and global health like emerging infectious diseases and bioterrorism, and the priority areas for global health in the 21st century. No prerequisites.
PUBH 200 Epidemiology (4 credits)
This course will introduce core descriptive and analytical epidemiological concepts such as the epidemiological triad, natural history of disease, measurement of occurrence of disease and screening criteria. Students will review and outline various epidemiological study methods including clinical trials, case control, cohort, and cross sectional as they relate to risk association and causation. Concurrently they will compare genetic and environmental influences on health. They will test the efficacy of disease prevention and treatment programs, evaluation of health services and policy implementation. Students will learn of ethical principles applying to epidemiology, throughout the course. An emphasis in this course will be on student engagement involving case study review, real-life application and student led projects on current public health issues. Pre-Requisite or Co-Requisite: MATH 108. (QFR)
PUBH 490 Senior Capstone in Public Health (3 credits)
In this course, students will research an issue in public health that is relevant to the cohesive theme they designed for their major and write a formal research paper analyzing the issue. Prerequisites: senior, Public Health major status; completion of at least 35 credits in the Public Health major, including PUBH 100, PUBH 110, PUBH 200, and PUBH 390.
Students majoring in public health are required to define a cohesive theme for their chosen electives, in consultation with their advisor in the major, as part of PUBH 100: Foundations of Public Health. This is part of developing a vital “habit of mind” for future graduate study or careers in public health – namely, the ability to recognize the intersection of multiple factors in matters of public health. Students identify an area of public health that interests them (such as rural public health, health maintenance, gender identity and violence, diet and nutrition, global public health) and the electives that will help them acquire relevant knowledge and methodologies in this area. The Public Health Steering Committee will discourage over-emphasis on a single discipline.
The list of public health electives below will be reviewed and revised periodically by the Public Health Steering Committee to reflect course and seat availability, as well as the creation of new courses. Some electives have pre-requisites, yet students coming to the public health major from other majors may already have completed those pre-requisites, and professors may choose to waive pre-requisites at their discretion.
Some electives that do not focus solely on public health could be appropriate for the public health major if a student’s projects within the course are related to public health. Similarly, topics courses could be appropriate if the topic for that section is related to public health. In both cases, these courses are designated by an asterisk (*).
Arts & Humanities Division
Physical & Life Sciences Division
Social and Behavioral Sciences Division
