Hartwick College Adds Public Health Program for Fall 2017
Hartwick College today announced that the New York State Education Department (NYSED) has approved Public Health as the fifth new major to be offered to students beginning in the fall 2017. The B.A. degree program, which will also be offered as a minor, joins Criminal Justice (B.A.), Environment, Sustainability and Society (B.A.), Actuarial Mathematics (B.S.) and Global Studies (B.A), which were added last November.
“Hartwick’s newly created major in Public Health brings to bear the interdisciplinary resources of the liberal arts on the challenges of building healthier communities in an increasingly complex and dynamic world,” said Professor of History Dr. Cherilyn Lacy, who chaired a working group of faculty and staff that developed the proposal for the new major. “It holistically combines foundational concepts in the science of human health and disease with theories and methods of public health data collection, and an appreciation of the socioeconomic and cultural factors that impact health.”
The College has developed five new courses for the Public Health major, with the remainder of the curriculum drawn from existing coursework. The new courses are:
- Foundations of Public Health
- Global Public Health
- Epidemiology
- Public Health Internship
- Senior Capstone in Public Health
The public health major also emphasizes the value of hands on experience in the community, where students can put into practice the ideas and methods they have learned in their courses. Fieldwork, whether through a course, a clinical placement, or an internship, is a core component of the public health major.
“As a collective endeavor to promote well-being, the public health sector needs people who can understand health from a variety of perspectives, and who are dedicated to promoting and protecting the health of all members of society,” Lacy added.
Upon completing a major in public health, students will be prepared for a broad array of career or graduate study opportunities in fields that include epidemiology, biostatistics, health education, health policy, environmental health, emergency preparedness, health communications, consumer health and safety, and community health project management.
In addition to the new Public Health program major, Hartwick has added new minors in Educational Studies, Social Advocacy, Outdoor Education, Legal Studies, and Spanish for the Professions.
“Our expansion of program offerings represents Hartwick’s commitment to offering strong, liberal-arts based curricula to an emerging generation of new learners,” said Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Michael G. Tannenbaum. “We want to be responsive to what we hear prospective students and their parents are looking for as far as majors and minors are concerned.”
Both current and incoming students are welcome to select any of these new majors or minors. For current students, however, the number of semesters it will take to complete a newly declared major or minor will depend upon the major/minor chosen, and the coursework they have already completed.
More information on the new Public Health major can be found at www.hartwick.edu/publichealth.
Those interested in pursuing any of the new degrees can apply at www.hartwick.edu/admissions.