Public Health

Dean and Director: Dr. Doug Southard
Coordinator: Dr. Patricia I. Fitzgerald

Public Health is the evidence-based science of protecting and improving the health of human populations through education, research, and community-wide interventions. Higher education programs in public health have historically been delivered at the graduate level. However, recent recognition of the field’s critical importance to local as well as global health has led healthcare leaders to emphasize the need to provide public health training to individuals undertaking a broader range of studies. Hence, there has been an expansion of instruction at the undergraduate level as part of a liberal arts education as well as providing an important option for pre-professional studies in medicine, dentistry, law and public health.

The School of Health Sciences proudly sponsors this highly sought after and important major. The Public Health curriculum is truly interdisciplinary in order to examine population health from a broad, yet integrated, liberal arts perspective. Required and elective courses represent core topics that provide a broad introduction to this fascinating field. The curriculum is designed so that all majors participate in practical experiences where they learn from active practitioners in a variety of community and clinical settings.

Many career opportunities exist in public health. The public health major provides a unique knowledge base, which may be an advantage for the entry-level job seeker. Whether your interests are in law, health policy, science, mathematics, business, management, or community programming, a career in public health offers something for everyone. Employment locations may include, but are not limited to, government, non-profit, consulting and advocacy organizations. The BS curriculum also can be designed to allow majors to apply for medical school, pharmacy school, or other professional and graduate programs.

The increasing need for public health professionals is expected to continue well into the 21st century, which makes the public health major an excellent choice for those seeking employment directly after graduation. The need for more efficient and effective means of preventing disease and maintaining the health of populations and our planet will continue to increase the demand for public health graduates.

We expect students who enroll in this major will have a variety of interests and we encourage active involvement as members of clubs on campus, which represent these areas of interest. Students are encouraged also to apply for summer internships, participate as student assistants or volunteers in public health endeavors, and to engage in faculty supervised research. Public health majors determine their course sequencing together with a faculty member advisor from the public health program.

Public Health majors have the option of earning a BA or BS degree; with the BS degree, students will have two different options (BS in Public Health or BS in Public Health/Pre-professional concentration).