Public Health Minor

Public Health is an interdisciplinary minor in which students develop a greater understanding of the various factors affecting community health in local, regional, and global perspectives. The three foundational core courses provide a common language, methodology, and the core public health concepts. The electives provide exposure to a variety of issues that affect public health, including the investigation of epidemics, ethical and social justice issues of public health (e.g., disparities in health care among populations), the political environment, the medical environment, and a variety of human behaviors that affect the public health of society.

A key goal of the minor is to provide hands-on service learning experience in community health through service learning projects. This experiential learning allows the student to actually work on a public health issue with a community partner. This will allow a practical way to solidify the knowledge gained in coursework and provide a service to the community This will take place in the Intro to Public Health course and other courses within the program.

Though open to all majors, the Public Health minor may be particularly suitable for the following majors: Biology, Sociology, Social Work, Psychology, and History/Political Science.

Minor in Public Health (22 credits)
Public Health Core (10 credits)
SOC 270 Intro to Public Health (3 credits)
SOC 288 Social Statistics (3 credits)
SOC 312 Epidemiology (4 credits)

Public Health Electives (12 credits, chosen from the following):
AMS 251 Urban American Studies (4 credits)
BIO 105 Human Heredity (4 credits)
BIO 116 Drug and the Human Body (3 credits class - if taken with lab 4 credits)
BIO 118 Biology of AIDS (4 credits)
BIO 320 Pathogenic Microbiology (4 credits)
BIO 354 Immunology (4 credits)
CJS 260 Drugs, Crime, and Criminal Justice (3 credits)
PED 173 Multicultural Wellness (3 credits)
PED 175 Wellness (3 credits)
PED 176 Career Wellness (3 credits)
PED 177 Wellness for Women (3 credits)
PED 178 Wellness for the Maturing Adult (3 credits)
Note: Only One PED class can count toward the minor
PHI 303 Environmental Ethics (3 credits)
PHI 382 Post 9/11: Ethical Issues in Disaster Planning and Response (3 credits)
PHI 383 Global Healthcare: Ethical Challenges (3 credits)
POS 364 Politics of AIDS (4 credits)
PSY 352 Health Psychology (3 credits)
SOC 223 Creating Social Justice (3 credits)
SOC 256 Aging and Society (3 Credits)
SOC 272 Medical Sociology (3 credits)
SOC 281 Special Topics in Public Health (3 credits)
SOC 499Independent Study – If the topic is in Public Health (3 credits)
SWK 254 Child Abuse (3 credits)
SWK 255 Family Violence (3 credits)
SWK 364 Substance Abuse (3 credits)
SWK 489 Understanding and Influencing Policy (3 credits)
*If you are a Sociology OR Criminal Justice, Behavior, and Law Major, you can only have 12 credits count for both your major and your minor.