Public health is a multidisciplinary area of study whose goal is to improve the health of populations. The study of public health focuses on prevention, seeks to limit health disparities and promotes healthcare equity, quality and accessibility.
Public Health
Public Health Program Overview
The major includes nine core courses that are grounded in the philosophy and core competencies of Public Health. Additional elective courses promote interdisciplinary and population perspectives of health. The Public Health major also includes a culminating Capstone Experience, which promotes engaged learning, provides real-world public health skills and connections, and fosters self-reflection. By providing curricular and co-curricular opportunities through both liberal arts and professional experiences, the Public Health major fosters student discovery of path, profession and purpose.
Co-curricular Activities
Successful participation in the Public Health major requires more than just coursework. Public Health majors commit to participation in a monthly Brown Bag series, completion of an E-portfolio, and substantial community engagement (e.g., volunteer service hours, service projects, and summer internship).
The integrative seminar series connects academic and applied learning experiences, facilitates professional development, and encourages student reflection on living lives of purpose and meaning. Public Health Majors will participate in their fall and spring of their junior year, and spring of their senior year. (Note: The Capstone Course replaces the brown bag seminar series in the fall of their senior year.)
The Public Health major will provide students the opportunity for civic engagement and meaningful contribution, which will be linked back to their academic and professional interests and experiences. In their junior year, students will complete a minimum of 15 volunteer service hours per semester. Volunteer service hours are intended to provide exposure to the breadth of public health, foster an appreciation of the broad determinants of health and vulnerable populations, and to help students identify potential areas for in-depth capstone experience. At least once per year, Public Health majors will engage in a half-day service project as a cohort. Completed during the summer after junior year, the capstone experience is an opportunity for students to gain real-world experiences, skills and connections in public health practice and/or research
Declaring the Public Health Major
Students interested in pursuing a Public Health major are encouraged to declare their major prior to course registration for their junior year to ensure proper course sequencing and planning.
To declare the Public Health major, contact the department’s administrative assistant, Jennifer Fenske, to schedule a meeting with the department chair: