2011 - 2012 Public Health Program (PUBH)

Dean: Sheryl Steadman
Director: George L. White, Jr.

The Westminster College Bachelor of Science in Public Health Degree is an academic degree that addresses the health of communities and populations through instruction, service and research. The program builds on Westminster College's excellence in liberal arts education by emphasizing the role the humanities and social sciences have in public health, and then adding a commitment to scientific and quantitative sciences in addressing public health problems. Students who graduate with this degree will be able to utilize these tools to address public health issues with a scientifically sound methodology while remaining holistic, community-oriented and globally conscious.

Mission

The Public Health Program at Westminster College prepares those interested in a career in public health or health sciences with the proper tools necessary to promote health and prevent illness in Utah, the Intermountain West, the United States and the world. The program is grounded in the belief that effective public health practitioners are properly trained in the core competencies of public health, which include analytic and assessment skills, policy development and program planning skills, communication skills, cultural competency skills, community dimensions of practice skills, basic public health science skills, financial planning and management skills, and leadership and systems thinking skills. We accomplish this while embracing the core values of Westminster College: impassioned teaching and active learning, respect for diverse people and perspectives, collaboration and teamwork, personal and social responsibility, college-wide excellence and high ethical standards.

This educational endeavor allows us to prepare public health workers as well as citizens who are truly ready to meet the health challenges of the 21st century and to meet the diverse needs of public health locally, nationally and globally.

Program Goals

The graduate of the Public Health Program will be prepared to:

Apply critical thinking skills to recognize the public health problems of vulnerable populations on a social and community scale.
Describe multidisciplinary and ecological public health issues and concerns.
Describe the biological basis of health and disease from a population viewpoint.
Understand the role of health promotion and health prevention in public health.
Recognize the role of quantitative methods in addressing Public Health issues.
Utilize health policy and health administration to positively affect public health.
Understand the role of the environment on health.
Apply cultural competencies to public health problems.
Utilize knowledge in global health issues and global consciousness to address health issues worldwide.

Program Requirements

The undergraduate degree in public health can be completed in four years. A total of 57 credits are required for completion of this academic major. Requirements include coursework in the humanities, life sciences, behavioral and physical sciences, foreign languages, and public health. Many of the courses are structured such that they are sequential. Please refer to the course descriptions for prerequisites.

The academic minor requires 22 credits to complete. Requirements include 14 credits of public health coursework and 8 credits of approved electives.

Additional information about college policies is provided in the sections "Undergraduate Degree Requirements" and "Academic Policies and Procedures."

Academic Major in Public Health

Liberal Education Courses	Credit Hours
The following courses, which fulfill LE requirements, are required for the major in Public Health. BIOL 110 Environmental Biology, LE CHEM 103 Introduction to Chemistry, LE MATH 150 Elementary Statistics, LE PHIL 206/206D Introduction to Ethics, LE ANTH 252 Cultural Anthropology, LE (4) or SOC 105 Introduction to Sociology, LE (4)	3 4 4 3 4

Requirement Description		Credit Hours
I.	Foreign Language Requirement	8
	Public Health majors must complete eight credit hours in a single foreign language.	8
II.	Prerequisite Courses	17-23
	MATH 150 Elementary Statistics, LE (4) Take one of the following: CHEM 103 Introduction to Chemistry and Lab, LE (4) CHEM 106 Chemistry and Society, LE (3) CHEM 111 Principles of Chemistry I and Lab (4) PHIL 206/206D Introduction to Ethics, LE Take one of the following: BIOL 103 Human Anatomy (4) and BIOL 104 Human Physiology (4) BIOL 105 Principles of Biology I and Lab (4) BIOL 110 Environmental Biology, LE (3) Take one of the following: PSYC 105 Introduction to Psychology, LE (4) SOC 105 Introduction to Sociology, LE (4) ANTH 252 Cultural Anthropology, LE (4)	4 3-4 3 3-8 4
III.	Lower Division Public Health Courses	13
	PUBH 101 Introduction to Public Health PUBH 110 Health Professions and Organizations PUBH 210 Infectious and Chronic Diseases PUBH 250 Global Health	3 3 3 4
IV.	Upper Division Public Health Courses	16
	PUBH 305 Epidemiology PUBH 310 Social and Behavioral Factors in Public Health PUBH 320 Environmental Health PUBH 490 Capstone Public Health Research Project	4 4 4 4
V.	Electives	16
	Students choose 16 hours of Public Health or related coursework, listed on the following pages.
TOTAL HOURS FOR THE ACADEMIC MAJOR		70-76

Recommended Plan of Study for Public Health

.	Fall Semester	Spring Semester
Freshman Year	LE Coursework	LE Coursework
Sophomore Year	LE Coursework Foreign Language	LE Coursework Foreign Language
Junior Year	PUBH 101 PUBH 110 PUBH 250	PUBH 210 PUBH 305 PUBH 310
Senior Year	PUBH 320 PUBH Elective (8)	PUBH 490 PUBH Elective (8)

Academic Minor

Requirement Description		Credit Hours
I.	Required Courses	14
	PUBH 101 Introduction to Public Health PUBH 210 Infectious and Chronic Diseases PUBH 250 Global Health PUBH 305 Epidemiology	3 3 4 4
II.	Electives	8
	4 hours of Public Health or related coursework,* 200 or above 4 hours of Public Health or related coursework,* 300 or above	4 4
TOTAL HOURS FOR THE ACADEMIC MINOR		22

Suggested Elective Coursework

Electives must be approved by the student's advisor. Because of the broad nature of public health, electives can be from a diverse number of departments and schools. Courses used as part of the major requirements cannot be used again as electives. The following are suggestions based on the student's specific area of interest. Please note these courses may have prerequisites that will also need to be fulfilled:

Administration/Policy

COMM 240 Introduction to Mass Media (4)
COMM 324 Electronic Communication in the Global Community (4)
COMM 340 Communication Theory and Persuasion (4)
MGMT 205 Leadership Development (2)
MGMT 305 Principles of Management (4)
MGMT 430 The Nonprofit Organization (4)
MGMT 433 Organizational Behavior (4)
PLSC 303 Public Administration and Bureaucracy (4)
PLSC 327 Environmental Politics and Policy (4)

Life Sciences

BIOL 103 Human Anatomy and Lab (4)
BIOL 104 Human Physiology and Lab (4)
BIOL 111 Clinical Microbiology and Lab (4)
BIOL 303 Microbiology and Lab (4)
BIOL 350 Biochemistry and Lab (4)
BIOL 402 Immunology and Lab (4)
CHEM 111-112 Principles of Chemistry I and II and Lab (4-4)
CHEM 201 Organic and Biochemistry (4)
CHEM 303-304 Organic Chemistry I and II and Lab (4-4)
CHEM 350 Biochemistry and Lab (4)
ENVI 101 Introduction to Environmental Studies (4)

Nursing

NURS 210 Nutrition (3)
NURS 280 Pathophysiology (3)

Social Sciences

ANTH 252 Cultural Anthropology, LE (4)
JUST 101 Introduction to Justice Studies (4)
PSYC 216 Social Psychology (4)
PSYC 363 Exploring Addictions (3)
PSYC 420 Community Psychology (4)
SOC 313 Social Theory (4)
SOC 345 Human Sexuality (4)
SOC 390 Social Research Methods (4)

Statistics/Informatics

CMPT 201 Introduction to Computer Science (4)
CMPT 202 Introduction to Data Structures (4)
CMPT 307 Database Systems (4)
CMPT 335 Computer Security (4)
MATH 201B Calculus for the Life Sciences (4)
MATH 210 Discrete Mathematics (4)
MATH 310 Probability and Statistics (4)