Last Revision: June 2016
Bachelor of Science Public Health MajorReturn to: Degrees Offered (Majors, Minors)
Program Director
Casey Mace, PhD, MPH
Email:
Program Information
The public health profession focuses on preventing disease, addressing inequities and developing policies and programs that help communities achieve optimal health and wellbeing. Our program aims to educate and empower the emerging generation of public health leaders. The Bachelor of Science inPublic Health prepares students for graduate work or careers in the field and exposes them to evidence-based research and practice experiences. Public health majors will complete the core coursework and select a specialization in either PopulationHealth or Pre-Nursing. All majors are also required to complete a 400-hour internship experience.
Public Health Major
Admission to the Public Health major is open. It may take finding one's passion in order to achieve academic success. We recognize this, and we hold a high standard in order to graduate from the Public Health Program. Please check in with your major advisor as early as possible in your career here at Central.
Additional Graduation Requirements
Students seeking the Bachelor of Science in Public Health must earn a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5
Special requirements other than departmental:
ENGL 101 and 102 must be completed prior to enrollment in PUBH 240. Majors must earn a C or better in PUBH 230 and PUBH 240 in order to enroll in most other required core courses. PUBH 375 may be taken concurrently with PUBH 230.
Public Health Core Requirements
- HED 101 – Health Essentials Credits: (4)
- PUBH 230 - Foundations of Public Health Credits: (3)
- PUBH 240 – Writing in Public Health Credits: (3)
- PUBH 250 – Introduction to Health Policy and Systems Credits: (3)
- PUBH 310 - Community Health Credits: (3)
- PUBH311 – Cross Cultural Practice in Public Health Credits: (3)
- PUBH 317 – Global Health Credits: (3)
- PUBH 320 - Environmental Health Credits: (3)
- PUBH 324 – Infectious and Non-infectious Disease Credits: (4)
- PUBH 375 – Theories of Health Behavior Credits: (3)
- PUBH 380 - Epidemiology Credits: (3)
- HED 422 - Methods for Health Promotion Credits: (4)
- PUBH 445 - Professionalism in Public HealthCredits: (1)
- PUBH 460 - Public Health Ethics Credits: (3)
- PUBH 470 – Population Health Assessment and Research Credits: (5)
- PUBH 471 - Program Planning Credits: (4)
- PUBH 472 - Program Implementation and Evaluation Credits: (4)
- PUBH 490 – Cooperative Education (Public Health Internship) Credits: (10)
PopulationHealth Specialization
Population health represents the area of study and practice focusing on the determinants and distribution of health across different groups of individuals. Understanding issues and situations that harm people’s potential for health, wellbeing, and quality of life enables public health professionals to develop effective strategies to improve outcomes. Through diverse course offerings, the Population Health Specialization prepares students for graduate study or career work with a variety of populations.
Population Health Specialization Courses
Students must complete a minimum of24credits from the following list of classes:- PUBH 209 – Consumer Health Credits: (3)
- HED 210 – Drugs and Health Credits: (3)
- PUBH 318 – The Politics of Food and Health Credits: (2)
- PUBH351 – Community Building Strategies for Public Health Credits: (3)
- PUBH 370 – Contemporary Issues in Public Health Credits: (3-6) (Course may be repeated with two different topics.)
- HED 387 – Principles of Fitness and Stress Management Credits: (3)
- HED 440 – Public Health Communication Credits: (3)
- PUBH 448 – Sexual Health Credits: (3)
- PUBH 475 - Community Health Administration Credits: (3)
- PUBH 480 - Grant Seeking and Administration in Public Health (3)
- PUBH 409 - Issues and Strategies in Community Mental Health (3)
- PUBH 420 - Women's Health (3)
- PUBH424 - Child and Maternal Health (3)
- PUBH465 - Undergraduate Research Preparation for Public Health (2)
- NUTR 101 - Introduction to Human Nutrition Credits: (5)
Total Major Credits: 90
Pre-Nursing Specialization
The pre-nursing specialization allows future professionals to enter nursing school with a solid background in public health theory and practice. CWU does not offer a degree program in nursing, but offers prerequisite courses suited for admission to professional nursing programs available across Washington.IMPORTANT: Students MUST take responsibility for understanding current requirements of their chosen nursing program before applying to it. It is recommended and expected that students considering nursing careers will contact advisers at nursing programs of interest, and ensure their own readiness for admission. Please note that CHEM 111 and CHEM 111LAB are pre-requisites for CHEM 112; students must seek information from specific departments regarding scheduling of these and other science courses. Note too that PSY 101 is a prerequisite for PSY 313; students pursuing the pre-nursing specialization are responsible for understanding requirements for enrollment in specific courses.Students choosing the pre-nursing specialization should take CHEM 111 and its lab at their earliest opportunity; additionally, students choosing the pre-nursing specialization are advised to choose PSY 101 as a general education fulfillment, given that it is a prerequisite for PSY 313
Pre-Nursing Specialization Courses
- BIOL 220 - Introductory Cell BiologyCredits: (5)
- BIOL 322 - Introductory MicrobiologyCredits: (5)
- BIOL 305 - Human Anatomy and PhysiologyCredits: (5)
- BIOL 306 - Human Anatomy and PhysiologyCredits: (5)
- *CHEM 112 - Introduction to Organic ChemistryCredits: (4)
- CHEM 112LAB - Introduction to Organic Chemistry LaboratoryCredits: (1)
- CHEM 113 - Introduction to BiochemistryCredits: (4)
- CHEM 113LAB - Introduction to Biochemistry LaboratoryCredits: (1)
- *PSY 313 - Developmental PsychologyCredits: (4)
- PSY 362 – Introductory Statistics Credits: (5)