Public Health Major (BS)

Description

The undergraduate program in Public Health provides students with an array of health content courses and skills-based methods courses that prepare candidates to work in a variety of settings, including county and state health departments, disease-specific organizations, worksite wellness programs, non-governmental health agencies, and college health promotion programs.

The capstone experience, a 12-credit internship, provides candidates an opportunity to utilize knowledge and skills developed in courses within an established public health organization. Program faculty provide support to candidates in locating internship opportunities that complement career goals and interests.

The Public Health program prepares candidates to sit for the Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) Exam.

Admission to the Program

Any undergraduate student can declare a major within the Department of Public Health & Health Education.

The Public Health & Health Education faculty has a professional responsibility to deny admission or continuation in any of its undergraduate or graduate programs to any student whose level of performance and/or personal characteristics or dispositions do not adequately meet academic, professional, or ethical standards.

Program Requirements

Undergraduate students in this program pursue a Bachelor of Science degree, and must complete its requirements.

Students enrolled in the Public Health program must earn a grade of “C” or higher (a grade of “C-” does not meet this requirement) in each required public health course (PBH courses) and each required course taken outside of the Department of Public Health & Health Education to complete this program. In addition, students must achieve a minimum 2.5 grade point average for all course work completed at Brockport to enroll in PBH 496.

General Education Requirements (31-37 credits)

Major Department Requirements (64-68 credits)

Required Courses Outside of Public Health and Health Education (7-11 credits)

• PSH 110 Principles of Psychology*
• Either:
  • BIO 221 Survey of Anatomy and Physiology*
  OR:
  • BIO 321 Anatomy and Physiology I
  • BIO 322 Anatomy and Physiology II

Students should note that BIO 321 and BIO 322 have prerequisites.

Health-Related Content Courses (12 credits)

Candidates must complete 12 credits of content courses from the following list:

• PBH 235 Zip Codes, Community and Health
• PBH 311 Public Health Nutrition
• PBH 312 Mental Health
• PBH 313 Introduction to Safety
• HCS 409 Introduction to Alcohol & Other Drugs
• PBH 419 Human Sexuality
• PBH 450 Global Health*
  • PBH 488 is a prerequisite or corequisite for PBH 450.
• PES 335 Physiology of Exercise and Sport
  • BIO 221 is a prerequisite for PES 335.

Required Public Health Education Core Courses (45 credits)

• PBH 302 Foundations of Public Health Education
• PBH 303 Environmental Health
• PBH 317 Introduction to Public Health
• PBH 320 Health Behavior Theory
  • PBH 488 and PBH 302 are prerequisites for PBH 320
• PBH 410 Fundamentals of Healthcare and Policy*
• PBH 488 Biostatistics and Epidemiology*
• PBH 495 Health Research
  • PBH 317 and PBH 488 are prerequisites for PBH 495
• PBH 492 Health Communication
  • PBH 302, PBH 317, and PBH 488 are prerequisites. PBH 320 may be taken as a prerequisite or corequisite.
• PBH 460 Leadership in Community Health
  • PBH 302 and PBH 317 are prerequisites
• PBH 493 Program Planning
  • PBH 302, PBH 317, and PBH 488 are prerequisites. PBH 320, PBH 492, and PBH 460 may be taken as prerequisites or corequisites. PBH 493 is taken concurrently with PBH 497.
• PBH 497 Program Evaluation
  • PBH 302, PBH 317 and PBH 488 are prerequisites. PBH 320, PBH 492, and PBH 460 may be taken as prerequisites or corequisites. PBH 497 is taken concurrently with PBH 493 and PBH 498.
• PBH 498 Internship Preparation Workshop (0 credit)
  • PBH 498 is taken concurrently with PBH 493 and PBH 497.
• PBH 496 Practicum in Public Health Education

*denotes courses that meet both major and general education requirements

Electives (14-22 credits)

Total Credits (120 credits)

All Public Health Education requirements must be completed prior to completing PBH 496. Candidates must have a 2.5 Brockport GPA to enroll in PBH 496.

Student Learning Outcomes

The Public Health Education program is aligned with the eight Areas of Responsibility as defined by the National Commission on Health Education Credentialing.

Upon completion of the program, students will be able to:

1. Assess the needs of populations and their organization’s capacity to respond to those needs.
2. Plan appropriate health interventions that are designed to meet the needs of the priority population.
3. implement public health program plans designed to achieve stated outcomes.
4. Conduct research and evaluation to answer programmatic and research questions.
5. Conduct advocacy activities to promote policy, system, and environmental change to benefit their priority population
6. Carry out communication activities to enhance health and associated outcomes.
7. Demonstrate leadership and management behaviors consistent with expectations of the public health profession
8. Demonstrate ethical and professional behavior across all dimensions of academic and professional contexts.