Public Health and Wellness Program
PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELLNESS
The Public Health & Wellness major is committed to preparing students to excel in their chosen public health and/or health-related career. Our program cultivates student understanding of health and well-being by delivering innovative instruction that provides them with the knowledge and transferrable skills that are necessary for them to thrive in their careers after graduation. We pride our program on its interdisciplinary approach to health and wellness as our students must master both the natural and social sciences, providing them with a diverse understanding of public health prevention and research. In addition, our students are encouraged to embrace the diversity found in the human mosaic, cultural competence, health equity, and social justice as these are increasingly important in the field of public health and wellness. The student will receive a Bachelor of Science upon completion of this major.
Our program objectives have been adapted from student learning outcomes created by the Association of School and Programs of Public Health.
Program Goals
Our program goals include providing an education that will enable the Public Health & Wellness graduate to:
Articulate the principles of health and wellness from the natural sciences perspective including biological and chemical sciences
Acquire a proficiency in quantitative, informational, media, and technological literacy
Cultivate an aptitude for scientific method and inquiry
Explore the relationship between social justice, human rights, and health.
Increase the capacity to work within teams and dedication to public health leadership.
Learning Objectives
The Public Health & Wellness graduate will be able to:
Describe the interrelationship between natural and social sciences and their combined impact on health and well-being.
Debate the relationship between social justice, human rights, and health.
Discuss political and policy implications of public health.
Articulate health and well-being through scientific and epidemiological language.
Teach individuals, communities, and populations about health and well-being.
The program includes 24 hours of health courses and 15 hours of electives, which are designed to provide the student with the competencies desirable for future employment. Advisors are available.
Prerequisites/Corequisites: | Credits |
|---|---|
BIOL 1075 Anatomy & Physiology I | 3 |
BIOL 1085 Anatomy & Physiology II | 3 |
BIOL 1175 Anatomy & Physiology I Lab | 1 |
BIOL 1185 Anatomy & Physiology II Lab | 1 |
CHEM 1001 Chemical Concepts* | 3 |
CHEM 1002 Chemical Concepts Lab* | 1 |
HW 1000 Personal Health | 3 |
MATH 1150 Statistics I | 3 |
* May be taken pass/fail | |
| 18 |
Requirements for Public Health & Wellness Major:
Students must complete the 30 credits in this major. An additional 15 elective credits must be completed; these will be selected in conjunction with an advisor to prepare the student for his/her area of interest.
Major Requirements: | Credits |
|---|---|
HW 1001 Principles of Public Health & Wellness | 3 |
HW 2000 Foundations of Community Health | 3 |
HW 2010 Health Behavior, Education, and Promotion | 3 |
HW 2200 Social Determinants | 3 |
HW 2500 Global Health | 3 |
HW 3005 Public Health Advocacy and Policy | 3 |
HW 3000 Introduction to Epidemiology | 3 |
HW 3010 Senior Seminar in Health & Wellness | 3 |
| 24 |
Requirements in Related Areas: | |
MATH 2150 Statistics II | 3 |
| 3 |
Electives: 15 credits from the following courses:
Students can take no more than six (6) credit hours of these electives from one area. For example, a student cannot take all fifteen credit hours from the Biology category. Rather, they may take up to six (6) credits in Biology to fulfill this requirement. Classes taken as an elective may not also count toward any minor. Upon approval of the coordinator, and instructor, students may use a course that is not listed in this catalog.
| Credits |
|---|---|
Black Studies | |
BLKS 2012 Race and Religion in America | 3 |
BLKS 2330 Black History | 3 |
BLKS 3050 Race, Class, Gender, and Health | 3 |
Biology | |
BIOL 2010 Microbiology | 4 |
BIOL 2030 Human Disease | 3 |
BIOL 2060 Introduction to Exercise Physiology | 3 |
BIOL 2120 Biology of the Mind | 3 |
BIOL 2450 Human Sexuality | 3 |
BIOL 2520 Nutrition | 3 |
Business Administration | |
BUS 2263 Health Care Law | 3 |
BUS 2410 Sports and Recreation Management | 3 |
Communication | |
COM 2020 Intercultural Communication | 3 |
COM 2150 Health Communication | 3 |
Health and Wellness | |
HW 1500 Stress Reduction Based on Mindfulness | 3 |
HW 2150 Introduction to Holistic Health | 3 |
HW 2520 Nutrition | 3 |
HW 3020 Current issues in Health & Wellness | 3 |
HW 3030 Introduction to Public Health | 3 |
HW 3050 Race, Class, and Gender | 3 |
Criminal Justice | |
CJ 2120 Social Justice and Incarceration | 3 |
CJ 2402 Domestic Violence: Family and Intimate Partner Violence | 3 |
CJ 3404 Sociology of Violence | 3 |
Education | |
ED 2161 Educational Psychology | 3 |
Nursing | |
NSG 2200 Pathophysiology | 3 |
NSG 2500 Pharmacology | 3 |
NSG 3067 Population Health | 4 |
NSG 3068 Mental Health Nursing | 4 |
NSG 3470 Health Policy Finance | 3 |
Philosophy and Religious Studies | |
PRS 2410 Environmental Ethics | 3 |
PRS 2541 Race and Religion in America | 3 |
Psychology | |
PSY 2060 Aging and the Life Cycle | 3 |
PSY 2070 Motivation | 3 |
PSY 2100 Adolescent Psychology | 3 |
PSY 2106 Psychology of Women | 3 |
PSY 2125 Substance Use Counseling | 3 |
PSY 2200 Behavior Disorders in Children | 3 |
PSY 2220 Death, Dying and Bereavement | 3 |
PSY 2330 Drugs and Behavior | 3 |
PSY 2400 Human Development | 3 |
PSY 2450 Human Sexuality | 3 |
PSY 2500 Behavior Change: Theory and Practice | 3 |
PSY 2800 Social Psychology | 3 |
PSY 3100 Psychology of Learning | 3 |
PSY 3120 Counseling Theory | 3 |
PSY 3130 Brain and Behavior | 3 |
PSY 3350 Health Psychology | 3 |
Sociology | |
SOC 2060 Aging and the Life Cycle | 3 |
SOC 2220 Death, Dying and Bereavement | 3 |
SOC 2310 Intro to Social Work Practice | 3 |
SOC 2402 Domestic Violence: Family and Intimate Partner Violence | 3 |
SOC 2410 Working with Individuals | 3 |
SOC 2420 Working with Groups | 3 |
SOC 2452 Sex & Gender | 3 |
SOC 2650 Sociology of Health and Health Care | 3 |
SOC 2660 Sociology of Women | 3 |
SOC 3390 Crisis Intervention | 3 |
SOC 3404 Sociology of Violence | 3 |
SOC 3610 Communities | 3 |
The following policies apply to students in the Public Health & Wellness program:
Must maintain a minimum of 2.75 cumulative overall average or risk dismissal from the program.
Students entering the program in junior or senior year are ultimately responsible for ensuring that they will be able to graduate in a timely manner.
Students discovered to have been in violation of program academic honesty policies may risk being dismissed from the program.
Public Health & Wellness Minor
The Public Health and Wellness (PHW) Minor aims to enable students from a broad variety of educational backgrounds to apply the art and science of public health alongside the ideas and practices of their major. Since PHW is a broad, interdisciplinary, and applied field, there are often professionals with expertise in the Sciences, Education, Nursing, Communications, Criminal Justice, Sociology, Psychology, Business, Environmental Science, and more working together to approach and solve community health issues. Minoring in PHW encourages students to embrace the interconnectedness of many fields of study all with the goal of improving health for all.
Learning Objectives
1. Describe the interrelationship between natural and social sciences and their combined impact on health and well-being.
2. Debate the relationship between social justice, human rights, and health.
3. Discuss political and policy implications of public health.
4. Articulate health and well-being through scientific and epidemiological language.
5. Teach individuals, communities, and populations about health and well-being.
Requirements for Public Health & Wellness Minor:
Students must complete 15 credits in this minor. Three courses (9 credits) are required. Two additional courses (6 credits) will be chosen from several options to prepare the student for their area of interest. One of the additional courses must be at the 2000-level and one of the additional courses must be at the 3000-level.
MINOR Requirements: | Credits |
|---|---|
HW 1001 Principles of Public Health & Wellness | 3 |
HW 2000 Foundations of Community Health | 3 |
HW 2010 Health Behavior, Education, and Promotion | 3 |
Additional 2000-level course (choose one): | Credits |
|---|---|
HW 2200 Social Determinants | 3 |
HW 2300 Environmental Health | 3 |
HW 2500 Global Health | 3 |
HW 2520 Nutrition | 3 |
Additional 3000-level course (choose one): | |
HW 3000 Introduction to Epidemiology | 3 |
HW 3005 Public Health Advocacy and Policy | 3 |
HW 3050 Race, Class, Gender and Health | 3 |
15 | |