Public Health, Minor
Public Health Program
The goal of Public Health is to protect, preserve, and promote the health of communities and populations. Public Health problems can best be solved through a full understanding of the complex relationships between disease processes and the social determinants of health, and such an understanding depends on concepts and skills drawn from many different liberal arts disciplines.
The Public Health Minor includes a number of different tracks from which students can choose. The Public Health Fundamentals track provides a broad based introduction to Public Health issues and core areas, and is well suited for students with a general interest in Public Health, or for students who intend to pursue post-graduate work in a health-related field. Additional tracks provide options for students who wish to do more targeted exploration within Public Health’s core areas, or at the intersection of Public Health with related disciplines. These tracks include:
- Global Health;
- The Environment & Public Health;
- Health, Wellness, & Society;
- Data & Public Health; and
- Health Equity & Justice.
Descriptions of tracks are below.
All Public Health Minor tracks include required courses in Public Health and Epidemiology. In these courses, students explore the ways social, political and economic forces influence the health of populations, and develop skills that facilitate analysis of disease distribution in populations. All students also complete a culminating seminar, and participate in an experiential learning activity. The experiential learning activity must be approved by a Public Health Minor coordinator.
Public Health Minor tracks:
Public Health Fundamentals
This track provides a broad-based foundation in the core areas of Public Health and the disciplines that inform it. This track is well suited for students who wish to complement their major course of study with a comprehensive introduction to the theories, tools, and concepts of Public Health.
Global Health
The coursework in this track introduces students to international health and development issues through a Public Health lens. Students will investigate the social, economic, political, and environmental determinants of global health inequity, and the programs and policies used to address it.
The Environment & Public Health
This track supports the exploration of environmental issues as they relate to human health and disease, with an emphasis on Environmental Health and climate change. Students have the opportunity to blend foundational courses in Public Health with courses related to environmental policy, ethics, and science.
Health, Wellness, & Society
This track emphasizes the multidimensional nature of health, with a focus on the social, cultural, and behavioral determinants of human health. Students will explore personal and community-based practices that promote health, and the theoretical underpinnings of these practices.
Data & Public Health
This track introduces students to the foundations of Public Health and Data Science, and is appropriate for students interested in the intersection of health, computing, and statistics (the three pillars of Health Data Science, a growing field).
Health Equity & Justice
This track introduces students to issues in health equity and health opportunity. Students will learn about the intersectionality of health with wealth, race/ ethnicity, gender, disability, and other axes of identity. Elective courses will provide additional foundation in these critical social issues.
Declaration Process
To declare the Public Health Minor, students will meet with one of the coordinators to discuss the track requirements, and to complete a declaration form. The declaration form will require students to specify which track they will complete. Students are encouraged to declare this minor as early as possible, to ensure they complete all requirements in sequence.
The Public Health minor has 6 tracks from which to choose:
- Public Health Fundamentals (22 Credits)
- Global Health (19 Credits)
- The Environment and Public Health (19 Credits)
- Health, Wellness, and Society (20 Credits)
- Data and Public Health (19 Credits)
- Health Equity and Justice (19 Credits)
All Tracks Include
Core Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| PBHL 101 | Intro to Public Health | 3 |
| PBHL 201 | Foundations of Epidemiology | 3 |
Experiential Learning & Culminating Experience
- ELA-Experiential Learning Activity - To fulfill this non-credit bearing requirement , students must complete 30 hours (minimum) of a hands-on experience related to Public Health, as verified by a site supervisor. Students need to receive approval from Minor coordinators before the experience. Eligible experiential activities include Public Health-related research with faculty members, volunteer projects on or off campus, internships, service trips, study abroad or study away experiences, or course-based experiential learning. An approved ELA must be completed for students to receive Instructor Permission to register for PBHL 400 Public Health Minor Seminar.
- PBHL 400 Public Health Minor Seminar (1) This seminar will serve as a culminating experience for the Public Health Minor, and an opportunity for students from different tracks to collaborate. In the seminar, students from different tracks will engage in class discussions and written assignments to integrate content from coursework and the ELA, and to juxtapose it within Public Health research and practice.
To register for PBHL 400 Public Health Minor Seminar, students must have completed core and track requirements and an approved ELA. They may have a maximum of 6 credits of elective requirements remaining.
Public Health Minor Tracks
Public Health Foundations
This group of courses provides a broad-based foundation in the core areas of Public Health and the disciplines that inform it. This track is well suited for students who wish to complement their major course of study with a comprehensive introduction to the theories, tools, and concepts of Public Health.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Public Health Foundations Track Requirements | ||
| Select two of the following: | 6-7 | |
| Disease, Biomedicine, and Biomedical Research | ||
| First-Year Seminar (Emerging Diseases) | ||
| Global Health | ||
| Health Policy | ||
| Environmental Issues in Public Health | ||
| Statistics Electives | ||
| Select one of the following: | 3-4 | |
| Intro to Biostatistics | ||
| Principles and Methods of Statistics | ||
| Statistical and Data Analysis in Health Sciences | ||
| Elementary Probability and Statistics | ||
| Probability and Statistics for Scientists | ||
| Elementary Statistics | ||
| Quant Research Methods | ||
| Social and Behavioral Aspects of Health Electives | ||
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| The Social and Behavioral Sciences in Health | ||
| Medical Sociology | ||
| Sociology of Aging | ||
| Ethics and Health Electives | ||
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| Ethics | ||
| Biomedical Ethics | ||
| Neuroscience and Ethics | ||
| Illness and Religion | ||
| Total Hours | 15-17 | |
Global Health
The coursework in this track introduces students to international health and development issues from a Public Health lens. Students will investigate the social, economic, political, and environmental determinants of global health inequity, and the programs and policies used to address it.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Global Health Track Requirements | ||
| PBHL 212 | Global Health | 3 |
| Global Health Track Electives | ||
| Select nine credits from the following with no more than 6 credits may be taken in a single department: | 9 | |
| Culture and Cuisine: The Anthropology of Food | ||
or SOCL 340 | Special Topics in Sociology | |
| Disease, Biomedicine, and Biomedical Research | ||
| Globalization and Education | ||
| Birth, Sex, Death: Population and Society | ||
| Media and Society | ||
| Total Hours | 12 | |
The Environment & Public Health
This group of courses supports the exploration of environmental issues as they relate to human health and disease, with an emphasis on Environmental Health and climate change. Students have the opportunity to blend foundational courses in Public Health with courses related to environmental policy, ethics, and science.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| The Environment & Public Health Track Requirements | ||
| GEOL 212 | Global Climate Change | 3 |
| PBHL 325 | Environmental Issues in Public Health | 3 |
| The Environment & Public Health Track Electives | ||
| Select six credits from the following: | 6 | |
| Topics in American Culture | ||
| Conservation Biology | ||
| First-Year Seminar | ||
| Environmental and Natural Resource Economics | ||
| Environmental Topics | ||
| Environmental Topics (Campus Park Rx ) | ||
| Environmental Topics (Re-wilding ) | ||
| Seminar Topics in Environmental Science and Policy (Landscapes of Disease) | ||
| Earth's Environmental Systems: Physical Geography | ||
| Environmental Geology | ||
| Environmental Geochemistry | ||
| Environmental Sociology | ||
or SOCI 433 | Energy, Environment, and Development | |
| Total Hours | 12 | |
Health, Wellness, and Society
This track emphasizes the multidimensional nature of health, with a focus on the social, cultural, and behavioral determinants of human health. Students will explore personal and community-based practices that promote health, and the theoretical underpinnings of these practices.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Health, Wellness, & Society Track Requirements | ||
| INTR 110 | Wellness Applications | 1 |
| PBHL 350 | The Social and Behavioral Sciences in Health | 3 |
| Psychological and Behavioral Determinants of Health | ||
| Select one of the following: | 3-4 | |
| First-Year Seminar | ||
| Environmental Topics | ||
| Psychopathology | ||
| Health Psychology | ||
| Critical Questions in Religious Studies | ||
| Buddhism and Science | ||
| Social and Cultural Determinants of Health | ||
| Select two of the following: | 6 | |
| Community Psychology and Prevention | ||
| Political Ecology of Health & Disease | ||
| Sociology of Mental Illness | ||
| Health in DC | ||
| Total Hours | 13-14 | |
Data and Public Health
This track introduces students to the foundations of Public Health and Data Science, and is appropriate for students interested in the intersection of health, computing, and statistics (the three pillars of Health Data Science, a growing field).
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Data & Public Health Track Requirements | ||
| DATA 201 | Introduction to Data Science & AI | 3 |
| CSCI 146 | Reasoning Under Uncertainty | 3 |
| Data & Public Health Track Electives | ||
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| Disease, Biomedicine, and Biomedical Research | ||
| Global Health | ||
| Health Policy | ||
| Environmental Issues in Public Health | ||
| The Social and Behavioral Sciences in Health | ||
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| Introduction to Quantitative Biology | ||
| Intro to Biostatistics | ||
| Healthcare Informatics | ||
| Economics of Health and Health Care | ||
| Introduction to Geographic Information Systems and Spatial Analysis | ||
| Probability and Statistics for Scientists | ||
| Advanced Topics in Public Health (Methods in Health Development) | ||
| Total Hours | 12 | |
Health Equity and Justice
The coursework in this track introduces students to issues in health equity and health opportunity. Students will learn about the intersectionality of health with wealth, race/ ethnicity, gender, disability, and other axes of identity. Elective courses will provide additional foundation in these critical social issues.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Health Equity & Justice Track Requirements | ||
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
| The Social and Behavioral Sciences in Health | ||
| Health in DC | ||
| Families and Kinship | ||
| Health Equity & Justice Track Electives | ||
| Select three courses, with no more than 6 credits from a single department: | 9 | |
| Introduction to Africana Studies | ||
or SOCI 415 | Sociology of Sexualities | |
or GSWS 290 | Topics in Gender, Sexuality, & Women's Studies | |
| Institutions and Inequality | ||
| Immigration, Assimilation and Ethnicity | ||
| Total Hours | 12 | |