Public Health

The Bachelor of Science in Public Health curriculum requires a minimum of 122 semester hours. Of the 122 credit hours required o complete, 78-80 hours comprise the degree program courses. Students choose one of two concentrations made up of 21-22 hours. Students are required to fulfill all BGSU General Education and related undergraduate graduation requirements. 

Environmental Health Concentration

The curriculum follows Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) baccalaureate accreditation criteria for public health programs. The curriculum serves as an outstanding platform to expose students to the concepts necessary for success in the workplace, further education and life-long learning. A required practicum provides students with the opportunity to receive training linked to practice. An important component of public health training is the integration of learning with practical experience. The program will provide students with exposure to local-level public health professionals and/or agencies that engage in public health practice.

Health Promotion Concentration

The concentration in health promotion is the equivalent of a minor in Health Promotion. Health Promotion is a systematic process designed to enable people to increase control over, and improve their health. Interventions facilitate lifestyle changes that enhance awareness, change behavior, and create environments that support good health practices. Health promotion efforts focus on the individual, social, physical, economic, and political factors that affect health, and include such activities as the promotion of physical fitness, healthy living, and good nutrition. Health promotion includes efforts to prevent ill health through risk reduction or early detection, to prevent avoidable complications of an irreversible, manifest disease and to prevent reoccurrence of ill health. In addition to reduction in morbidity and mortality, health promotion seeks to improve the quality of life. 

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the baccalaureate, students in Public Health are expected to:

• Define the role of federal and state regulatory programs, guidelines, and authorities that control public health issues;
• Describe risk factors and modes of transmission for infectious and chronic diseases and how these diseases affect public health;
• Discuss the role of gender, race, ethnicity, and other evolving demographics in public health and disparities in public health;
• Explain the basic general mechanisms of toxicity in eliciting response to various environmental exposures;
• Read and critically analyze scientific and professional articles from the field of public health;
• Demonstrate effective written and oral communication skills in an array of media;
• Describe the role of research, evaluation, and use of data in public health;
• Use analysis methods appropriate for various research objectives;
• Engage in teamwork to apply collaborative, interdisciplinary approaches for improving population health;
• Demonstrate practical skills for anticipating, recognizing and responding to public health emergencies;
• Analyze ethical concerns, conflicts of interest, and alternative viewpoints that arise in the field of public health;
• Describe approaches for assessing, preventing, and controlling hazards that pose risks to human health and safety.

Spring 2022 Course Requirements