BGSU to offer summer courses relating to COVID-19 pandemic

Students can select from courses focusing on epidemiologic principles, nature of infectious diseases

By Colleen Rerucha '06

Bowling Green State University will offer several public and allied health courses this summer that will focus on the COVID-19 pandemic.

Two new COVID-19 courses will be offered during BGSU's summer 2020 session: Fighting COVID-19 with Public Health; and Food Insecurity and COVID-19. In addition, several courses will address the pandemic, including Epidemiology, Emerging Infectious Diseases and Social Determinants of Health.

“There will be heightened focus on preventing and responding to pandemics once the COVID-19 outbreak subsides,” said Dr. Philip Welch, associate professor and graduate coordinator in the BGSU Department of Public and Allied Health. “Students with an introduction to epidemiology and infectious diseases will be sought after by employers from disparate fields.”

Students will learn facts and tactics to prevent further spread COVID-19 and other infectious diseases of humans and animals, as well as gain skills in maintaining the health of our population by addressing issues like food insecurity and social determinants of health, giving students the opportunity to become leaders in the public health field.

“The knowledge gained will position students to better protect themselves, their family and their community during the next pandemic,” said Welch. “This will almost certainly not be the last pandemic students will live through.”

“A major aspect of public health is preparedness," said Dr. Jim Ciesla, dean of the College of Health and Human Services. "All areas of public health need to quickly respond to and help us recover from health emergencies. This includes us in the academic community. Our public health program is doing just that — meeting an important need and doing it with dispatch. BGSU really is a public university focused on the public good.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has shined a light on the importance of public health.

“Public health's role is always vital to our collective health, locally and nationally — but often overlooked,” Welch said. “During pandemics, the power of public health is on full display. Public health personnel are doing heroic work.”

Both undergraduate and graduate students can register for these courses.

BGSU’s summer session begins May 20. Classes will be offered fully online. Students can choose from the extensive schedule of undergraduate and graduate courses offered in three- to 12-week sessions.

BGSU continues its commitment to putting students first and making education accessible. The University has waived the GRE/GMAT test requirement for all master’s degree and certificate programs for summer and fall 2020. The University is also waiving the $45 application fee for undergraduate and graduate applicants.