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The Major
The Public Health Sciences major provides students with a comprehensive education that integrates the Natural Sciences and Social Sciences with core areas of study in Public Health, including Community Health Education, Health Policy and Management, Environmental Health Sciences, Epidemiology, and Biostatistics. This interdisciplinary approach provides students with the knowledge and skills to understand and address the complex factors that influence health at individual, community, and population levels.
The flexible structure of the major allows students to explore diverse topics within public health while developing critical thinking, data analysis, collaboration, and communication skills, all of which are essential tools for addressing today’s pressing health challenges and preparing for further study or careers in public health and related fields.
Requirements
- Mathematics or Statistics course: MATH 121 or higher or one of the following statistics courses—PSYCH 240, RES-ECON 212, STATISTC 111 or 240.
- Natural and Social Sciences courses:
- At least three Natural Sceinces courses (9 credits) from the following or equivalent courses or equivalent courses approved by the student’s academic advisor:
Category 1: Must complete at least 1 course from this list
BIOLOGY 106 (BS) - Human Biology
BIOLOGY 110 (BS) - Intro Bio for Science Majors
BIOLOGY 151 (BS) - Introduction to Biology I
BIOLOGY 152 (BS) - Introduction to Biology II
BIOCHEM 100 - My DNA
KIN 100 (BS) - Introduction to Kinesiology
KIN 110 (BS) - Human Performance & Nutrition
KIN 270 - Anatomy & Physiology I with lab
KIN 272 - Anatomy & Physiology II with lab
MICROBIO 140P (BS) - Plagues, Poxes and Pandemics
MICROBIO 160 (BS) - Biology of Cancer and AIDS
MICROBIO 255 (BS) - Intro to Medical Microbiology
Category 2: Must complete at least 1 course from this list
CHEM 111 (PS) - Gen Chem-Sci I
CHEM 112 (PS) - Gen Chem-Sci II
ENVISCI 101 - Introduction to Environmental Science
ENVISCI 214 - Ecosystems, Biodiversity & Global Change
GEOGRAPH 110 (PS) - Global Environment Change
NRC 100 (SI) - Environment and Society
NUTR 130 (BS) - Nutrition for a Healthy Lifestyle
NUTR 140 (BS) - Nutrition, Weight and Fitness
PHYSICS 131 (PS) - Intro to Physics I with lab
PHYSICS 132 (PS) - Intro to Physics II with lab
- At least three Social Sciences courses (9 credits) from the following or equivalent courses approved by the student’s academic advisor:
Category 3: Must complete at least 1 course from this list
AFROAM 161 (SB/DU) - Intro to AfroAm
Political Science/AFROAM 235 - Black Sociological/Philosophical Thought
AFROAM 236 (HS/DU) - History of the Civil Rights Movement
AFROAM 290G - Intro to Global Black Studies
HISTORY 112 - Introduction to World Religions
HISTORY 120 (HS/DG) - Latin America: The Colonial Period
HISTORY 170 (HS/DU) - Indigenous Peoples of North America
PHIL 100 (AL) - Intro to Philosophy
PHIL 160 (SB) - Intro to Ethics
PHIL 164 (SB) - Medical Ethics
PHIL 170 (SB) - Problems in Social Thought
WGSS 187 (I, U) - Gender, Sexuality and Culture
WGSS 201 - Gender and Difference: Critical Analyses
WGSS 205 - Feminist Health Politics
WGSS 285 (SI, U) - Intro to the Biology of Difference
WGSS 286 (HS, DU) - History of Sexuality and Race in the US
WGSS 230 - Politics of Reproduction
Category 4: Must complete at least 1 course from this list
ANTHRO 104 (SB, DG) - Culture, Society and People
ANTHRO 205 (SB, DU) - Inequality and Oppression
ANTHRO 208 (DG, SB) - Human Ecology
ANTHRO 233 - Kinship and Social Organization
ANTHRO 312 - Medical Anthropology
COMM 226 - Social Impact of Mass Media
COMM 288 - Gender, Sex & Representation
ECON 103 (SB) - Introduction to Microeconomics
ECON 104 (SB) - Introduction to Macroeconomics
ECON 105 (SB, DU) - Introduction to Political Economy
ECON 203 - Intermediate Microeconomics Theory
ECON 204 - Intermediate Macroeconomics Theory
ECON 308 - Political Economics of the Environment
EDUC 202 (SB, DU) - Social Issues in Intergroup Dialogue
EDUC 210 (I, DU) - Social Diversity in Education
EDUC 229 (SB, DG) - International Education
GEOGRAPHY 102 - Human Landscape
HUMANDEV 270 (SB) Child Development
LABOR 240 (SB) - Labor and the Global Economy
NURSING 210 - Human Growth & Development from a Lifespan Perspective
POLISCI 101 (SB) - American politics
POLISCI 111 (SB, DG) - Comparative Politics
POLISCI 171 (SB) - Introduction to Political Theory
POLISCI 181 (SB, DU) - Controversies in Public Policy
POLISCI 203 (HS) - American Political Thought
POLISCI 252 (SB, DG) - Globalization, Governance & World Order
POLISCI 280 (SB) - Public Policy
POLISCI 317 - Massachusetts Politics
PSYCH 100 (SB) - Introduction Psychology
PSYCH 305/EDUC 305 - Educational Psychology
PSYCH 350 - Developmental Psychology
PSYCH 355 - Adolescent Psychology
PSYCH 360 (SB) - Social Psychology
PSYCH 365 - Psychology of Aging
PSYCH 380 - Adult Psychopathology
RES-ECON 102 (SB) - Intro to Resource Economics
RES-ECON 121 (SB, DG) - Hunger in a Global Economy
SOCIOL 103 (SB, DU) - Social Problems
SOCIOL 105 (SB, DU) - Self, Society & Interrelations
SOCIOL 106 (SB, DU) - Race, Sex, & Social Class
SOCIOL 107 (SB, DU) - Contemporary American Society
SOCIOL 110 (SB, DU) - General Introduction Sociology
SOCIOL 220 - Sociology of American Culture
SOCIOL 222 (SB, DU) - The Family
SOCIOL 224 (SB, DU) - Social, Class, and Inequality
SOCIOL 244 (SB, DU) - Sociology of Immigration
SOCIOL 261 (R2) - Population Studies
SRVCLRNG 293 (SB, DU) - Learning Through Community Engagement
- At least 35 credits are required:
- The following courses are required:
SPHHS 150: Great Challenges in Public Health and Health Sciences
PUBHLTH 129: Healthcare for All
PUBHLTH 301: Principles of Community Health Education
PUBHLTH 203: Introduction to Environmental Health Sciences
PUBHLTH 223: Introduction to Biostatistics for Public Health
PUBHLTH 224: Epidemiology in Public Health
PUBHLTH 323: Public Health Communications (Junior Year Writing requirement)
PUBHLTH 494CI: Public Health Sciences Capstone
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An additional 9 credits in Public Health at the 300-599 level:
- Take nine credits of PUBHLTH courses numbered 300-599.
- No more than three credits total of Independent Study (PUBHLTH 396) and Internship (PUBHLTH 398) can be used to fulfill this requirement.
- An additional 12 credits towards the Public Health Focus Area:
- The focus area allows students to explore areas of particular interest and relevance to public health, drawing connections between disciplines.
- At least 12 credits are required from courses at the 300 level or above. Material covered in focus area courses must be relevant to the study of public health. Up to 6 total credits of internship, independent study, practicum, or service learning experience may be used towards the Focus Area.
- Pre-approval from an advisor is required before courses are counted toward the focus area requirement. Details for this requirement are posted on the focus area page of the PHS website.
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