Public Health, Bachelor of Science (521P, 521)
- Undergraduate
- Bachelor of Science
- Health and Human Services
- Public Health
Overview
The Bachelor of Science in Public Health is accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH). Graduates are prepared to use their skills in a variety of government agencies, hospitals and other facilities of the health care system, community mental health agencies, employee health programs in business and industry, student health services on college campuses, and many non-profit health agencies and communities. Many students choose to pursue advanced degrees in public health, and this is strongly encouraged.
Program Requirements (70 hours)
A baccalaureate degree requires a minimum of 120 unduplicated semester hours. More information can be found at www.wku.edu/registrar/degree_certification.php.
Students who began WKU in the Fall 2014 and thereafter should review the Colonnade requirements located at: https://www.wku.edu/colonnade/colonnaderequirements.php.
The program in public health consists of a core of 30 credit hours of coursework, 28 credit hours of other required courses, and 12 hours of electives for a total of 70 hours in the major.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Core Courses | ||
| PH 261 | Foundations of Public Health Education | 3 |
| PH 381 | Public and Community Health | 3 |
| PH 384 | Introduction to Epidemiology | 3 |
| PH 385 | Environmental Health | 3 |
| PH 410 | Global Perspectives on Population Health | 3 |
| PH 412 | Health Disparities and Health Equity | 3 |
| PH 484 | Community Organization for Health Education | 3 |
| PH 485 | Fundamentals of Public Health Planning | 3 |
| PH 488 | Public Health Senior Seminar | 3 |
| PH 490 | Internship | 3 |
| Total Hours | 30 | |
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Additional Required Courses | ||
| BIOL 131 | Human Anatomy and Physiology | 4 |
| BIOL 207 & BIOL 208 | General Microbiology and General Microbiology Laboratory | 4 |
| CHEM 109 | Chemistry for the Health Sciences | 4 |
| MATH 109 | General Mathematics | 3 |
| or MATH 115 | Applied College Algebra | |
| or higher level math course | ||
| PH 100 | Personal & Public Health | 3 |
| PH 383 | Biostatistics in the Health Sciences | 3 |
| SFTY 171 | Safety and First Aid | 1 |
| COMM 145 | Fundamentals of Public Speaking and Communication | 3 |
| Select one of the following courses: | 3 | |
PSY/PSYS 100 | Introduction to Psychology | |
PSY/PSYS 220 | Introduction to Lifespan Developmental Psychology | |
SOCL 100 | Introductory Sociology | |
| Total Hours | 28 | |
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Electives | ||
| Select 12 hours of the following courses: 1 | 12 | |
BIOL 315 | Ecology | |
CHEM 330 | Quantitative Analysis | |
ENV 280 | Introduction to Environmental Science | |
ENV 321 | Fundamentals of Industrial Hygiene | |
ENV 323 | Fundamentals of Industrial Hygiene Laboratory | |
ENV 360 | Air Pollution Control | |
ENV 365 | Air Pollution Control Laboratory | |
ENV 375 | Introduction to Water Resources | |
ENV 380 | Principles of Environmental Toxicology | |
ENV 410 | Water Treatment Processes | |
ENV 411 | Water Treatment Processes Laboratory | |
ENV 430 | Radiological Health | |
ENV 460 | Environmental Management | |
ENV 474 | Environmental Risk Assessment | |
ENV 480 | Hazardous and Solid Waste Management | |
ENV 490 | Food Safety | |
GEOG 310 | Global Hydrology | |
AH/HIM 290 | Medical Terminology | |
SFTY 270 | General Safety | |
HMD 211 | Human Nutrition | |
HCA 340 | Health Care Organization and Management | |
HCA 347 | International Comparisons of Health Care Systems | |
HCA 459 | Global Health Service-Learning Practicum | |
LEAD 200 | Introduction to Leadership Studies | |
LEAD 300 | Leadership Theory and Application | |
LEAD 325 | Leading Change | |
LEAD 330 | Leadership Ethics and Decision-Making | |
PH 365 | Human Sexuality | |
PH 382 | Peer Health Education | |
PH 390 | Wellness and Fitness Assessment | |
ENV 402 | Worksite Health Promotion | |
PH 443 | Health and Aging | |
PH 444 | Death, Dying and Bereavement | |
PH 447 | Human Values and the Health Sciences | |
PH 456 | Independent Study in Health and Safety | |
PH 464 | Women’s Health | |
PH 467 | Drug Abuse Education | |
PH 468 | Sexuality Education | |
PH 483 | Administration of Public Health Programs | |
PS 338 | Government and Ethics | |
SOCL 250 | Systems of Social Inequality | |
SOCL 260 | Race and Ethnic Relations | |
SOCL 360 | The Community in Rural and Urban Settings | |
SOCL 362 | Social Institutions: Race, Class, and Gender | |
SOCL 375 | Diversity in American Society | |
SOCL 376 | Sociology of Globalization | |
STAT 330 | Introduction to Statistical Software | |
SWRK 101 | Foundations of Human Services | |
| Total Hours | 12 | |
- 1
Six of these hours must be upper division.
Requirements for Admission to Public Health (reference number 521)
30 hours including the following courses with an overall GPA of 2.3 or better:
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| BIOL 131 | Human Anatomy and Physiology | 4 |
| CHEM 109 | Chemistry for the Health Sciences | 4 |
| COMM 145 | Fundamentals of Public Speaking and Communication | 3 |
| PH 100 | Personal & Public Health | 3 |
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
PSY/PSYS 100 | Introduction to Psychology | |
PSY/PSYS 220 | Introduction to Lifespan Developmental Psychology | |
SOCL 100 | Introductory Sociology | |
| Select 13 additional hours | 13 | |
| Total Hours | 30 | |
Finish in Four Plans
Finish in Four Plan
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| PH 100 | 3 | PSY 100, PSYS 100, PSY 220, PSYS 220, or SOCL 100 | 3 |
| PH 261 | 3 | COMM 145 | 3 |
| ENG 100 | 3 | MATH 109 or MATH 115 | 3 |
| BIOL 131 | 4 | CHEM 109 | 4 |
| Colonnade: Arts & Humanities | 3 | ENG 200 | 3 |
| 16 | 16 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| PH 381 | 3 | PH 383 | 3 |
| BIOL 207 & BIOL 208 | 4 | Connections - Local to Global | 3 |
| HIST 101 or HIST 102 | 3 | SFTY 171 | 1 |
| Connections - Social and Cultural | 3 | General Elective (CIS 141 suggested) | 3 |
| World Language or General Elective | 3 | PH Elective (See advisor) | 3 |
| Elective | 3 | ||
| 16 | 16 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| ENG 300 | 3 | PH 384 | 3 |
| PH 410 | 3 | PH 484 | 3 |
| PH 385 | 3 | PH Elective (see advisor) | 3 |
| PH Elective (see advisor) | 3 | Elective | 3 |
| Elective | 3 | Elective | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| PH 412 | 3 | PH 490 | 3 |
| PH 485 | 3 | PH 488 | 3 |
| PH Elective | 3 | PH Elective (see advisor) | 3 |
| Connections - Systems | 3 | Elective | 3 |
| Elective | 2 | ||
| 14 | 12 | ||
| Total Hours 120 | |||