Public Health, BA

Program Description

The Department of Biological Sciences will offer a program leading to a Bachelor of Art (BA) degree in public health. The curriculum offers students a broad, integrated, and intentional education in science while also incorporating a well-rounded approach to develop knowledge, skills and abilities beyond a traditional life science experience. This curriculum fosters critical thinking and scientific reasoning while expanding learning to develop other skills crucial for today's public health expert. Such skills will include scientific and technical writing, effective communication, leadership skills, community engagement, and a focus on community health. This program uniquely emphasizes scholastic coursework relevant to the scientist preparing to work in the diverse and dynamic field of public health.

The program's coursework focuses on foundational life science topics pertinent to public health including health and disease, food and nutrition, cells and genes, organisms and ecosystems, ecology and evolution, anatomy and physiology, and epidemiology and community health. It is supplemented with education in chemistry, statistics, psychology, and advanced coursework as well as professional development with the opportunity to work in the field of public health in a required on-site internship. This program will ensure that students are competitively prepared for careers in a variety of fields, including, but not limited to: public health, scientific research, medicine, education, public policy, nonprofit community organizations, city, county, state or other governmental departments or agencies, scientific writing, and law.

Admission Requirements

Direct admission into the Public Health degree program are in alignment with the Wright State University College of Science and Mathematics criteria, including: a high school GPA of 3.0 or higher, an ACT Math score minimum of 22 or 520 on the SAT, and an ACT English score minimum of 23 or 530 on the SAT.

Public Health degree program requirements: completed at least 15 semester hours with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.00, and earned a grade of “C” or higher in one of the following courses: BIO 1050, BIO 1070, BIO 1080, BIO 1120, BIO 1150, CHM 1010, CHM 1020, or CHM 1210.

Program Learning Outcomes

The objectives of the Public Health degree center around programmatic learning goals and core skills that not only provide an in-depth science education but aid students in developing skills necessary for future careers. These include:

Students will be able to differentiate and define of structures and objectives of public health, including the history and philosophy of public health, key achievements, and explain the organization of the U.S. public health system and across the globe.
Students will demonstrate comprehension of a foundational science education including epidemiology, health and disease, social and behavioral sciences, biological and life sciences, anatomy and physiology, chemistry, statistics, and scientific writing.
Students will demonstrate comprehension of community health, humanities, ethics, leadership, and effective health communication.
Students will apply leadership, communication skills, and community and public health knowledge through experiential learning activities including internships, service-learning projects, capstone senior seminars, research papers, honors theses, or other scholarly, cumulative, and integrative applied experiences to support academic and career goals.
Students will design an academic plan for graduation and identify, write, and describe a plan for professional success in their career path.
Students will demonstrate effective oral and written communication skills and relate public health information to diverse audiences.
Students will apply critical thinking through independent learning and collaborations with colleagues, peers, and community members and identify, evaluate, and synthesize public health information.

For more information:

Program Requirements:

I. Wright State Core: 42 Hours

Element 1: Communication: 6 Hours

Element 2: Mathematics: 4 Hours

Required:

STT 2640 - Elementary Statistics Credit Hour(s): 4
or
STT 1600 - Statistical Concepts Credit Hour(s): 4

Element 3: Global Traditions: 6 Hours

Required:

PPH 2000 - Global Health Credit Hour(s): 3

Element 4: Arts and Humanities: 3 Hours

Element 5: Social Sciences: 7 Hours

Required:

PSY 1010 - Introduction to Psychology Credit Hour(s): 4

Element 6: Natural Sciences: 8 Hours

Required:

BIO 1050 - Biology of Food Credit Hour(s): 4
BIO 1070 - Health and Disease Credit Hour(s): 4

Additional Core Courses: 8 Hours

Required:

BIO 1120 - Cells and Genes Credit Hour(s): 4
BIO 1150 - Organisms and Ecosystems Credit Hour(s): 4

II. Departmental Core Requirements: 4 Hours

BIO 1080 - Introduction to Public Health Credit Hour(s): 3
BIO 2100 - Orientation Seminar in Biological Sciences Credit Hour(s): 1

III. Electives: 26 Hours

Select 26 hours from below or department approved substitution. Only 10 hours from the same department may apply. Only one course in ethics may apply (BIO 3700 , PHL 3780 , URS 3300 ).

BIO 1010 - Medical Terminology Credit Hour(s): 3
BIO 2110 - Principles of Molecular and Classical Genetics Credit Hour(s): 3
BIO 2120 - Cell Biology Credit Hour(s): 3
BIO 2200 - Microbiology and the Human Environment Credit Hour(s): 4
BIO 2200L - Microbiology of the Human Environment Laboratory Credit Hour(s): 0
BIO 2310 - Evolution and Ecology Credit Hour(s): 4
BIO 2310L - Evolution and Ecology Laboratory Credit Hour(s): 0
BIO 3100 - Clinical Microbiology Credit Hour(s): 3
BIO 3110 - Clinical Microbiology Lab Credit Hour(s): 2
BIO 3140 - Molecular Biology Laboratory Credit Hour(s): 3.5
BIO 3530 - Exercise Physiology Credit Hour(s): 4
BIO 3530L - Exercise Physiology Laboratory Credit Hour(s): 0
BIO 3700 - Bioethics Credit Hour(s): 3
BIO 4020 - Current Literature in Biology Credit Hour(s): 3
BIO 4080 - Writing in the Biological Sciences Credit Hour(s): 3
BIO 4600 - Population Genetics Credit Hour(s): 4
BIO 4600L - Population Genetics Laboratory Credit Hour(s): 0
BIO 4660 - Internship in Applied Physiology Credit Hour(s): 1 to 6
BIO 4760 - Human Parasitology and Mycology Credit Hour(s): 3
ANT 4340 - Biological Safety Credit Hour(s): 2
BMB 2500 - Human Nutrition Credit Hour(s): 3
BMB 4001 - Fundamentals of Biochemistry Credit Hour(s): 3
PSY 2910 - Drugs and Behavior Credit Hour(s): 3
PSY 3090 - Psychology of Health Behavior Credit Hour(s): 3
PSY 3110 - Abnormal Psychology Credit Hour(s): 3
PSY 3910 - Behavioral Neuroscience I Credit Hour(s): 3
PSY 3920 - Behavioral Neuroscience II Credit Hour(s): 3
EES 3620 - General Environmental Health Credit Hour(s): 3
EES 4560 - Groundwater Contamination Credit Hour(s): 3
EES 4570 - Site Remediation and Management Credit Hour(s): 3
EES 4620 - Environmental Toxicology Credit Hour(s): 3
EES 4640 - Risk Assessment and Communication Credit Hour(s): 3
EES 4660 - OSHA Compliance Credit Hour(s): 1
EES 4680 - Environmental Law for Scientists Credit Hour(s): 3
EES 4720 - Epidemiology and Community Health Credit Hour(s): 3
ENG 3610 - Technical Writing Credit Hour(s): 3
GEO 4430 - Geographic Information Systems Credit Hour(s): 4
KNH 2550 - Applied Exercise Physiology Credit Hour(s): 3
KNH 2620 - Nutrition for Fitness and Sport Credit Hour(s): 3
OL 2010 - Leading Self Credit Hour(s): 3
OL 3020 - Leadership Foundations Credit Hour(s): 3
PHL 3780 - Bioethics Credit Hour(s): 3
SOC 3810 - Medical Sociology Credit Hour(s): 3
STT 4300 - Biostatistics Credit Hour(s): 3
COM 1010 - Essentials of Public Address Credit Hour(s): 3
COM 3450 - Public Relations: Principles and Practice Credit Hour(s): 3
URS 3300 - Ethics in Public Service Credit Hour(s): 3
URS 4430 - Administrative Law Credit Hour(s): 3

IV. Related Requirements: 38 Hours

CHM 1010 - Introduction to Chemistry Credit Hour(s): 3
CHM 1020 - Elementary Organic Chemistry with Applications Credit Hour(s): 4
CHM 1210 - General Chemistry I Credit Hour(s): 3
CHM 1210L - General Chemistry Lab I Credit Hour(s): 2
CHM 1220 - General Chemistry II Credit Hour(s): 3
CHM 1220L - General Chemistry Lab II Credit Hour(s): 2
MTH 1280 - College Algebra Credit Hour(s): 4
EES 4720 - Epidemiology and Community Health Credit Hour(s): 3
PSY 3410 - Lifespan Development Psychology Credit Hour(s): 3
ANT2100/2100L/2120/2120L OR ANT3100/3100L/3120/3120L Credits / Units: 8 COM 3250 - Health Communication Credit Hour(s): 3

V. General Electives: 10 Hours

Total: 120 Hours

Notes:

For graduation credit, a grade of C or better is required for all COSM courses within Area II, Departmental Core courses; Area III, Electives; and Area IV, Related Requirements.