Public Health, BS

Program Description

The Department of Biological Sciences will offer a program leading to a Bachelor of Science (BS) 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.

Entrance Requirements

Once the student has satisfied the following criteria, they can be admitted into the Public Health degree program: completed at least 15 semester hours with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.25, 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.

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Program Requirements:

I. Wright State Core: 44 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 OR PPH 2100

PPH 2000 - Global Health Credit Hour(s): 3
PPH 2100 - Climate Change and 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 1120 - Cells and Genes Credit Hour(s): 4
BIO 1150 - Organisms and Ecosystems Credit Hour(s): 4

Additional Core Courses: 10 Hours

Required:

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

II. Departmental Core Requirements: 7 Hours

BIO 2100 - Orientation Seminar in Biological Sciences Credit Hour(s): 1
BIO 2110 - Principles of Molecular and Classical Genetics Credit Hour(s): 3
BIO 2120 - Cell Biology Credit Hour(s): 3

III. Electives: 31 Hours

Select 31 hours from below or department approved substitution. Minimum of 15 cr hrs from BIO, BMB, GEO, MI, ANT, PPH, or EES. Only one course in ethics may apply (BIO 3700 , PHL 3780 , URS 3300 ).

BIO 1010 - Medical Terminology Credit Hour(s): 3
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 4240 - Disease Ecology and Evolution 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 3100 - Human Structure and Function I Credit Hour(s): 4
ANT 3100L - Human Structure Funct I Laboratory Credit Hour(s): 0
ANT 3120 - Human Structure and Function II Credit Hour(s): 4
ANT 3120L - Human Structure and Function II Laboratory Credit Hour(s): 0
ANT 4340 - Biological Safety Credit Hour(s): 2
BMB 4001 - Fundamentals of Biochemistry Credit Hour(s): 3
BMB 4210 - Biochemistry and Molecular Biology I Credit Hour(s): 3
BMB 4230 - Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 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
GEO 4430 - Geographic Information Systems Credit Hour(s): 4
MI 4260 - Immunology Credit Hour(s): 3
MI 4310 - Virology Credit Hour(s): 3
MI 4750 - Pathogenic Mechanisms Credit Hour(s): 4
PPH 2100 - Climate Change and Health Credit Hour(s): 3
COM 4570 - Intercultural Communication Credit Hour(s): 3
KNH 2620 - Nutrition for Fitness and Sport Credit Hour(s): 3
MGT 3100 - Management and Organizational Behavior Credit Hour(s): 3
PHL 3000 - Critical Thinking Credit Hour(s): 3
PHL 3110 - Ethics Credit Hour(s): 3
PHL 3780 - Bioethics Credit Hour(s): 3
PLS 4150 - Law, Lawyers and the System Credit Hour(s): 3
PSY 3110 - Abnormal Psychology Credit Hour(s): 3
PSY 3410 - Lifespan Development Psychology Credit Hour(s): 3
SOC 3600 - Social Inequality Credit Hour(s): 3
SOC 3810 - Health and Society Credit Hour(s): 3
URS 3300 - Ethics in Public Service Credit Hour(s): 3
URS 4340 - Fundraising and Grant Writing Credit Hour(s): 3

IV. Related Requirements: 33 Hours

CHM 2110 - Organic Chemistry I Credit Hour(s): 3
CHM 2110L - Organic Chemistry Laboratory I Credit Hour(s): 2
CHM 2120 - Organic Chemistry II Credit Hour(s): 3
CHM 2120L - Organic Chemistry II Laboratory Credit Hour(s): 2
PHY 1110 - Principles of Physics I Credit Hour(s): 4
PHY 1110L - Principles of Physics Lab I Credit Hour(s): 1
PHY 1120 - Principles of Physics II Credit Hour(s): 4
PHY 1120L - Principles of Physics Lab II Credit Hour(s): 1
MTH 2240 - Applied Calculus Credit Hour(s): 4
EES 4720 - Epidemiology and Community Health Credit Hour(s): 3
COM 3250 - Health Communication Credit Hour(s): 3
PPH 2200 - Disease Detectives Credit Hour(s): 3

V. General Electives: 5 Hour

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.