Curriculum

The Bachelor of Science in Public Health will provide students with a strong foundation of biology, population health, social and environmental determinants of health, and strategies related to disease prevention and health promotion—all critical to addressing health threats and strengthening the public health workforce. Public health’s interprofessional nature is ideally suited within an undergraduate curriculum, giving students an opportunity to apply core concepts to myriad fields, including public health, clinical practice, research, or a non-health profession such as business or engineering.

The BSPH curriculum will expose students to the essential principles of public health and the biomedical sciences concurrently, and will provide ample opportunities to immerse students in community-based public health experiences and research. The academic rigor, emphasis on science, and core public health foundation will fully prepare students for a career in public health or medicine. The instructional delivery method of the BSPH will be an onsite model, with opportunities to participate in global medical outreach initiatives and community-based public health field placements. Traditional classroom instruction will be augmented with innovative community-based experiential learning and the use of contemporary information technology.

The first three years of the BSPH curriculum include traditional liberal arts courses, core public health courses, and medical school pre-requisites (for students interested in pursuing a medical degree). Courses will be taught by faculty from the College of Osteopathic Medicine’s (COM) Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine Program; COM’s Master of Public Health Program; Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography; College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, and the College of Medical Sciences.

The fourth year of the program is comprised exclusively of courses in the general public health concentration and intensive service learning experiences, with coursework ranging in focus from community health to public health informatics so as to fully prepare the student for a myriad of career choices in public health. For BSPH students pursuing a graduate education in public health, the 4th year of the BSPH is also designed to prepare students to vertically integrate into the MPH program. Students pursuing the dual admissions BSPH-DO option will pursue a concurrent course of study in their 4th year comprised of courses in the medical concentration that fulfill the requirements for the BSPH degree alongside the first year DO curriculum.

View a sample 4-year plan

Program Requirements - B.S. Public Health Major

General Education Requirements (30)

Students are required to complete 30 hours as part of the General Education Program

Public Health Major

Public Health Major Requirements (39 required credits + 18 major electives)

BPH 1010 Foundations of Public Health (3 credits)
BPH 1020         Principles of Health Behavior (3 credits)
BPH 2010         Human Genomics (3 credits)
BPH 2020         Pathophysiologic Basis of Disease I (3 credits)
BPH 2021         Pathophysiologic Basis of Disease II (3 credits)
BPH 2050         Community Health (3 credits)
BPH 3010         Concepts in Epidemiology (3 credits)
BPH 3030         Intro to Global Health (3 credits)
BPH 2030         Public Health Seminar (3 credits)
BPH 4950         Community-Based Health Outreach I (3 credits)
BPH 4951         Community Based Health Outreach II (3 credits)
BPH 3020         Policies, Systems, and Environments of Healthcare (3 credits)
BPH 2040         Health Communication (3 credits)
BPH         18 credits of Major Electives

Public Health Major Electives (18 credits of the following required)

BPH 3040         Public Health Issues in Disasters (3 credits)
BPH 4910         Environmental and Occupational Health (3 credits)
BPH 4920         Evidenced-Based Population Health (3 credits)
BPH 4930         Public Health Informatics (3 credits)
BPH 4970         Disparities in Health (3 credits)
BPH 4940         Public Health Research Methods (3 credits)
BPH 4960         Public Health Practicum I (3 credits)
BPH 4961         Public Health Practicum II (3 credits)
BPH 4900         Global Outreach & Applied Learning (1 credit
BPH 4901         Domestic Outreach & Applied Learning (1 credit)

View degree curriculum sheet

Program Requirements - Public Health Minor

Public Health Minor

KPCOM’s Public Health Minor provides curriculum in areas relevant to public health, social and behavioral health sciences, and community health. The interprofessional experiences of KPCOM faculty offer students a realistic look into the benefits, rewards, and challenges of public health.

Public Health Minor Requirements (9)

BPH 1010                   Foundations of Public Health (3 credits)
BPH 1020                   Principles of Health Behavior (3 credits)
BPH 2050                   Community Health (3 credits)

Select 9 additional credits from any of the Bachelor of Science in Public Health courses.

Functional Domains

The BSPH addresses the following Foundational Domains (Council on Education for Public Health):

History and philosophy of public health as well as its core values, concepts and functions across the globe and in society;
Basic concepts, methods and tools of public health data collection, use and analysis and why evidence-based approaches are an essential part of public health practice;
Concepts of population health, and the basic processes, approaches and interventions that identify and address the major health-related needs and concerns of populations;
Underlying science of human health and disease, including opportunities for promoting and protecting health across the life course;
Socioeconomic, behavioral, biological, environmental and other factors that impact human health and contribute to health disparities;
Fundamental concepts and features of project implementation, including planning, assessment and evaluation;
Fundamental characteristics and organizational structures of the US health system as well as the differences between systems in other countries;
Basic concepts of legal, ethical, economic and regulatory dimensions of health care and public health policy and the roles, influences and responsibilities of the different agencies and branches of government; and
Basic concepts of public health-specific communication, including technical and professional writing and the use of mass media and electronic technology

The BSPH also addresses the following Foundational Competencies (Council on Education for Public Health):

Ability to communicate public health information, in both oral and written forms, through a variety of media and to diverse audiences, and
Ability to locate, use, evaluate, and synthesize public health information.

Public Health Major Learning Outcomes

1. Demonstrate a working knowledge of the core areas of public health education (i.e., epidemiology; biostatistics; environmental health; social and behavioral sciences)
2. Demonstrate essential knowledge of the core functions of public health: assessment, policy development and assurance
3. Demonstrate an understanding of the ecological model of health behavior and the logic model of public health practice
4. Apply evidence-based principles to public health practice
5. Demonstrate an understanding of the principles of research design and analysis
6. Describe the scientific foundation for understanding health and disease, as well as chronic, infectious and emerging diseases
7. Demonstrate essential knowledge of population health and vulnerable population groups
8. Explain the impact of health behaviors, ethics, diversity and culture
9. Identify emerging topics in public health, including nutrition, disaster preparedness, and infectious diseases

Public Health Practicums

B.S.P.H. students will participate in community based public health projects to further develop skills in program development, research, and program evaluation.

Public Health Outreach Experiences

Global Outreach and Applied Learning (GOAL) and Domestic Outreach and Applied Learning are elective courses that involve a two-week supervised interprofessional public health outreach experience. The Global Outreach experience will include a one-week preparation period, a two-week global mission experience, a one-week debriefing, a written report, and a presentation to faculty and peers. The Domestic Outreach Experience is comprised of the same activities, with the public health outreach specific to an underserved community in the United States. GOAL destinations may include India, Jamaica, Ecuador, Argentina, Peru, Columbia, Bangladesh, and the Dominican Republic. Additional locations may be offered based on need and viability.