| Department: | |
| Hours Required: | 120 |
| Categories: | Major, Minor, Undergraduate |
| Delivery: | On-Campus |
What is Public Health?
From disaster relief to disease intervention, public health promotes and protects the health of people and the communities where they live, learn, work and play. That can mean vaccinating children and adults to prevent the spread of illness, or educating people about the risks of alcohol and tobacco. Public health also sets safety standards to protect workers and develops school nutrition programs to ensure kids have access to healthy food. The SAU Public Health Program will focus on improving and protecting community health and well-being, with an emphasis on disease prevention.
Public Health at SAU
The SAU public health curriculum is designed to incorporate many disciplines which work together to ensure a community’s health needs are addressed from all angles. In addition to core public health courses, the degree plan includes courses in nursing, biology, psychology, sociology, health sciences, and recreation. The program also incorporates an upper-level public health internship, which emphasizes the importance of community collaboration and SAU’s commitment to meaningful career preparation, skills development, and effective citizenship.
Careers in Public Health
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control has identified the need for new undergraduate programs in public health by the year 2020 in order to meet increasing employment demand. Since public health spans such a wide range of topics, graduates from this program will be prepared for a variety of entry-level positions in government and non-government agencies, health care and community organizations, and many other related areas.
- Community Health Educator
- Disease Intervention Specialist
- Health Unit Administrator
- Care Plan Coordinator
- Environmental Health Specialist
- Emergency Health Planner
- Epidemiologist
Workplace Examples
- Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
- State and local health departments
- Hospitals, clinics, & medical facilities
- Private health agencies
- Volunteer/nonprofit health agencies
- Federal government
- Medical research laboratories
Our graduates will also have the opportunity to continue their studies by obtaining master’s and doctoral degrees in public health or related areas at UAMS, LSU, Texas A&M, or elsewhere.
Contacts
- Dr. Samia Amin, Program Coordinator – samin@saumag.edu, 870-235-4937
- Antoinette Odendaal, Assistant Dean – ayodendaal@saumag.edu, 870-235-4273
- Greg Taylor, College Advisor – gwtaylor@saumag.edu, 870-235-4183
A degree in public health is interdisciplinary and prepares students to navigate the intersection of environmental and human health, healthcare delivery, and policymaking in order to improve community welfare based on sound science. The SAU public health curriculum is designed to incorporate many disciplines which work together to ensure that a community’s health needs are addressed. In addition to core public health courses, the degree plan includes courses in nursing, biology, psychology, sociology, health sciences, and recreation. Students with a degree in public health work in health departments, hospitals, schools, medical offices, non-profit organizations, and state or federal agencies. Students may also pursue advanced degrees in the public health field. The program also incorporates an upper-level public health internship, which emphasizes the importance of community collaboration and SAU’s commitment to meaningful career preparation, skills, development, and effective citizenship.
University Requirement (2 hours)
GSTD 1002 – Freshman Seminar
General Education (31 hours)
Note: 4 hours of physical science requirements are included in the major.
PHIL 2403 – Introduction to Philosophy and Ethics and PSYC 2003 – General Psychology are required.
Biological Science (21 hours)
BIOL 2003 – Nutrition and Diet
BIOL 2063 – Anatomy and Physiology I and BIOL 2061 – Anatomy and Physiology I Lab
BIOL 2073 – Anatomy and Physiology II and BIOL 2071 – Anatomy and Physiology II Lab
BIOL 2403 – Medical Terminology
BIOL 3613 – Microbiology for Nursing and Allied Health and BIOL 3611 – Microbiology for Nursing and Allied Health Lab
BIOL 3903 – Human Genetics
Chemistry (4 hours)
Select one of the following course combinations:
CHEM 1013 – College Chemistry I and CHEM 1011 – College Chemistry I Lab
or
CHEM 1023 – University Chemistry I and CHEM 1021 – University Chemistry I Lab
Computer Science (3 hours)
CSCI 1053 – Computer Concepts and Applications for Allied Health
Public Health (33 hours)
PH 2003 – Foundations of Public Health
PH 3013 – Issues and Trends in Health Care
PH 3043 – Research for Evidence-Based Practice
PH 3053 – The Business of Health Care
PH 3063 – Social and Behavioral Health
PH 3103 – Biological Concepts for Public Health
PH 4003 – Epidemiology
PH 4023 – Health Care and Public Health Policy
PH 4033 – Evaluation Methods in Public Health
PH 4123 – Program Planning and Evaluation for Public Health
PH 4983 – Public Health Internship
Other Requirements (21 hours)
HS 1403 – Personal and Community Health or NURS 2003 – Introduction to Professional Nursing
PSYC 3183 – Statistics or MATH 3043 – Applied Probability and Statistics I
PSYC 3223 – Developmental Psychology
SOC 3003 – Multiculturalism
SPCH 1113 – Introduction to Public Speaking
Select 6 hours from the following:
CRJU 3063 – Substance Abuse
HS 4023 – Pharmacology in Sports
HS 4413 – Health Education in the School
PH 4791 – PH 4793 – Independent Study in Public Health
PHIL 3003 – Death, Dying, and World Religion
PSYC 3123 – Child Psychology
PSYC 4003 – Domestic Violence
PSYC 4033 – Abnormal Psychology
PSYC 4063 – Social Psychology
PSYC 4083 – Adolescent Psychology
PSYC 4163 – Child Psychopathology
REC 3613 – School and Community Recreation
REC 3623 – Psychology of Sports
REC 3663 – Leisure and Aging
SOC 3033 – Sociology of Marriage and Family
SOC 4073 – Social Gerontology
Electives (5 hours)
5 hours of unrestricted electives
Total Hours – 120
Minor Requirements:
Public Health Minor (18 hours)
PH 2003 – Foundations of Public Health
15 hours of upper-level Public Health electives
