| Department: | |
| Hours Required: | 120 |
| Categories: | Major, 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
- Jennifer Kelton, Program Coordinator – jakelton@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
Bachelor of Science in Public Health
120 hours
University Requirement – 2 hours
GSTD 1002 Freshman Seminar
General Education* – 27 hours (Science courses 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 2063/2061 Anatomy & Physiology I/Lab
BIOL 2073/2071 Anatomy & Physiology II/Lab
BIOL 2403 Medical Terminology
BIOL 3613/3611 Microbiology for Nursing and Allied Health/Lab
BIOL 3903 Human Genetics
Chemistry – 4 hours
Select 4 hours from the following:
CHEM 1011/1013 College Chemistry I/Lab
CHEM 1023/1021 University Chemistry I/Lab
Computer Science – 3 hours
CSCI 1053 Computer Concepts for Allied Health
Public Health Requirements – 33 hours
PH 2003 Foundations of Public Health
PH 3013 Issues and Trends in Healthcare
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 Internship in Public Health
Other Requirements – 21 hours
PSYC 3223 Developmental Psychology
SOC 3003 Cultural Diversity
SPCH 1113 Introduction to Public Speaking
Select 3 hours from the following:
PSYC/SOC 3183 Statistics
MATH 3043 Applied Probability and Statistics I
Select 3 hours from the following:
HS 1403 Personal and Community Health
NURS 2003 Introduction to Professional Nursing
Select 6 hours from the following:
CRJU 3063 Substance Abuse
HS 4023 Pharmacology in Sports
HS 4413 Health Education in the School
PH 4791-3 Independent Study in Public Health
PHIL 3003 Death, Dying and World Religion
PSYC 3123 Child Psychology
PSYC/SOC 4003 Domestic Violence
PSYC 4033 Abnormal Psychology
PSYC/SOC 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 – 9 hours
Nine hours of electives
Minor Requirements:
Minor in Public Health
18 hours*
