Department of Public Health

Public Health Major - General Track

Program Overview

Designed to be completed in a minimum of four full-length semesters, students who major in Public Health take a variety of courses covering the five core areas of public health, including behavioral sciences, health administration, research, environmental health and epidemiology. 

The General track prepares students as public health generalists.  In addition to instruction in the core areas of public health, the General track allows students to select from a variety of elective courses to construct an educational program that meets their specific needs and interests. 

Working closely with an academic advisor, students may focus their elective course choices in several specialized areas or may select a variety of elective offerings to explore several different areas of public health.  Students further explore their interests in the field of public health through the completion of a 6-credit, 240-hour internship during their final semester of study.

Is the General Track Right for You?

The Bachelor of Science (B.S.) Public Health General track is a good choice for students who:

• Want broad exposure to an exciting and growing field.
• Want to focus their studies in a specialty area such as environmental health, global health, sexual health, public health nutrition, or the health aspects of social services. 
• Want to complete a relevant health-related undergraduate degree before pursuing additional clinical training in medicine, nursing, physician’s assistant, dietetics, physical therapy, or occupational therapy, among others.
• Want to pursue graduate education in epidemiology, biostatistics, health administration, environmental health, or a related public health discipline.

 

Careers in Public Health

With a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Health – General Track, students may pursue a variety of careers.  While there are many specific sub-fields within the field of Public Health, some examples of potential careers include:

Environmental Health:   A degree in Public Health with additional course work in the sciences prepares students for a seven week post-baccalaureate program at Rutgers  - Cook College that leads to licensure as a Registered Environmental Health Specialist (REHS) in New Jersey.

Health Administration:  A degree in Public Health with a minor in Economics, Accounting, and/or course work in business, management, or political science will prepare students to work at the intersection of business, politics, and science managing the human and fiscal resources needed to deliver effective health services and programs.

Epidemiology:  A degree in Public Health with additional course work in biology and a master’s degree in Public Health Epidemiology will prepare students to become a “disease detective” to investigate the cause of disease outbreaks and identify ways to prevent further cases.

Research/Biostatistics:   A degree in Public Health with additional course work in mathematics and a master’s degree in Public Health Biostatistics will prepare students to use mathematical and scientific tools to analyze data aimed at forecasting, making predictions or determining trends in diseases.

Program Requirements

 

Core Courses: 24 credits		CR	UCC*		PREREQUISITES
PBHL 3000	Introduction to Public Health	3
PBHL 3020	Health Care in the United States	3			Public Health major
PBHL 3040	Health Research Methods I	3	WI		MATH 1300
PBHL 3042	Health Research Methods II	3	TI		PBHL 3040
PBHL 3400	Environmental Health	3			PBHL 3000
PBHL 3750	Human Disease	3			BIO 1140 & PBHL 1100 or 1300
PBHL 4000	Epidemiology	3			PBHL 3000
PBHL 4500	Health Administration	3			PBHL 3020, 3042
General Track Courses: 25 credits		CR	UCC*		PREREQUISITES
PBHL 4962	Introduction to Internship in PH	1			PBHL 3042, 3400, 3750
PBHL 4972	Internship in Public Health	6			C- or better in all major and co-requisite courses
Major electives: 18 credits (choose six of the following)
PBHL 2100	Women’s Health	3
PBHL 2150	Drugs and Health	3
PBHL 2200	Stress Management	3
PBHL 2210	Nutrition	3
PBHL 2700	Concepts and Issues of Aging	3
PBHL 2950	Disparities in Health	3	A4
PBHL 3110	Global Health Issues	3	A6
PBHL 3140	Reproductive Health	3	A5
PBHL 3150	Food and Community	3	A5
PBHL 3210	Lifespan Nutrition	3			PBHL 2210
PBHL 3220	Food and Social Issues	3
PBHL 3900	Human Sexuality	3
PBHL 4300	Counseling Skills for Health Professionals	3
PBHL 4950	Cultural Dimensions of Health	3
Co-Requirements: 4 credits (choose one)		CR
BIO 1300	Field Biology	4
BIO 1700	Basic Microbiology	4
CHEM 1310	College Chemistry (with lab CHEM 0310)	4
ENV 1100	Environmental Foundations	4
PHYS 1100	Introduction to Physics	4