About the Program
Professors: Afeworki Mascio (Biology), Jonathan Reader (Sociology), Linda Van Blerkom (Anthropology)
Assistant Professors: Joslyn Cassady (Behavioral Science and Anthropology), Melissa Sloan (Behavioral Science and Sociology)
The Public Health Minor is a multidisciplinary program that bridges the biomedical sciences, social sciences, and humanities. It offers a population-level approach (as contrasted with the individual patient-centered approach of clinical medicine) to solving health problems with a strong focus on scientific, social, and ethical principles. International health is central to this program, as health in today’s world must be understood in global context. Public health’s focus historically was and still is on the prevention of diseases, disabilities, and disorders through a variety of means including health education. It has a long and venerable ancestry, and the research it stimulated has been shaping health care policy since the outset of the Industrial Revolution.
Public health is of major interest to anthropologists, sociologists, economists, humanists and politicians, as well as to biomedical specialists. Needless to say, one cannot practice public health in a vacuum. Sociocultural, political and economic issues determine the quality of a society’s health. Public health is not a new study but has recently generated much debate among policy makers, providers and users of this important service, due in part to the high costs of health care in the U.S. and resulting inequities.
The study of public health has general educational value in that it involves critical thinking and decision making and gives students a methodology for evaluating population-level data. It exposes students to health care and policy issues while at the same time they gain an understanding of the depth and breadth of public health practice.
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Requirements for the Minor (26 credits)
I. Core Courses (16 credits)
PH 10/Public Health (gateway course) (4)
SOC 111/Sociology of Health and Illness (4) OR ANTH 125/Medical Anthropology (4)
BIOL 4/Microbes in Health and Disease (4) OR BIOL 26/Microbology (4)
MATH 3/Introductory Statistics (4)
II. Elective Courses (8 credits)
Chose at least 8 credits from the courses listed below, not more than 4 credits from one list. Four credits in International & Off-Campus studies or internship may count as one elective course if topic is appropriate.
Courses in Biomedical Sciences
ANTH 137/Special Topics in Biological Anthropology (when topic is appropriate) (4)
ESS 30 OR BIOL 30/Environmental Science (4)
BIOL 152/Virology (4)
BIOL 160/Emerging Infectious Diseases (4)
BIOL 190/Seminar in Biology (when topic is appropriate) (2)
MATH 27/Intermediate Statistics (4)
PH 102/Environmental Health (4)
PH 120/Epidemiology (4)
Courses in Social Sciences and Humanities:
ANTH 125/Medical Anthropology (4)
MEDHM 813/Plagues and Pandemics (4)
ECON 29/Selected Topics in Economics: Health Economics (4)
ECON 40/Economic Development (4)
HIST 172/Disease in History (4)
PSCI 102/Public Policy and Administration OR PSCI 141/Seminar on Public Policy (when topic is appropriate) (4)
PSYC 130/ Advanced Topics in Psychology: Health Psychology (4)
PSYC 108/Abnormal Psychology OR SOC 131/Mental Health (4)
REL 130/Biomedical Ethics (4)
SOC 29/Sociology of Aging (4)
SOC 111/Sociology of Health and Illness (4)
III. Capstone Course (2 credits)
PH 190/Health Seminar (2)
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