PUHE.Minor - Minor - Public Health

The interdisciplinary minor in Public Health draws on a range of academic disciplines to prepare students to promote the health and well being of local communities within the US and around the world. The required and elective courses feature rigorous scholarship to engage diverse students with in-depth examinations of public health concepts, problems and solutions as they gain critical thinking skills. The primary goals of the Public Health program are as follows:

1.      Encourage growth in each student’s understanding of health information and data, including the methods of discovering and investigating related evidence. Students will gain relevant practical skills, including how to research public health topics and analyze public health data. Students will be able understand how public health research informs individual and community preparedness for public disasters and health emergencies.
 

2.      Provide students with a strong interdisciplinary foundation in the multiple determinants of health: the interconnectedness of physical, social, and environmental aspects of community health, such as the impact of policies, laws, and legislation. Students will engage different communities to promote public health: examples include active involvement in health promotion programs or in public policy processes. Ethics, including a focus on equity and justice, are included in this domain, focusing on questions where individual rights and preferences may be in conflict with what research shows is needed to protect the greater public good.
 

3.      Prepare students to promote healthy individual lifestyle behaviors and positive community-level health programs which value multicultural perspectives and collaborations across diverse backgrounds. Students will utilize teamwork to carry-out projects and employ effective communication skills to disseminate findings, including using new and older types of media. Student will learn how university-community partnerships can strengthen the impact of health education, prevention and outreach programs.