Public Health Studies A.B.
Chair: Associate Professor Baker
A Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Public Health Studies requires the completion of the Elon Core Curriculum as well as the Major Requirements listed below.
The Public Health Studies major prepares students with the knowledge and skills to address the public health challenges of the 21st century. Students apply interdisciplinary and population health frameworks to the analysis of the determinants of health and interventions to address diseases and other health conditions. The pursuit of health equity at the local, national, and global levels is emphasized. Students are prepared to enter the workplace and/or continue their education in public health or related fields. PHS majors must select a focal area, either the Socio-Cultural Focal Area or the Biological Focal Area.
The major includes 7 required core courses that all students must complete: six (6) PHS course and one (1) STS course. Additionally, PHS majors must select a focal area, either the Socio-Cultural Focal Area or the Biological Focal Area. Students must take four (4) courses from their selected area of focus. The Socio-Cultural Focal Area includes a list of courses from the following departments: ANT, ENS, ESS, GEO, HSS, PHL, PSJ, PST, PSY, REL, SOC. Students must select four (4) courses from at least two different departments among the list of Socio-Cultural Area courses. The Biological Focal Area includes a list of courses from the following departments: ANT, BIO, CHM, ENS, ESS. The Biological focal area requires students to take either BIO 2412/2413 or BIO 2513/2512 and three (3) courses of their choice from the list of Biological Focal Area courses. All majors must take one (1) additional course either from the unselected focal area OR from a list of courses outside the College of Arts and Sciences (e.g., COR, WHE, COM, BUS) for a total of 48sh.
Major Requirements:
Required courses: 28 sh
| PHS2010 | Introduction to Public Health | 4 sh |
| PHS2020 | Research Methods in Public Health | 4 sh |
| PHS3010 | Introduction to Epidemiology | 4 sh |
| PHS3020 | Global Health | 4 sh |
| PHS3980 | Practicum | 4 sh |
| PHS4970 | Senior Seminar in Public Health | 4 sh |
| STS2120 | Statistics in Application | 4 sh |
Focal Areas
Choose sixteen semester hours from one of the following focal areas: 16 sh
Sociocultural Context of Health and Illness
Biological Aspects of Health and Illness
Choose one course with corresponding lab from the following list:
| BIO2513 | Population Biology Laboratory | 1 sh |
| BIO2512 | Introductory Population Biology | 3 sh |
| BIO2412 | Human Physiology | 3 sh |
| BIO2413 | Human Physiology Lab | 1 sh |
Choose three courses from the following list: 12 sh
| ANT3260 | Forensic Anthropology: From Crime Scene to Laboratory | 4 sh |
| BIO1112 | Introductory Cell Biology | 3 sh |
| BIO1113 | Cell Biology Laboratory | 1 sh |
| BIO2122 | General Microbiology for Health Professionals | 4 sh |
| BIO2212 | Principles of Genetics | 3 sh |
| BIO2213 | Genetics Laboratory | 1 sh |
| BIO2312 | Human Anatomy | 3 sh |
| BIO2313 | Human Anatomy Lab | 1 sh |
| BIO3122 | Microbiology | 4 sh |
| BIO3650 | Toxicology | 4 sh |
| CHM3050 | Environmental Chemistry | 4 sh |
| ENS1110 | Introduction to Environmental Science | 3 sh |
| ENS1130 | Introduction to Environmental Science Lab | 1 sh |
| ENS1200 | Community Agriculture - Fall Harvest | 2 sh |
| ENS1210 | Community Agriculture - Spring Planting | 2 sh |
| ENS3110 | Sustainable Food Production | 4 sh |
| ENS3140 | Agroecology | 4 sh |
| ENS3210 | Urban Ecology | 4 sh |
| ESS3120 | Physiology of Exercise | 4 sh |
| ESS3123 | Nutrition and Bioenergetics | 4 sh |
| ESS4875 | Exercise Testing and Prescription | 4 sh |
| STS2130 | Survey Sampling Methods | 4 sh |
Elective: 4 sh
All majors must take one (1) additional course either from the unselected focal area OR from the elective list of courses below.
| COM3310 | Environmental Communications | 4 sh |
| COR3080 | Health Care Strategies for the 21st Century | 4 sh |
| COR3240 | Substance Abuse and Human Behavior | 4 sh |
| COR3460 | Childbirth | 4 sh |
| COR4060 | Women's Health Issues | 4 sh |
| ECO1410 | The Economics of Human Trafficking: a Global Review | 2 sh |
| ECO3210 | Health Economics | 4 sh |
| ECO3410 | Gender and Development | 4 sh |
| ECO4400 | Economic Consulting | 4 sh |
| EDU3320 | Early Childhood Family - Team Partnerships | 4 sh |
| EDU4670 | Early Childhood Policy and Advocacy | 4 sh |
| WHE3240 | Nutrition | 4 sh |
| WHE2300 | Foundations of Health and Wellness Coaching | 2 sh |
| WHE3500 | Community Health Program Assessment, Evaluation and Design | 4 sh |
| COM3370 | Health Communications | 4 sh |
| COR3010 | Becoming an Adult in the Modern Era | 4 sh |
| COR3260 | Human Sexuality | 4 sh |
| COR3300 | Leading for Change: an Institutional and Cross-Systems Approach for Racial Equity | 4 sh |
| COR3680 | Nutrition in the 21st Century | 4 sh |
| COR4050 | Prison Nation: Deconstructing the Prison Industrial Complex | 4 sh |
| COR4070 | Global Health Disparities | 4 sh |
| COR4300 | Food and the Environment | 4 sh |
| COR4420 | Food, Health, and Society in Global Perspective | 4 sh |
| COR4540 | Diversity and Social Justice: Building Cultural Competency | 4 sh |
Other courses may be submitted for approval by the Department Chair.
Total Credit Hours: 48
Program Outcomes
All PHS majors who complete the PHS undergraduate degree program should be able to address the following learning goals and outcomes:
Understand the history and philosophy of public health as well as its core values, ethics, concepts, and functions across the globe and in society.
Articulate and communicate the concepts of population health and the basic processes, approaches, and interventions that identify and address the major health-related needs and concerns of populations, communities, and individuals.
Apply basic concepts, methods and tools of public health data collection, use, and analysis.
Analyze the biological, environmental and socio/cultural determinants of health in order to understand local, state, national and global public health issues.
Synthesize evidence to determine and create appropriate interventions to promote health and prevent disease.