Public Health Major

Public Health Major

Use science to positively impact the common good in a field that needs passionate people now more than ever. See the real and immediate lasting impacts of your work. Gain research skills, intercultural awareness, and interdisciplinary approach in a field that is interdisciplinary itself. 

Through internships and two emphases within the major, faculty will help prepare you to make decisions about your future career. Public health is perfect for students who are interested in many different things—whether you have a specific goal in mind, or want to move around in your field, public health gives you the opportunity to specialize or try out different options. 

Our program offers two specializations:

  • Environmental health. This unique track utilizes EMU's strong environmental science tradition, preparing you for fields like entomology or epidemiology.
  • Computer programming or data analytics. This specialization will help you develop good data science skills, something highly sought after in today's scientific world.

However, in public health, you can work in any number of different specialties. These are only a few:

  • Community development
  • Refugee resettlement
  • Health education
  • Environmental science
  • Lab research on diseases
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Career Options

Bright Outlook

Medical and Health Services Managers

$94,086
Average Salary

Plan, direct, or coordinate medical and health services in hospitals, clinics, managed care organizations, public health agencies, or similar organizations.

Health Education Specialists

$51,789
Average Salary

Provide and manage health education programs that help individuals, families, and their communities maximize and maintain healthy lifestyles. Use data to identify community needs prior to planning, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating programs designed to encourage healthy lifestyles, policies, and environments. May link health systems, health providers, insurers, and patients to address individual and population health needs. May serve as resource to assist individuals, other health professionals, or the community, and may administer fiscal resources for health education programs.

Registered Nurses

$68,528
Average Salary

Assess patient health problems and needs, develop and implement nursing care plans, and maintain medical records. Administer nursing care to ill, injured, convalescent, or disabled patients. May advise patients on health maintenance and disease prevention or provide case management. Licensing or registration required.

Community Health Workers

$39,308
Average Salary

Promote health within a community by assisting individuals to adopt healthy behaviors. Serve as an advocate for the health needs of individuals by assisting community residents in effectively communicating with healthcare providers or social service agencies. Act as liaison or advocate and implement programs that promote, maintain, and improve individual and overall community health. May deliver health-related preventive services such as blood pressure, glaucoma, and hearing screenings. May collect data to help identify community health needs.

Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health

$64,706
Average Salary

Conduct research or perform investigation for the purpose of identifying, abating, or eliminating sources of pollutants or hazards that affect either the environment or public health. Using knowledge of various scientific disciplines, may collect, synthesize, study, report, and recommend action based on data derived from measurements or observations of air, food, soil, water, and other sources.

Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary

$86,168
Average Salary

Teach courses in health specialties, in fields such as dentistry, laboratory technology, medicine, pharmacy, public health, therapy, and veterinary medicine.

The above data was drawn from ONet and is intended for informational purposes only.

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BS in Public Health Curriculum

A major consists of 59 to 62 semester hours.

Foundational Public Health and Science Courses (30 SH)

  • BIOL 145 Nutrition - 4
  • BIOL 173 Concepts in Biology - 4
  • BIOL 205 Microbiology OR *BIOL 327 Advanced Microbiology - 3 
  • BIOL 275 Writing for the Natural Sciences - 2
  • CHEM 105 Chemistry for Life Sciences AND BIOCH 152 Human Biochemistry - 2 OR CHEM 223 General Chemistry I - 4 
  • NURS 432 Community Health - 3 
  • PH 175 Introduction to Public Health - 3
  • *PH 231 Foundations of Public Health Immunology - 3
  • *PH 356 Epidemiology - 3
  • SOWK 330 Social Policy Analysis - 3

Statistics & Research Design (9 SH)

  • SOC 336 Methods of Social Research - 3
  • STAT 120 Descriptive Statistics - 2 OR or *STAT 150 Data Visualization - 2
  • STAT 220 Inferential Statistics - 2
  • STAT 230 Regression and ANOVA - 2

Social Justice & Ethics (8 SH)

  • BIOL 485 Faith Science & Ethics - 2 OR  *ENVS 325 Environmental Ethics - 2
  • PXD 485 Global Development - 3
  • SOC 201 Sociology of Health - 3

Environmental Health (4-5 SH)

  • *ENVS 365 Environmental Risk and Policy - 2
  • *ENVS 372 Toxicology for Public Health - 2 OR *SOC 430 Environmental Justice - 3

Practicum (1+ SH) Career  Experience

Choose one of the following:

  • PH 429 Public Health Internship  - 1-3
  • WCSC 385 WCSC Internship - 6


* indicates the course is offered in alternate years

 

Minor in Public Health Curriculum

A minor in consists of public 17-19 semester hours.

  • BIOL 205 Intro to Microbiology - 3 OR *BIOL 327 Advanced Microbiology -3
  • *ENVS 372 Toxicology for Public Health - 2
  • NURS 432 Community Health - 3 OR NRSL 350 Public Health Policy - 4 OR NURS 515 The Health Care Delivery System - 3
  • PH 175 Introduction to Public Health - 3
  • *PH 231 Foundations of Public Health Immunology - 3 OR *PH 356 Epidemiology - 3
  • PXD 485 Global Development - 3

* indicates the course is offered in alternate years

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