Public Health (BA)
The Public Health BA degree prioritizes the integration of a broader array of social and behavioral sciences alongside field-specific coursework that also incorporates content such as biology, epidemiology, and public health biostatistics. Our BAPH offers an interdisciplinary approach and is designed for non-pre-health professional students.
Related Programs
Curriculum
The BA in Public Health (BAPH) program draws on courses in ethics, environmental sciences, biology, mathematics, healthcare administration, social sciences, and the humanities alongside epidemiology, biostatistics, health behavior and promotion, health communication, policy, and global health.
The BAPH degree has 72 credits, of which 12 credit hours are taken directly from the University Core, leaving 60 unique credit hours, which are spread across 51 credit hours of required courses and 9 credits of concentration elective credits. Students will take an additional 33 credits of University Core courses plus UNIV 101 (1 credit) and 14 general elective credits to achieve 120 credit hours.
Students in the BAPH program will select one of five elective concentrations of 9 credit hours each, which are springboards to numerous minors. These concentrations include: Gender, Sexuality & Health; Global Health; Health Equity & Social Justice; Policy & Advocacy and Program Management.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ANTH 280 / BIOL 280 | Evolution of Human Disease | 3 |
| or ANTH 353 | Epidemics and Pandemics | |
| or ANTH 359 | Paleopathology | |
| or ANTH 258 | Medical Anthropology & Global Health | |
| BIOL 110 | Liberal Arts Biology | 3 |
| or ANTH 103 | Biological Background Human Social Behavior | |
| or ANTH 105 | Human Biocultural Diversity | |
| HSM 110 | Healthcare in America 1 | 3 |
| HSM 230 | Fundamentals of Health Equity | 3 |
| PHIL 284 | Health Care Ethics | 3 |
| or PHIL 286 | Ethics and Education | |
| or PHIL 287 | Environmental Ethics | |
| or HSM 280 | Healthcare Ethics in Practice | |
| PSYC 101 | General Psychology | 3 |
| PUBH 300 | Introduction to Public Health | 3 |
| PUBH 301 | Health and the Environment | 3 |
| PUBH 303 | Fundamentals of Epidemiology | 3 |
| PUBH 304 | Health Behavior and Health Promotion 1 | 3 |
| PUBH 305 | Public Health Communication | 3 |
| PUBH 306 | Critical Thinking in Public Health 2 | 3 |
| PUBH 307 | Foundations of Public Health Policy 2 | 3 |
| PUBH 309 | Introduction to Biostatistical Methods for Public Health | 3 |
| PUBH 313 | Community Assessment and Program Planning | 3 |
| PUBH 314 | Global Public Health | 3 |
| or HSM 210 | Introduction to Global Healthcare Delivery | |
| PUBH 315 | Public Health Advocacy | 3 |
| PUBH 391 | Leadership and Public Health Entrepreneurship | 3 |
| or MGMT 201 | Managing People and Organizations | |
| PUBH 399 | Public Health Capstone Experience 1 | 3 |
| or PUBH 310 | Public Health Internship | |
| STAT 103 | Fundamentals of Statistics | 3 |
| or PLSC 216 | Political Numbers | |
| or PSYC 304 | Statistics | |
| or SOCL 301 | Statistics for Social Research | |
| SOCL 122 | Race and Ethnic Relations | 3 |
| Elective Concentration Courses | 9 | |
| Total Hours | 72 | |
- 1
This course satisfies the engaged learning requirement
- 2
This course satisfies the writing intensive requirement
- 3
HSM 210 and PUBH 310 are also Engaged Learning Designated courses
Elective Concentrations
Policy and Advocacy Concentration (9 credits)
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Choose one course from the following | 3 | |
| Argumentation & Advocacy | ||
| Environmental Advocacy | ||
| Political Behavior | ||
| Leadership and Public Health Entrepreneurship | ||
| Sexual Assault Advocacy | ||
| Choose one of the following | 3 | |
| Law and Regulations for Organizational Leaders | ||
| Health Economics | ||
| US Law & Public Policy | ||
| Interest Group Politics | ||
| Urban Policies and Problems | ||
| Fieldwork in Political Science-Internship | ||
| Chicago Politics | ||
| Environmental Politics | ||
| Social Welfare Policy & Services I | ||
| Select one of the following | 3 | |
| Digital Communication and Society | ||
| Principles of Public Relations | ||
| Principles of Advertising | ||
| Digital Foundations | ||
| Interviewing for Communication | ||
| Organizational Communication | ||
| Research Methods in Advertising/Public Relations | ||
| Fundamentals of Modern Data Science with R | ||
| Introduction to Geographic Information Systems | ||
| Principles of Marketing | ||
| Managing People and Organizations | ||
| Political Communication | ||
| Public Health Internship 1 | ||
| Special Topics: Public Health Intelligence | ||
| Confronting Homelessness: Local to Global | ||
| Total Hours | 9 | |
- 1
Students may take the PUBH 310 course if not already taken to meet the program requirement
Program Management Concentration (9 credits)
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Choose one course from the following list | 3 | |
| Managing People and Organizations 1 | ||
| Leading and Managing Teams | ||
| Values-Based Leadership | ||
| Leadership and Public Health Entrepreneurship | ||
| Choose two courses from the following | 6 | |
| Introductory Accounting I | ||
| Program Evaluation | ||
| Law and Regulations for Organizational Leaders | ||
| Principles of Microeconomics | ||
| Health Economics | ||
| Sustainable Business Management | ||
| Introduction to Geographic Information Systems | ||
| Introductory Business Finance | ||
| Post-Acute & Long-Term Care Management | ||
| Healthcare Workforce Management and Professionalism | ||
| Healthcare Project Management | ||
| Healthcare Fiscal Management | ||
| Healthcare Legal & Regulatory Environment | ||
| Healthcare Data Analytics | ||
| Health Innovation and Entrepreneurship | ||
| Management of Healthcare Organizations | ||
| International Management | ||
| Principles of Marketing | ||
| Organizational Development and Change | ||
| Managing Nonprofit Organizations | ||
| Micro-Enterprise Consulting | ||
| Psychology of Judgment and Decision-Making | ||
| Health Psychology | ||
| Public Health Internship 1 | ||
| Special Topics: Public Health Intelligence | ||
| SAS Programming & Applied Statistics | ||
| Total Hours | 9 | |
- 1
Students may take MGMT 201 if they haven't taken it for the program requirements. Student may take PUBH 310 if they haven't taken it for program requirements.
Gender, Sexuality and Health (9 credits)
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Choose three courses from the following | 9 | |
| Sex, Science and Anthropological Inquiry | ||
| Violence, Social Suffering, and Justice | ||
| Gender in Deep Time | ||
| The Body and Culture | ||
| Intimate Partner Violence | ||
| Gender, Health & Environment | ||
| History of Sexuality in the United States | ||
| Gender and Marketing | ||
| Psychology of Human Sexuality | ||
| Gender & Sex Differences & Similarities | ||
| Public Health Internship 1 | ||
| Sociology of Sex and Gender | ||
| Gender and Work | ||
| Population Studies | ||
| Migration, Identity, Sexuality | ||
| Sexual Assault Advocacy | ||
| Queer Theory: Beyond the Binary | ||
| Total Hours | 9 | |
- 1
Students may take the PUBH 310 course if not already taken to meet the program requirement
Health Equity and Social Justice (9 credits)
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Choose one course from the following | 3 | |
| Human Biocultural Diversity | ||
| Violence, Social Suffering, and Justice | ||
| Cultures of Migration | ||
| Childhood Exposure to Violence | ||
| America in the Age of Slavery and Capitalism | ||
| Chicago in America | ||
| Politics of Genocide | ||
| Urban Policies and Problems | ||
| Inequality in Society | ||
| Choose one from the following | 3 | |
| Social Justice and Crime | ||
| Environmental Justice | ||
| Politics of Marginalized Groups | ||
| Understanding Bias and Inclusivity | ||
| Understanding Prejudice | ||
| Chicago: Urban Metropolis | ||
| Sociology of Health Care | ||
| Sociology of the African-American Experience | ||
| Social Movements & Social Change | ||
| Social Justice and Injustice | ||
| Choose one course from the following | 3 | |
| Principles of Public Relations | ||
| Digital Foundations | ||
| Public Relations Writing | ||
| Program Evaluation | ||
| Environmental Journalism | ||
| Introduction to Geographic Information Systems | ||
| Principles of HR Management | ||
| Health Innovation and Entrepreneurship | ||
| Managing Nonprofit Organizations | ||
| Public Health Internship 1 | ||
| Leadership and Public Health Entrepreneurship 1 | ||
| Sexual Assault Advocacy | ||
| Total Hours | 9 | |
- 1
Students may take the PUBH 310 course if not already taken to meet the program requirement. Students may take PUBH 391 if they did not take it as a program required course.
Global Health Concentration (9 credits)
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Choose one course from the following list | 3 | |
| Economies, Culture, and Development | ||
| Economics of Growth & Development | ||
| Globalization and Environmental Sustainability | ||
| International Relations in an Age of Globalization | ||
| International Human Rights | ||
| American Foreign Policy | ||
| Global Justice | ||
| Crossing Borders: The Politics of Immigration | ||
| Global Environmental Politics | ||
| Global Inequalities | ||
| Globalization & Society | ||
| International Development | ||
| Choose two courses from the following list | 6 | |
| Violence, Social Suffering, and Justice | ||
| Culture in Africa | ||
| Medical Anthropology & Global Health 1 | ||
| Ethnographic Methods | ||
| Intercultural Communication | ||
| Introduction to Geographic Information Systems | ||
| Introduction to Global Health | ||
| International Management | ||
| Politics of International Health | ||
| Intervent in World Politics | ||
| Public Health Internship 1 | ||
| Leadership and Public Health Entrepreneurship 1 | ||
| Population Studies | ||
| Global Health | ||
| Total Hours | 9 | |
- 1
Students may take ANTH 258 if they did not take it as a program requirement. Students may take PUBH 391 if they didn't take it as a program requirement. Students may take PUBH 310 if they did not take it as a requirement.
Suggested Sequence of Courses
The below sequence of courses is meant to be used as a suggested path for completing coursework. An individual student’s completion of requirements depends on course offerings in a given term and the courses they individually select as well as the start term for a major or graduate study. Students should consult their advisor for assistance with course selection.
| Year 1 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | |
| HSM 110 | Healthcare in America | 3 |
| PSYC 101 | General Psychology | 3 |
| Hours | 6 | |
| Spring | ||
| BIOL 110 |
Liberal Arts Biology or Biological Background Human Social Behavior or Human Biocultural Diversity |
3 |
| STAT 103 |
Fundamentals of Statistics or Political Numbers or Statistics or Statistics for Social Research |
3 |
| Hours | 6 | |
| Year 2 | ||
| Fall | ||
| HSM 230 | Fundamentals of Health Equity | 3 |
| PUBH 300 | Introduction to Public Health | 3 |
| Hours | 6 | |
| Spring | ||
| PHIL 284 |
Health Care Ethics or Ethics and Education or Environmental Ethics or Healthcare Ethics in Practice |
3 |
| PUBH 305 | Public Health Communication | 3 |
| Hours | 6 | |
| Year 3 | ||
| Fall | ||
| PUBH 304 | Health Behavior and Health Promotion | 3 |
| PUBH 306 | Critical Thinking in Public Health | 3 |
| SOCL 122 | Race and Ethnic Relations | 3 |
| PUBH 301 | Health and the Environment | 3 |
| Elective Concentration Course #1 | 3 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| PUBH 309 | Introduction to Biostatistical Methods for Public Health | 3 |
| PUBH 313 | Community Assessment and Program Planning | 3 |
| PUBH 391 or MGMT 201 |
Leadership and Public Health Entrepreneurship or Managing People and Organizations |
3 |
| Elective Concentration Course #2 | 3 | |
| Hours | 12 | |
| Year 4 | ||
| Fall | ||
| PUBH 303 | Fundamentals of Epidemiology | 3 |
| PUBH 307 | Foundations of Public Health Policy | 3 |
| PUBH 314 or HSM 210 |
Global Public Health or Introduction to Global Healthcare Delivery |
3 |
| Elective Concentration Course #3 | 3 | |
| Hours | 12 | |
| Spring | ||
| ANTH 353 |
Epidemics and Pandemics or Paleopathology or Medical Anthropology & Global Health or Evolution of Human Disease |
3 |
| PUBH 315 | Public Health Advocacy | 3 |
| PUBH 310 or PUBH 399 |
Public Health Internship or Public Health Capstone Experience |
3 |
| Hours | 9 | |
| Total Hours | 72 | |
Undergraduate Policies and Procedures
Please see Undergraduate Policies and Procedures for academic policies that supersede those of academic units within the University.
Learning Outcomes
- Demonstrate a thorough understanding of public health frameworks, core principles, and scientific foundations, including the fields of epidemiology, biostatistics, environmental health, and health behavior, to effectively apply this knowledge in addressing health challenges.
- Analyze the impact of social, economic, behavioral, and environmental factors on public health, particularly among marginalized communities, and identify root causes of health disparities to promote health equity.
- Apply techniques to conduct and assess public health interventions that address community needs and promote social justice.
- Communicate effectively to convey public health information clearly to diverse audiences, influence policy, and engage in community-based initiatives for promoting health equity and social justice.