Program Learning Objectives
- Describe the history, philosophy, and core functions of public health in the U.S. and globally.
- Analyze factors that affect human health and contribute to health disparities including socio-economic, behavioral, biological, environmental, and systemic factors.
- Develop, implement, and evaluate public health programs that improve population health outcomes and promote health equity.
- Apply epidemiological and public health research methods to assess community health needs, assets, and outcomes.
- Communicate public health information in oral, written, and visual forms through a variety of media.
- Describe the legal, ethical, structural, and economic dimensions of health care and policy, and the role of different governmental entities in public health.
Degree Requirements and Curriculum
In addition to the program requirements listed on this page, students must also satisfy requirements outlined in more detail in the Minimum Requirements for Graduation section of this catalog, including:
- 60 units of upper-division courses
- Graduation Writing Requirement (GWR)
- 2.0 GPA
- U.S. Cultural Pluralism (USCP)
Note: Up to 4 units of credit/no credit grading may be selected for courses in Major, Support, or Concentration.
| MAJOR COURSES | ||
| HLTH 101 | Orientation to Public Health | 1 |
| HLTH 255 | Personal Health: A Multicultural Approach (E) (USCP) 1 | 4 |
| or HLTH 260 | Women's Health Issues | |
| HLTH 265 | Introduction to Community and Public Health | 3 |
| HLTH 298 | Introduction to Epidemiology | 4 |
| HLTH 305 | Drugs in Society | 4 |
| HLTH 310 | Injury Prevention | 3 |
| HLTH 318 | Applied Epidemiology | 4 |
| HLTH 320 | Media and Technology in Health Promotion | 4 |
| HLTH 334 | Health Behavior Theory | 3 |
| HLTH 402 | Research Methods in Public Health Settings | 4 |
| HLTH 405 | Stress, Health and Chronic Illness | 4 |
| HLTH 410 | Global Health | 4 |
| HLTH 434 | Health Promotion Program Planning | 4 |
| HLTH 435 | Health Promotion Program Implementation and Evaluation | 4 |
| HLTH 453 | Obesity Prevention and Treatment | 4 |
| HLTH 460 | Experiential Senior Project | 1 |
| or HLTH 461 | Senior Project Report | |
| or HLTH 462 | Research Senior Project | |
| or HLTH 463 | Public Health Internship | |
| Approved Electives 2, 3, 4 | ||
| Select from the following: | 12 | |
| At least 4 units must be at the 300-400 level | ||
| Culture and Health | ||
| Cultural Anthropology | ||
| Biological Anthropology | ||
| Human Cultural Adaptations | ||
| Meaning, Gender, and Identity in Anthropological Theory | ||
| Values and Technology | ||
| Topics and Issues in Values, Media and Culture | ||
| Contemporary Issues in Women's and Gender Studies | ||
| Life and Physical Science | ||
| Biology of Sex | ||
| Introduction to Organismal Form and Function | ||
| Human Genetics | ||
or BIO 303 | Survey of Genetics | |
| Biology of Cancer | ||
| General Chemistry for Agriculture and Life Science II | ||
| General Chemistry for Agriculture and Life Science III | ||
| Organic Chemistry I | ||
| Organic Chemistry II | ||
| Organic Chemistry III | ||
| Organic Chemistry: Fundamentals and Applications | ||
| Biochemistry: Fundamentals and Applications | ||
| General Microbiology II | ||
| Emerging Infectious Diseases | ||
| Public Health Microbiology | ||
| Food Microbiology | ||
| College Physics I | ||
| College Physics II | ||
| Health Communication | ||
| Interpersonal Communication | ||
| Organizational Communication | ||
| Business and Professional Communication | ||
| Qualitative Research Methods in Communication Studies | ||
| Intercultural Communication | ||
| Health Communication | ||
| Multicultural Society and the Mass Media | ||
| Public Relations | ||
| Public Relations and Crisis Management | ||
| Built Environment and Health | ||
| Introduction to Urban Planning | ||
| Land Use and Transportation Studies | ||
| Planning for and with Multiple Publics | ||
| Reflections on Biking, Walking and the City | ||
| Planning Healthy Communities | ||
| Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) | ||
| Health and Nutrition | ||
| Maternal and Child Nutrition | ||
| Nutrition in Aging | ||
| Medical Terminology | ||
| Worksite and University Health Promotion Programs | ||
| Health, Exercise and Fitness | ||
| Introductory Undergraduate Research 5 | ||
| Special Problems for Advanced Undergraduates 5 | ||
| Physiology of Exercise | ||
| Pathophysiology and Exercise | ||
| Exercise Testing and Prescription for Healthy Populations | ||
| Exercise and Health Gerontology | ||
| Public Policy and Health | ||
| The Politics of Race, Class, Gender and Sexuality | ||
| World Food Systems | ||
| Public Policy and Administration | ||
| Technology and Public Policy | ||
| The Politics of Poverty | ||
| Resource and Grant Development | ||
| Behavioral Health | ||
| Social Psychology | ||
| Developmental Psychology | ||
| Behavior in Organizations | ||
| Psychology of Death | ||
| Environmental Psychology | ||
| Psychology of Aging | ||
| Health Psychology | ||
| Behavioral Effects of Psychoactive Drugs | ||
| Biopsychology | ||
| Behavioral Genetics | ||
| Multicultural Psychology | ||
| Abnormal Psychology | ||
| Sociology of the Life Cycle | ||
| Spanish | ||
| Elementary Spanish I | ||
or SPAN 111 | Elementary Hispanic Language and Culture | |
| Elementary Spanish II | ||
| Elementary Spanish III | ||
| Intensive Elementary Spanish | ||
| Intermediate Spanish I | ||
| Intermediate Spanish II | ||
| Intermediate Spanish III | ||
| Statistics | ||
| Design and Analysis of Experiments I | ||
| Applied Regression Analysis | ||
| Statistical Computing with SAS | ||
| Statistical Computing with R | ||
| Select one concentration | 19-20 | |
| SUPPORT COURSES | ||
| ANT 201 | Cultural Anthropology (D2) 1 | 4 |
| or SOC 110 | Comparative Societies | |
| BIO 161 | Introduction to Cell and Molecular Biology (B2 & B3) 1 | 4 |
| BIO 231 | Human Anatomy and Physiology I | 5 |
| BIO 232 | Human Anatomy and Physiology II | 5 |
| CHEM 127 | General Chemistry for Agriculture and Life Science I (B1 & B3) 1 | 4 |
| FSN 202 | Introduction to Human Nutrition | 4 |
| MCRO 221 | Microbiology (GE Electives) 1 | 4-5 |
| or MCRO 224 | General Microbiology I | |
| PSY 201 | General Psychology | 4 |
| or PSY 202 | General Psychology | |
| STAT 218 | Applied Statistics for the Life Sciences (B4) 1 | 4 |
| STAT 313 | Applied Experimental Design and Regression Models (Upper-Division B) 1, 6 | 4 |
| GENERAL EDUCATION (GE) | ||
| (See GE program requirements below.) | 44 | |
| FREE ELECTIVES | ||
| Free Electives 7 | 6-8 | |
| Total units | 180 | |
| 1 | Required in Major or Support; also satisfies General Education (GE) requirement. |
| 2 | Consultation with advisor is recommended prior to selecting Approved Electives; bear in mind your selections may impact pursuit of post-baccalaureate studies and/or goals. |
| 3 | Approved Electives have been organized by area of interest to guide students in their selections. Any course listed can be used as an Approved Elective; courses not listed can serve as an Approved Elective but require faculty advisor approval. |
| 4 | If a course is taken to satisfy a Major, Support, or Concentration requirement, it cannot be double-counted as an Approved Elective. |
| 5 | Maximum of 4 units may be applied toward Approved Electives from: HLTH 201, HLTH 400. |
| 6 | Students need to complete MATH 118 to meet a course prerequisite for STAT 313. |
| 7 | If a General Education (GE) course is used to satisfy a Major or Support requirement, additional units of Free Electives may be needed to complete the total units required for the degree. |
Concentrations
Students may select one of the following concentrations.
Community and Public Health
Culture and Society in Health
Physical Activity in Public Health
Worksite and University Health Promotion
General Education (GE) Requirements
- 72 units required, 28 of which are specified in Major and/or Support.
- If any of the remaining 44 units is used to satisfy a Major or Support requirement, additional units of Free Electives may be needed to complete the total units required for the degree.
- See the complete GE course listing.
- A grade of C- or better is required in one course in each of the following GE Areas: A1 (Oral Communication), A2 (Written Communication), A3 (Critical Thinking), and B4 (Mathematics/Quantitative Reasoning).
| Area A | English Language Communication and Critical Thinking | |
| A1 | Oral Communication | 4 |
| A2 | Written Communication | 4 |
| A3 | Critical Thinking | 4 |
| Area B | Scientific Inquiry and Quantitative Reasoning | |
| B1 | Physical Science (4 units in Support) 1 | 0 |
| B2 | Life Science (4 units in Support) 1 | 0 |
| B3 | One lab taken with either a B1 or B2 course | |
| B4 | Mathematics/Quantitative Reasoning (4 units in Support) 1 | 0 |
| Upper-Division B (4 units in Support) 1 | 0 | |
| Area C | Arts and Humanities | |
| Lower-division courses in Area C must come from three different subject prefixes. | ||
| C1 | Arts: Arts, Cinema, Dance, Music, Theater | 4 |
| C2 | Humanities: Literature, Philosophy, Languages other than English 2 | 4 |
| Lower-Division C Elective - Select a course from either C1 or C2 | 4 | |
| Upper-Division C | 4 | |
| Area D | Social Sciences - Select courses in Area D from at least two different prefixes | |
| D1 | American Institutions (Title 5, Section 40404 Requirement) | 4 |
| D2 | Lower-Division D (4 units in Support) 1 | 0 |
| Upper-Division D | 4 | |
| Area E | Lifelong Learning and Self-Development | |
| Lower-Division E (4 units in Major) 1 | 0 | |
| Area F | Ethnic Studies | |
| F | Ethnic Studies | 4 |
| GE Electives in Areas B, C, and D | ||
| Select courses from two different areas; may be lower-division or upper-division courses. | ||
| GE Electives (4 units in Support plus 4 units in GE) 1 | 4 | |
| Total units | 44 | |
| 1 | Required in Major or Support; also satisfies General Education (GE) requirement. |
| 2 | It is recommended that students pursuing the Physical Activity in Public Health concentration take PHIL 230 or PHIL 231 to fulfill GE Area C2. |
San Luis Obispo, California 93407