About the ProgramPublic Health Program

The college offers a major in public health education and a minor in public health. Public health is an ever-changing and expanding field of study. The interdisciplinary major in public health education is a competency-based program that prepares students to become Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES®) as defined and credentialed by the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing (NCHEC). Students will develop the required competencies through a liberal arts lens, placing significant emphasis on social determinants of health, health disparities, and health equity domestically and globally. Students will explore a wide array of issues and the methods and strategies used to address those issues. A major in public health education prepares students to address health challenges both at the community and individual level by developing skills in community-based programing, health behavior, advocacy, communication, and leadership. A public health education major prepares students for job opportunities in health education, environmental health, and research, and works with a broad spectrum of people and cultures. Careers are found in local, county, state, and federal health agencies, as well as health care and non-profit organizations. 

The Public Health Education major draws its courses from a variety of disciplines. This interdisciplinary approach provides students with a foundation for thinking comprehensively about the influences on population and individual health, and the spectrum of approaches one can design to improve the health status of communities.

The major consists of the completion of courses with a public health designation (PBH) and additional interdisciplinary courses that integrate the competencies of a Certified Health Education Specialist®. 

Course Catalog Faculty and Staff