Program: BAPH - Bachelor of Arts
Introduction
The Public Health Department offers a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science and a minor in public health. The Public Health program at Mercyhurst was developed to meet the growing demand for public health studies among college students nationwide and in response to the Institute of Medicine’s recommendation to the US Department of Education that all college campuses offer public health coursework to undergraduate students.
In 2009, the Los Angeles Times reported that the US is facing a “public health workforce shortage” and noted that by 2020 America will be short more than 250,000 public health workers. Students majoring in public health can pursue a wide range of public health careers including: public health practice, health education, infection control, environmental health, epidemiology, biostatistics, health services research or administration, health policy, and international health.
Public health also provides a strong platform for students interested in a wide variety of careers in related fields including medicine, health care, biotechnology and the life sciences. There are also a wide variety of graduate school options for students pursuing a public health major. There are currently more than 50 graduate schools of public health in the US in some of the nation’s best universities offering both master and doctoral degrees.
Mission Statement
Consistent with the mission of Mercyhurst University, the Public Health Department at Mercyhurst seeks to educate students to be globally responsible citizens who take intelligent actions to improve the lives and conditions of people around the world. The Department strives to:
Program Student Learning Outcomes
The faculty members of the Public Health Department have identified five major Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) for Majors in the Public Health Program. These SLOs are based on the 14 Council for Education in Public Health (CEPH) specific learning outcomes, which have been combined into 5 broader learning outcomes.
Unique Focus
The public health program has a unique focus that provides students with skills that are:
In addition to core public health methods they will learn new and evolving methods that are likely to shape the field over the next decade including crowd sourcing, social network analysis, and agent-based modeling. Students will graduate with a distinct set of skills that are marketable to employers or that will make them strong candidates for further studies.
These skills include strong data analysis, statistical programming, and database development skills. In addition, from the outset, they will be taught “soft skills” related to professionalism, teamwork and advancement that will put them on a path to exceed in their careers.
Unique Experiential Approach
The public health program has a unique approach that defines the program and sets it apart from most other undergraduate programs in public health. Three defining principles provide maximum benefit for career development:
Knowledge acquisition is only one aspect of learning. The public health program focuses on teaching the students skills that are critical for a successful career in public health. This approach focuses not only on what students know when they graduate but also on what they can do and is consistent with professional expectations for public health graduates entering the work force or graduate studies. The curriculum is team based and harnesses that power to improve student outcomes and learning through case studies projects, exercises and simulations.
Public Health Minor
A minor in public health is useful to any student considering a career in medicine, health care or the health sciences. Seven total courses are required for the public health minor including the five required core courses listed below along with 2 additional elective PUBH courses.
PUBH 101 Foundations of Public Health - 3 credits
PUBH 201 Environmental Health - 3 credits
PUBH 211 Global Health - 3 credits
PUBH 260 Principles of Epidemiology I - 3 credits
STAT 137 Biostatistics - 3 credits
Bachelor of Arts in Public Health (BAPH) majors must maintain a 2.5 GPA 10 core courses and a practicum requirement before graduation (Public Health Field Experience or Public Health Internship or Public Health Senior Research Practicum). BA prepares students for various graduate programs. There are 10 required core courses in the Bachelors of Arts public health curriculum:
All students in the BAPH track must also complete a field experience, internship, or research practicum prior to graduation.
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Courses that meet the University’s Core requirements as well as the major core are: PUBH 101 Foundations of Public Health and STAT 137 Biostatistics.
BAPH majors are also required to take a total of 7 electives (21 credits). Five of those electives (15 credits) should be from a list of pre-approved multidisciplinary courses. The other two courses should be PUBH electives (six credits). Students work with their public health faculty advisor to choose among the pre-approved elective courses below