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Minor in Public Health

Boston University offers an undergraduate minor in public health in conjunction with the Boston University School of Public Health. Administration of the minor is conducted through Sargent College’s Health Science Program Office, 635 Commonwealth Ave., Room 405, hscience@bu.edu. The minor is designed to introduce the interdisciplinary field that addresses environmental, social, and behavioral determinants of health.

The requirements for the public health minor are changing slightly as of September 2011. Students must complete a minimum of 20 credits for the public health minor. This is achieved by taking four required courses (Introduction to Public Health, a course in biostatistics, a course in epidemiology, and a course in global health) and two courses from a list of public health electives. Students must earn a grade of B– or better in SPH PH 510: Introduction to Public Health and a C or better in the remaining courses.

There are no specific prerequisites, other than those specified for some of the elective courses. It is recommended that students take SPH PH 510 prior to taking the public health electives. Students in the public health minor must be aware that courses that have been applied toward an undergraduate public health minor cannot be counted toward a graduate degree in public health, even if the courses are in excess of the credits required for a bachelor’s degree at Boston University. In addition, the 500-level courses from the School of Public Health may not be applied toward a graduate degree at the School of Public Health.

Requirements

Courses are held on the Charles River Campus except where noted.

A. Four required courses:

  • SPH PH 510 Introduction to Public Health (4 cr)

One of the following statistics courses:

  • CAS MA 113 Elementary Statistics (4 cr) or
  • CAS MA 115 Statistics I (4 cr) or
  • CAS MA 213 Statistics I (4 cr)
  • CAS PS 211 Introduction to Experimental Design (4 cr) or
  • SPH BS 701 Introduction to Biostatistics (3 cr)
  • SPH BS 703 Statistics (4 cr) or

One of the following epidemiology courses:

  • SAR HS 300 Epidemiology I (4 cr) or
  • SPH EP 713 Introduction to Epidemiology (3 cr) or

One of the following international health courses:

  • SAR HS 363 Global Health: Beyond Germs and Disease (4 cr)
  • SPH PH 511 Pathogens, Poverty, and Populations: An Introduction to International Health (4 cr)
  • SPH PH 506 E International Health at the World Health Organization (4 cr) (Offered through Geneva program only)
  • SPH PH 507 E Controversies in International Health (4 cr) (Offered through Geneva program only)
  • SPH HS 425 E Health Care Policy and Practice in Ireland (4 cr)

B. Two of the following public health electives:

  • SAR HS 320 Genomics in Public Health (4 cr)
  • SAR HS 470 Topics in Public Health (4 cr)
  • SAR HS 475 Disability Advocacy and the Law (4 cr)
  • SPH EP 708 Introduction to Environmental Health (2 cr) or
  • SPH EP 765 Survey of Environmental Health (4 cr)*
  • SPH IH 701 Principles in International Health (4 cr)
  • SPH LW 707 Essentials of Public Law (2 cr) or
  • SPH LW 740 Health and Human Rights (4 cr) or
  • SPH LW 751 Public Health Law (2 cr)**
  • SPH MC 705 Safe Sex in the City: From Biology to Policy (4 cr)
  • SPH MC 725 Women, Children, and Adolescents: Public Health Approaches (4 cr)
  • SPH PH 709 The Biology of Public Health (4 cr)
  • SPH PM 702 Introduction to Health Policy and Management (3 cr) or
  • SAR HP 353 Organization and Delivery of Health Care in the U.S.
  • SPH SB 721 Social and Behavioral Sciences and Public Health (3 cr)

*Most MPH candidates take SPH EH 708, while MPH students concentrating in environmental health take SPH EH 765.

**Most MPH candidates take SPH LW 707, while MPH students concentrating in health law take SPH LW 751.

NOTE: Students who decide to enter an MPH program should be aware that undergraduate course work cannot be counted for graduate programs. In addition, graduate courses that were used to fulfill any undergraduate requirements including the public health minor, cannot be counted for a graduate program. For students who undertake an MPH at Boston University School of Public Health, successful completion of SPH HP 353 can waive the requirement for SPH PM 702 if they are not concentrating in health policy and management, but the credits for SPH HP 353 cannot be counted toward the MPH.

Further information may be found at the School of Public Health’s minor in public health website.

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