Minor in Public Health

BU College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences: Sargent College offers a minor in public health in collaboration with BU School of Public Health. The public health minor is open to all Boston University undergraduate students on the Charles River Campus. Approval of the minor is through the Public Health Minor Office, located at Sargent College, 635 Commonwealth Avenue, Room 405, hscience@bu.edu. Students must complete a minimum of six (6) courses to fulfill the public health minor requirements. This is achieved by taking four (4) required courses (Introduction to Public Health, a course in International Health, a course in Epidemiology, and a course in Statistics). The remaining two (2) courses will be selected from the list of public health electives (below). Students must earn a grade of B– or better in PH 510 Introduction to Public Health and a C or better in the remaining courses.

The following four courses are required:

Introduction to Public Health:

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

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 506e International Health at the World Health Organization (4 cr) (offered through Geneva Program only)
• SPH PH 507e Controversies in International Health (4 cr) (offered through Geneva Program only)

One of the following Epidemiology courses:

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

One of the following Statistics courses:

• CAS MA 113 Elementary Statistics (4 cr)
• CAS MA 115 Statistics 1 (4 cr)
• CAS PS  211 Introduction to Experimental Design in Psychology (4 cr)
• SMG SM 221 Probabilistic and Statistical Decision Making for Management (4 cr)
• SPH BS 701 Elementary Biostatistics (3 cr)
• SPH BS 703 Biostatistics (4 cr)

Two courses (minimum 6 credits) from the following list of Public Health electives are required:

• SAR HS 320 Genomics in Public Health (4 cr)
• SAR HS 440 Qualitative Research Strategies in Global Public Health
• SPH EH 708 Introduction to Environmental Health (2 cr) or SPH EH 765 Survey of Environmental Health (4 cr)
• SPH LW 707 Essentials of Public Law (2 cr) or SPH LW 751 Public Health Law (4 cr)
• SPH LW 740 Human Rights and Health (4 cr)
• SPH MC 705 Safe Sex in the City: From Biology to Policy (4 cr)
• SPH MC 725 Woman, Children & Adolescents: Public Health Approaches (4 cr)
• SPH PH 709 The Biology of Public Health (4 cr)
• SPH PM 702 Introduction to Health Policy & Management (3 cr) or SAR HP 353 Organization in Delivery of Health Care in the U.S. (4 cr)
• SPH SB 721 Social and Behavioral Sciences and Public Health (3 cr)
• SPH PH 511 Pathogens, Poverty, and Populations: An Introduction to International Health (4 cr)
• SPH PH 709 The Biology of Public Health (4 cr)
• SPH PH 710 Introduction to Public Health Informatics (4 cr)
• SPH PM 702 Introduction to Health Policy & Management (3 cr) (NOTE: SAR HP 353 Organization in Delivery of Health Care in the U.S. [4 cr] may substitute for SPH PM 702)

Available through the Dublin Program:

• SAR HS 425 Health Care Policy and Practice in Ireland

Available through the Geneva Program:

• SPH PH 506e International Health at the World Health Organization (4 cr; Geneva)
• SPH PH 507e Controversies in International Health (4 cr; Geneva)