Minor in Public Health

The Public Health minor is offered through the Department of Health Sciences in Sargent College. The minor consists of six courses, completed with a grade of C or higher: four required courses (Introduction to Public Health, Epidemiology, a course in Statistics, and a course in International Health) and two courses from a list of public health electives. Students may fulfill some public health minor course requirements through two BU Study Abroad Programs: Geneva Public Health and Dublin Health Science tracks. The Public Health Minor Office is located at 635 Commonwealth Avenue, Room 405, and can be reached at phminor@bu.edu.

The following four courses are required:

1. Introduction to Public Health:

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

2. One of the following International Health courses:

• SAR HS 363 Global Health: Beyond Germs and Genes (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)

3. One of the following Epidemiology courses:

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

4. One of the following Statistics courses:

• CAS MA 113 Elementary Statistics (4 cr)
• CAS MA 115 Statistics 1 (4 cr)
• CAS MA 213 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 704 Biostatistics (3 cr)

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

• SAR HS 345 Global Environmental Public Health (4 cr)
• SAR HP 353 Organization and Delivery of Health Care in the U.S. (4 cr) (cannot be taken in combination with SPH PM 702)
• SAR HS 363 Global Health: Beyond Germs and Genes (4 cr) (if not taken to fulfill the International Health course requirement)
• SAR HS 395 Food, Dietary Supplements, and Consumer Health (4 cr)
• SAR HS 425e Health Care Policy and Practice in Ireland (4 cr) (Dublin Program only)
• SAR HS 440 Qualitative Research Strategies in Global Public Health
• SAR HS 470 Topics in Public Health (4 cr)
• SAR HS 475 Disability Advocacy and the Law (4 cr)
• CAS SO 215 Sociology of Health Care (4 cr)
• SPH EH 717 Introduction to Environmental Health (3 cr) or SPH EH 765 Survey of Environmental Health (4 cr)
• SPH LW 719 Essentials of Health Law (3 cr) or SPH LW 751 Public Health Law (4 cr) or 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) (cannot be taken in combination with SAR HP 353)
• 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) (if not taken to fulfill the International Health course requirement)
• SPH PH 506e International Health at the World Health Organization (4 cr) (Geneva Program only) (if not taken to fulfill the International Health course requirement)
• SPH PH 507e Controversies in International Health (4 cr) (Geneva Program only) (if not taken to fulfill the International Health course requirement)