Areas of Concentration Approved Courses

Students will gain an understanding of public health as a broad, collective enterprise that seeks to extend the benefits of current biomedical, environmental, social, and behavioral knowledge in ways that maximize its impact on the health status of a population. The course will provide an overview of the public health approach including epidemiology, disease surveillance, sustainable solutions, social determinants of health, and disease prevention. Through active learning, students will learn skills in identifying and addressing an ever-expanding list of health problems that call for collective action to protect, promote and improve our nation's health, primarily through preventive strategies. Specific topics will include: food safety, toxics reduction, HIV/AIDS & COVID-19, vaccines, and tobacco control and prevention. PH510 is a requirement for obtaining an undergraduate minor in public health. It is appropriate for undergraduates and others who are not in an SPH degree program. It does not carry degree credit for MPH students. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Ethical Reasoning, Social Inquiry II, Critical Thinking. (Credits: 4)

Graduate Prerequisites: SPH PH720 or instructor permission. - This course explores the use of mass communication as a tool for health promotion, both domestically and internationally. The course examines the role of the mass media in shaping a social and cultural environment that affects the public health, and then reviews a range of mass media strategies available to the practitioner--public communication campaigns, social marketing, public relations, and media advocacy. Students discuss the strengths and limitations of each approach and gain experience in applying these strategies to specific public health problems. Students work in groups on a final project in which they develop and present a proposal for a plan for a public health communication campaign that uses mass media. (Credits: 4)

Graduate Prerequisites: Having a working knowledge of Excel software is helpful, but not required. Poverty, development, and health status remain enduring issues of our time, both in low income and high income countries alike. The goal of this course is to introduce students to the basic concepts and interrelated nature of poverty and development (including the dynamics and measures of poverty, inequality, and global burden of disease). We will then focus on a number of important cross-cutting health challenges that relate closely to levels of poverty and development, such as child health, maternal health, HIV and AIDS, women's empowerment, and climate change. The course draws on a variety of teaching methods, including large and small discussions, student-led workshops, guest lectures, and interactive exercises, as well as a set of team-based activities concentrated on one of the cross-cutting health challenges. Students will gain a deep knowledge of the interwoven nature of changes in poverty, inequities, and health status, and by the end of the class will be experts in at least one of the major topic areas, as they advance their skills in teamwork, engaging their peers on a specific health-related topic, conducting research and in-depth analysis, and disseminating their findings. (Credits: 4)

This survey course introduces students to public health theories, methods, and topics central to maternal, child and family health research and practice. Grounded in a life course perspective, this course examines how the health of infants, children, birthing parents, women, and families are shaped by the complex interplay of biologic and social determinants of health, over a lifetime and across generations. Through a case method teaching approach, select current topics tailored to student interest (e.g., asthma, adolescent pregnancy, infant mortality, vaccination, and food access) will be studied in depth and used to illustrate how the most urgent maternal, family and child health outcomes are monitored and addressed through research and practice. Throughout the course, special attention will be given to key drivers of health inequities, as well as multilevel, strengths-based approaches designed to address these. By the end of the course students will be able to formulate an MCH-related public health question, conduct and write a literature review, and craft a policy slide deck. Taking MC 725 is the most common way students introduce themselves to MCH studies and the MCH context certificate. (Credits: 4)

This is the foundational course for the certificate in chronic and non-communicable disease (chronic/NCD). Chronic and non-communicable diseases (Chronic/NCD) are responsible for a large majority of the deaths in the United States and a rapidly rising share of deaths in low- and middle-income countries. In addition to their effect on mortality, these conditions have an enormous impact on disability, quality of life, health care costs, and lost productivity, and are also a major contributor to health disparities. The course provides students with an overview of the public health approach toward chronic/NCD across the continuum of identification of causes, implementation and evaluation of strategies for prevention, and treatment and management of disease to reduce mortality and improve quality of life. Through readings, lectures, in-class exercises, and discussions, the course highlights overarching themes in chronic and non-communicable diseases, to view these conditions through a public health framework, and to further develop their knowledge and skills in subsequent courses toward their certificate. (Credits: 2)

Graduate Prerequisites: SPH PH720 or instructor permission. This course provides an investigation into mental health and mental illness from a public health perspective. The courses examines the social determinants of mental health, and evaluates the ways in which key public health strategies (i.e., surveillance, screening, prevention, wellness promotion, community and policy advocacy) address mental health in various communities. Students develop an understanding of the challenges facing the current system of services and the role public health must play going forward. Student teams develop and apply skills by evaluating programs and strategies to promote mental health and wellbeing for vulnerable populations. (Credits: 4)

Undergraduate Prerequisites: COM CM180 - CM321 Communication Research Methods is an introduction to the social scientific method of inquiry and the fundamental concepts and processes of social scientific methods that are used in media science, advertising, and public relations. Assorted research methods are covered, including both quantitative and qualitative. Also included are literature review, research design, research execution, quantitative and qualitative data analysis, and reporting of findings. (Credits: 4)

Undergraduate Prerequisites: CO201 AND First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120). - Intensive exposure to some of the basic writing formats in the communications profession: news releases, letters, features, and profiles. Lead writing, editing, and techniques of interviewing. Extensive writing and rewriting. Develops basic writing skills for different audiences. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Writing- Intensive Course. (Credits: 4)

Graduate Prerequisites: SPH PH720 or instructor permission. - This course explores the use of mass communication as a tool for health promotion, both domestically and internationally. The course examines the role of the mass media in shaping a social and cultural environment that affects the public health, and then reviews a range of mass media strategies available to the practitioner--public communication campaigns, social marketing, public relations, and media advocacy. Students discuss the strengths and limitations of each approach and gain experience in applying these strategies to specific public health problems. Students work in groups on a final project in which they develop and present a proposal for a plan for a public health communication campaign that uses mass media. (Credits: 4)

Required of all NE majors. An introduction to the biological basis of behavior and cognition. Includes theoretical and practical foundations rooted in psychology, biology, neuropharmacology, and clinical sciences (e.g., neurology and neuropsychiatry). Neuroethical dilemmas are highlighted and integrated when relevant to discussion topics. Carries natural science divisional credit in CAS. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Scientific Inquiry I. (Credits: 4)

Undergraduate Prerequisites: (CASNE101) - Cognitive neuroscience seeks to understand the brain basis of cognition. This course introduces research methods and human neuroanatomy, and provides a survey of topics including learning and memory, attention, perception, language, social cognition, and executive function. (Credits: 4)

Undergraduate Prerequisites: (CASPS101) - How do we perceive the world around us' In this course, we'll explore vision, hearing, touch, smell, and taste and find out how the brain constructs our perceptual experience from light, sound, pressure, and chemicals in the world. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Scientific Inquiry I, Critical Thinking. (Credits: 4)

Undergraduate Prerequisites: (CASPS101) - Students will receive credit for CAS PS 231 or CAS NE 101, but not for both. Structure and function of the nervous system and how it controls behavior. Basic neuroanatomy, cellular basis of neurotransmission and physiological aspects of sensation. Mechanisms of simple and complex cognitive neural function and the biological underpinnings of major psychiatric disorders. Carries social science divisional credit in CAS. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Scientific Inquiry I, Social Inquiry I, Critical Thinking. (Credits: 4)

Undergraduate Prerequisites: (CASPS101) - How do we learn to associate stimuli together' How do we learn to associate behaviors with their consequences' How is memory applicable to learning' What are the different memory processes and systems responsible for learning' The aim of this course is to review the major traditional and current theories of learning and memory. Students will begin with an understanding of simple learning, including theories and basic principles of classical and operant conditioning. Students will then be introduced to the memory system, the three stages of memory, implicit and explicit memory processes. Carries social science divisional credit in CAS. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Scientific Inquiry I, Social Inquiry I, Critical Thinking. (Credits: 4)

Undergraduate Prerequisites: (CASPS101) - The historical development of personality theories and their application to social, research, and clinical concerns are emphasized. Classic theories of personality (e.g., psychoanalytic, behavioral, humanistic, cognitive, and social roles) are explored and evaluated through lectures, readings, and case materials. A consideration of trait-based approaches and personality disorder with regards to DSM 5 criteria is also included. Carries social science divisional credit in CAS. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Social Inquiry I, Critical Thinking. (Credits: 4)

Undergraduate Prerequisites: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., CASWR 100 or WR 120), CASAN 101 and/or CASAN 210 are recommended. - Seminar-like, discussion-driven cross-cultural examination of psychological anthropology studies of care, personhood, emotions, gender and the body/mind, medicine, ethics, justice, politics, and the social relations between individuals and their communities or institutions. Effective Spring 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Teamwork/Collaboration, Writing-Intensive Course. (Credits: 4)

Intended for students interested in sports, coaching, medicine and exercise, this course provides an introduction to prevention of injury and illness, basic exercise principles, and first aid for an active population. This course will require students to create a digital info graphic or video disseminating health care or sports medicine information to a specific target audience. Effective Fall 2018, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Digital/Multimedia Expression. (Credits: 2)

Undergraduate Prerequisites: (CASBI211 OR CASBI315) or consent of instructor. - What are the limits of human performance' Why can't we run 25 miles at the same speed we can sprint 40 yards' How do common diseases impact tolerance to physical activity' In exercise physiology we will discuss these questions and more, eventually uncovering principles that determine how our bodies respond to various forms of stress (like exercise). Through hands-on group experiments and collaborative projects in laboratory and lecture, we will also explore how scientists have come to these conclusions through the implementation of the scientific method in a research setting. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub areas: Scientific Inquiry II, Teamwork/Collaboration. (Credits: 4)

Undergraduate Prerequisites: BI106, PY105 or PY104, or consent of instructor. - Biomechanics is a powerful tool for understanding why and how we control and coordinate movement in health and disability. The course provides a conceptual and theoretical basis of biomechanics so that students learn to creatively problem solve using a biomechanical thought process. Many examples of applications include athletics, orthopedic injuries, central nervous system disorders, designing assistive devices, pediatrics and aging. Emphasis will be placed on how to use the tools of biomechanics along with an understanding of functional anatomy to think about typical and abnormal movement. Effective Spring 2022, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Creativity/Innovation. (Credits: 4)