Impact the Health of Entire Communities With a Bachelor of Science in Public Health from West Chester University
The Bachelor of Science in Public Health degree at West Chester University will prepare you for a career as a public health practitioner in a variety of settings.
By combining classroom study, field trips, and work experience, our public health major will give you the knowledge and skills needed to assess, plan, implement, and evaluate public health programs. You'll make a career helping individuals take responsibility for their health and well-being.
Put your classroom knowledge into practice through hands-on experience in a full-semester internship with placements in a variety of settings, including county health departments, hospitals, and voluntary health agencies.
Graduates of our program are in demand, with skills that are needed for health promotion and disease prevention. They are also eligible to take the national examination for certification as health education specialists (CHES).
Benefits of Earning Your Public Health Degree at WCU
Experiential Learning Opportunities
At WCU, you'll have hands-on learning opportunities through service-learning projects in community health and a full-semester capstone internship. We offer diverse internship opportunities tailored to your specific public health interests, as well as support in finding the best site match for your needs—even coordinating and establishing contracts with individual sites. Interested in what public health looks like in other nations? WCU also offers 670+ study abroad options, including program-specific trips.
Research Opportunities With Expert Faculty
Our experienced faculty offer innovative teaching methods to facilitate your critical and creative thinking skills. You can also participate in research opportunities in state-of-the-art labs and facilities alongside our faculty that will influence public health policies. You may even have the opportunity to present your findings at local, regional, and national conferences.
Affordability
WCU's tuition and fees are among the lowest in the region, and the University offers departmental and college-level scholarships, as well as financial aid and other funding opportunities from outside entities. Our accelerated B.S./M.S. in public health offers additional savings by condensing the two programs into five years rather than six, charging undergraduate tuition for initial graduate courses and applying undergraduate financial aid to some graduate courses.
Jobs With a Public Health Major
Careers in healthcare and social assistance are expected to grow by nearly 10 percent through 2032, with some areas seeing growth of more than 44 percent. Our public health degree graduates can be found across private and public healthcare sectors, in positions including:
- Associate professor
- Disease intervention specialist
- Public health consultant
- Public health planner
- Public health advocate
- Public health educator
- Quality improvement researcher
- Resource manager
- Spokesperson
- Clinical research coordinator
- Client services supervisor
What Will You Study as a Public Health Major?
As a public health major, you will learn how to enhance the quality of life for individuals and communities by influencing public health policies, research, and clinical education. You will also learn how to address public health challenges creatively and effectively by applying your classroom knowledge with innovative applications.
B.S. in Public Health
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| GENERAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS 1 | ||
| Academic Foundations | ||
| First Year Experience requirement | 4 | |
| English Composition requirement 2 | 6-7 | |
| Mathematics requirement | 3-4 | |
MAT 121 | Introduction to Statistics I 3 | |
| Interdisciplinary requirement | 3 | |
ENV 102 | Humans and the Environment | |
| Diverse Communities requirement | 3 | |
HEA 110 | Transcultural Health: Principles and Practice | |
| Ethics requirement | 3 | |
HEA 300 | Profession/Ethics & Health Professions | |
or PHI 180 | Introduction to Ethics | |
or HEA 210 | Introduction to Allied Health | |
| Distributed Disciplinary Foundations | ||
| Science requirement | 6-8 | |
1 BIO and 1 CHE general education distributive course | ||
| Behavioral & Social Science requirement | 6 | |
| Humanities requirement | 6 | |
PHI 150 | Critical Thinking and Problem Solving | |
| Arts requirement | 3 | |
| ADDITIONAL BACCALAUREATE REQUIREMENTS | ||
| University Requirements | ||
| Writing Emphasis requirements | 9 | |
HEA 244 | Communicating Public Health | |
HEA 342 | Program Planning and Evaluation | |
HEA 420 | Health Marketing and Communications | |
| Speaking Emphasis requirement | 9 | |
SPK 208 | Public Speaking | |
or SPK 230 | Business and Professional Speech Communication | |
| Degree Requirements | ||
| Capstone requirement | 1-15 | |
| MAJOR REQUIREMENTS | ||
| Major Courses | ||
| HEA 100 | Dimensions of Wellness | 3 |
| HEA 140 | Health Care Delivery - Trends; Challenges | 3 |
| HEA 242 | Introduction to Public and Community Health | 3 |
| HEA 276 | Achieving Health Equity 4 | 3 |
| HEA 330 | Health Behavior | 3 |
| HEA 341 | Chronic and Communicable Diseases | 3 |
| HEA 348 | Population Health: Analysis, Surveillance, and Intervention | 3 |
| HEA 419 | Research Methods in Health | 3 |
| HEA 434 | Health Law, Economics, Ethics, and Policy | 3 |
| HEA 418 | Preparation for Internship and for Professional Practice Seminar 5 | 3 |
| Public Health Electives | ||
| Four approved health electives selected from the following under advisement, with no more than six credits at the 100 level and no more than six credits of HEA 435: | 12 | |
HEA 103 | Drugs and Society | |
HEA 104 | Human Sexuality | |
HEA 106 | Death and Dying | |
HEA 109 | Health Issues of Women | |
HEA 200 | Introduction to Global Health | |
HEA 206 | Human Development | |
HEA 210 | Introduction to Allied Health | |
HEA 230 | Health Issues of School-Aged Youth | |
HEA 240 | Foundations of Health Education 7 | |
HEA 300 | Profession/Ethics & Health Professions 8 | |
HEA 306 | Curriculum and Instruction 7 | |
HEA 310 | Love and Marriage | |
HEA 315 | Mind, Body, and Health | |
HEA 325 | Stress Management | |
HEA 333 | Alternative and Complementary Medicine | |
HEA 345 | Public Health and the Apocalypse | |
HEA 346 | Perspectives on Maternal Child Health | |
HEA 435 | Health Workshop | |
HEA 438 | Understanding AIDS/HIV Infection | |
EXS 180 | Lifetime Fitness Concepts | |
NSG 225 | Health and Heredity in Human Caring | |
NSG 234 | Gender and Sexual Minority Health | |
NTD 303 | Introductory Principles Human Nutrition | |
| Capstone Requirement | ||
| HEA 421 | Public Health Internship 6 | 6 |
| Grade Requirements | ||
| A cumulative GPA of 2.5 is needed before the start of the internship, HEA 421. Public health core, public health elective classes, and MAT 121 require a minimum grade of C. | ||
| Total Minimum Credits Required | 120 | |
- 1
Transfer students whose academic passports waive university General Education requirements must still take those General Education courses specific to the major: BIO, CHE, SPK, PHI, MAT 121 or equivalent, and all Writing Emphasis courses that are also Public Health core courses.
- 2
Students who place out of English/writing courses may need to take additional public health and/or free electives to attain 120 credits.
- 3
MAT 121 or equivalent requires a minimum grade of C.
- 4
HEA 276 cannot double count towards the Behavioral and Social Sciences requirement.
- 5
HEA 418 must be taken immediately before HEA 421.
- 6
This course fulfills the Capstone requirement. As a capstone, HEA 421 cannot be taken until all HEA Major Requirements and all HEA Writing Emphasis courses are completed. Only free electives, HEA electives, or General Education courses can be taken concurrently with HEA 421.
- 7
Students who wish to take the CHES exam to become Certified Health Education Specialists must take these two courses to sit for the exam.
- 8
If not used for the Ethics requirement
Accelerated B.S. in Public Health to Master of Public Health Program
Current undergraduate students are eligible for provisional admission with junior standing (60 credits) and a cumulative grade point average of 3.00. Students will substitute up to 13 credits of graduate Public Health courses for undergraduate requirements, subject to the following guidelines:
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Public Health Electives | ||
| Up to 12 credits of public health electives will be replaced by the following: | ||
| HEA 520 | Public Health Epidemiology | 3 |
| or HEA 526 | Biostatistics for Public Health | |
| ENV 530 | General Environmental Health | 3 |
| HEA 516 | Health Care Management | 3 |
| HEA 632 | Social and Behavior Aspects of Public Health | 3 |
| Free Electives | ||
| 1 credit of free electives can be replaced with the following: | ||
| HEA 503 | Foundations of Public Health | 1 |
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