The School of Allied Health Sciences Department of Community and Environmental Health has reworked its curriculum to offer flexibility and increased skills for students. The curriculum takes effect in fall 2018 with the start of academic year. Advisors and students should be aware of these changes.
The department now offers three degrees: 1) a Bachelor of Science in Health Studies, with three emphases – general, health informatics and information management, and science; 2) a Bachelor of Science in Public Health, with three emphases – general, environmental and occupational health and safety, and health education and promotion; and 3) an online Bachelor of Arts in Public Health with a focus on community change and health education and promotion, which functions like a degree completion program.
The first two years of general education in all three degrees will provide students a breadth of foundational knowledge. In the final two years, students will dive deeper into their selected discipline to develop specialized knowledge which will help them obtain employment in their chosen career. They will have options for developing cross-cutting skills in collaboration, initiative and resilience and earn badges, or micro-certificates demonstrating specific skills to employers.
Additionally, the department is changing its course prefixes, beginning with courses offered in fall 2018. The department is providing a crosswalk for the campus community to track specific courses from their old names, prefixes and numbers to their new ones in order to assist students and advisors in identifying the fall 2018 courses in the course registration process.
The Department of Community and Environmental Health strengthens and improves the overall health of individuals, organizations, the environment and communities using evidence-based teaching, scholarship, and service. The department prepares students to be engaged professionals who address community and healthcare-related challenges. The curriculum explores issues that affect individuals and populations of people and develops analysis, critical thinking, communication and other flexible skills to enable graduates to adapt with the quickly changing public health and healthcare landscapes.