Public Health, B.S.

Health Sciences
Kahler Stone, program coordinator
615-494-7898
Kahler.Stone@mtsu.edu

The Public Health major prepares students to improve population health through prevention, data-driven decision-making, and community-based practice. Coursework includes epidemiology, environmental health, program planning, and public health communication and marketing, with an emphasis on applied learning.

Graduates are equipped for careers in public health or further study in health-related fields and professional programs. In consultation with an advisor, students will complete the curriculum outlined below.

NOTE: The Public Health program is accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH).

Accelerated Bachelors/Masters (ABM) Program

High achieving students majoring in Public Health who intend to pursue a master’s degree in Public Health may apply to participate in the Accelerated Bachelors/Masters (ABM) pathway. The pathway allows undergraduate students an opportunity to complete select requirements for both the bachelor’s and master’s degrees simultaneously. Upon successful completion of the ABM pathway, students must submit an application (including application fee) to the graduate program. Additional application requirements will be waived, and the student will be admitted to the program automatically. For more information about the ABM pathway, see the Graduate Catalog.

Academic Map

Following is a printable, suggested four-year schedule of courses:

Public Health, B.S., Academic Map

Degree Requirements

True Blue Core (TBC)	41 hours
Major Requirement	54 hours
Electives	25-28 hours
TOTAL	120 hours

*This program requires courses that can also fulfill requirements of the True Blue Core curriculum. If program requirements are also used to fulfill True Blue Core requirements, the number of elective hours will increase.

True Blue Core (41 hours)

True Blue Core (TBC) requirements (shown in curricular listings below) include courses in the Foundational Skills areas of Written Communication (WC), Information Literacy (Info Lit), Non-Written Communication (NWC), and Quantitative Literacy (Quant Lit). Knowledge Domains include Human Society and Social Relationships (HSSR), Scientific Literacy (Sci Lit), Creativity and Cultural Expression (CCE), and History and Civic Learning (HCL), which include Discovery and Explorations categories. Students must choose at least one course from each Discovery category.

The following courses required by the major meet True Blue Core requirements:

HLTH 1530 /HLTH 1531 (HSSR)

Major Requirements (54 hours)

HLTH 1530 - Health and Wellness 3 credit hours AND
HLTH 1531 - Health and Wellness Lab 0 credit hours
HLTH 2600 - Introduction to Health Professions 3 credit hours
HLTH 3240 - Introduction to Community and Public Health 3 credit hours
HLTH 3260 - Environmental Health 3 credit hours
HLTH 3320 - Assessment in Community and Public Health 3 credit hours
HLTH 3350 - Survey of Human Disease 3 credit hours
HLTH 4020 - Biostatistics for Public Health 3 credit hours
HLTH 4270 - Bioethical Issues in Public Health 3 credit hours
HLTH 4360 - Human Sexuality 3 credit hours
HLTH 4390 - Women’s Health 3 credit hours
HLTH 4400 - Drugs and Violence in Public Health 3 credit hours
HLTH 4430 - Program Planning in Health Education 3 credit hours
HLTH 4450 - Technology Applications 1 credit hour AND
HLTH 4451 - Technology Applications Lab 2 credit hours
HLTH 4460 - Introduction to Epidemiology 3 credit hours
HLTH 4810 - Measurement and Evaluation 3 credit hours
HLTH 4870 - Methods of Communication and Marketing in Public Health 3 credit hours
HLTH 4910 - Service Learning in Health Promotion 3 credit hours
HETH 4110 - Trends and Issues in Healthcare 3 credit hours

Electives (25-28 hours)

Following are recommended electives:

BIOL 2100 - Microbiology in Disease 3 credit hours AND
BIOL 2101 - Microbiology in Disease Lab 0 credit hours
HDFS 3320 - Family Relations 3 credit hours
COMM 2560 - Intercultural Communication 3 credit hours
ENTR 2900 - Entrepreneurship 3 credit hours
HLTH 3020 - Medical Terminology in Health Professions 3 credit hours
HLTH 3300 - First Aid and Safety Education 3 credit hours
HLTH 4280 - Instructor’s Course in First Aid and CPR 2 credit hours
HLTH 4300 - The School Health Program 3 credit hours
HLTH 4340 - Fitness Education for the Adult 3 credit hours
HLTH 4700 - Coordinated School Health 3 credit hours
HLTH 4900 - Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) Review 1 credit hour
HLTH 4990 - Health Internship 6 to 12 credit hours
LSTS 3380 - Disabilities and Diversity in Leisure, Sport, and Tourism 3 credit hours
LSTS 4470 - Leisure and Aging 3 credit hours
MGMT 3610 - Principles of Management 3 credit hours
MGMT 4000 - Not-for-Profit Management 3 credit hours
NFS 1240 - Introduction to Nutrition and Wellness 3 credit hours
NFS 3260 - Community Nutrition 3 credit hours
NFS 4210 - Nutrition in Aging 3 credit hours
PSY 3230 - Psychological Disorders 3 credit hours
PSY 3590 - Personality 3 credit hours
PSY 4380 - Group Dynamics 3 credit hours
PSY 4400 - Introduction to Applied Behavior Analysis 3 credit hours
PSY 4630 - Death and Dying 3 credit hours
PSY 4650 - Health Psychology 3 credit hours
SOC 2500 - Marriage and Family 3 credit hours
SOC 2600 - Introduction to Gerontology 3 credit hours
SOC 3400 - Gender and Society 3 credit hours
SOC 4020 - Sociology of Aging 3 credit hours
SOC 4040 - Health Care Delivery Issues 3 credit hours
SOC 4240 - Race and Ethnic Relations 3 credit hours

Curriculum: Public Health

Freshman

Written Communication 3 credit hours
Information Literacy 3 credit hours (HLTH 1150 recommended)
Non-written Communication 3 credit hours
Quantitative Literacy 3 credit hours
Creativity and Cultural Expression 3 credit hours
Human Society and Social Relationships 3 credit hours
Scientific Literacy 8 credit hours (BIOL 1030/BIOL 1031 recommended)
History and Civic Learning 3 credit hours
HLTH 1530 - Health and Wellness 3 credit hours (HSSR) AND
HLTH 1531 - Health and Wellness Lab 0 credit hours

Subtotal: 32 Hours

Sophomore

History and Civic Learning 3 credit hours
Creativity and Cultural Expression Literature 3 credit hours
Electives 9 credit hours
HLTH 2600 - Introduction to Health Professions 3 credit hours
HLTH 3240 - Introduction to Community and Public Health 3 credit hours
HLTH 3320 - Assessment in Community and Public Health 3 credit hours
HLTH 3350 - Survey of Human Disease 3 credit hours
HLTH 4360 - Human Sexuality 3 credit hours

Subtotal: 30 Hours

Junior

HLTH 3260 - Environmental Health 3 credit hours
HLTH 4020 - Biostatistics for Public Health 3 credit hours
HLTH 4390 - Women’s Health 3 credit hours
HLTH 4400 - Drugs and Violence in Public Health 3 credit hours
HLTH 4430 - Program Planning in Health Education 3 credit hours
Creativity and Cultural Expression 3 credit hours
Elective 3 credit hours
HLTH 4450 - Technology Applications 1 credit hour AND
HLTH 4451 - Technology Applications Lab 2 credit hours
HLTH 4460 - Introduction to Epidemiology 3 credit hours
HETH 4110 - Trends and Issues in Healthcare 3 credit hours

Subtotal: 30 Hours

Senior

HLTH 4270 - Bioethical Issues in Public Health 3 credit hours
HLTH 4810 - Measurement and Evaluation 3 credit hours
HLTH 4870 - Methods of Communication and Marketing in Public Health 3 credit hours
HLTH 4910 - Service Learning in Health Promotion 3 credit hours
Electives 16 credit hours

NOTE: If chosen, HLTH 4990 (Internship) prerequisites are HLTH 4810 and HLTH 4870 with minimum grades of C (2.0).

Public Health, B.S.

Accelerated Bachelors/Masters (ABM) Program

Academic Map

Degree Requirements

True Blue Core (41 hours)

Major Requirements (54 hours)

Electives (25-28 hours)

Curriculum: Public Health

Freshman

Subtotal: 32 Hours

Sophomore

Subtotal: 30 Hours

Junior

Subtotal: 30 Hours

Senior

Subtotal: 28 Hours