Public Health, B.S.
| Degree: | Bachelor of Science (B.S.) |
| Major: | Public Health |
| Minor: | Health Promotion |
| Certificate: | AI and Analytics in Public Health and Health Systems |
| College: | Usha Kundu, MD College of Health |
| CIP Code: | 51.2201 |
| Semester Hours Required For Degree: 120 | |
Bachelor of Science in Public Health
Department of Public Health
| Building | Phone | Website | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Building 38, Room 135 | 850-474-3191 | https://uwf.edu/ukcoh/departments/public-health/ | publichealth@uwf.edu |
Health Promotion Minor
Department of Movement Sciences and Health
| Building | Phone | Website | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Building 72, Room 241 | 850-474-2194 | https://uwf.edu/ukcoh/departments/movement-sciences-and-health/ | pbarrington@uwf.edu |
The Bachelor of Science in Public Health (BSPH) degree program prepares graduates for careers in public health at the local, state, national, and global health agencies as well as in community and organizational settings. Graduates will be equipped with competencies to conduct health needs assessments; to develop, implement, and evaluate health programs geared toward disease prevention and control. With the appropriate mix of elective courses, graduates of the BS in Public Health degree program may petition NCHEC to sit for the Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) national exam. Additionally, the BS in Public Health degree prepares graduates for advanced public health education at the master's and doctoral levels with training in any of the major domains of social behavioral health sciences, environmental health, health policy, health education, epidemiology, and qualitative and quantitative research.
Admission Requirements
In order to graduate, all students must complete at least 120 semester hours with a minimum of 48 specified upper-division hours (3000/4000 level) at UWF.
Acceptance to the University does not constitute admission to the upper-division Public Health Degree. Students entering UWF or declaring a major in public health will automatically be placed in a pending status until they meet the requirements for admission.
- Students must successfully complete all common prerequisite courses with a minimum grade of a “C” or better.
- Students must be at the level of a sophomore or higher.
- Students will not be admitted to the program less than one week before the beginning of the term in which they have applied.
Those who do not complete these requirements may be denied further registration and may be prevented from further enrollment in Public Health courses. Not all states authorize online programs, if you reside outside of Florida you will want to check the status of your state's acceptance of this program: UWF State Authorization Status
This program will not meet immigration requirements for students holding an F1 or J1 Visa to maintain status. Contact International Affairs for further information.
No more than 24% of the program requirements for this degree may be in traditional business subjects.
Students must consult with the BSPH academic advisor for courses which may satisfy both the General Education requirements and common prerequisites.
A minimum grade of "C-" or better is required in all courses in the BSPH program, except for the common prerequisites which require a grade of "C" or better. A BSPH program minimum GPA of 2.0 is required for graduation.
In addition to the General Education requirements, students must satisfy all additional State of Florida requirements, including the College-Level Communication and Computation, Civic Literacy, and Foreign Language requirements. With appropriate planning and coordination with an academic advisor, students may satisfy some of the general University requirements through the General Education curriculum. For a complete listing of general degree requirements, refer to the State University Requirements and Degree Requirements sections of this catalog.
Mathematics Pathway
Students are advised to complete the following courses to fulfill the mathematics pathway that aligns with the mathematics skills needed for success in their program and their career goals. Students should refer to their academic advisor for questions about the math pathway for their program. For information about this requirement, refer to the Mathematics Pathways catalog page. These courses may also fulfill requirements for General Education and Common Prerequisites.
| Statistical Reasoning | ||
| STA 2023 | Elements of Statistics | 3 |
| MAC 1105 | College Algebra | 3-4 |
| or MAC 1105C | College Algebra with Lab | |
| or MAC 1114 | Trigonometry | |
| or MAC 1140 | Precalculus Algebra | |
| or MAC 1147 | Precalculus with Trigonometry | |
| or MAC 2311 | Analytic Geometry and Calculus I | |
| or MAC 2233 | Calculus with Business Applications | |
| or MAC 2312 | Analytic Geometry and Calculus II | |
| or MGF 1130 | Mathematical Thinking | |
| or MGF 1131 | Mathematics in Context | |
Common Prerequisites
State-mandated common prerequisites must be completed prior to graduation, but are not required for admission to the program. See the Common Prerequisites Manual for course substitutions from Florida colleges and universities.
| PSY 2012 | General Psychology * | 3 |
| STA 2023 | Elements of Statistics * | 3 |
| Choose one of the following: | 8 | |
| Anatomy and Physiology I and Anatomy and Physiology I Laboratory and Anatomy and Physiology II and Anatomy & Physiology II Laboratory * | ||
BSC 1085C | Anatomy and Physiology I & BSC 1086C Anatomy and Physiology II | |
| Biology I and Biology I Laboratory and Biology II and Biology II Laboratory * | ||
BSC 2010C | Biology I and BSC 2011C Biology II | |
| Total Hours | 14 | |
- *
Indicates common prerequisites which can be used to satisfy General Education requirements.
Lower Division Electives
| Students must complete sufficient 1000/2000 level electives to satisfy at least 60 semester hours (sh) in the lower division. Current UWF students may use elective courses at any level (1000-4000) to meet this elective requirement. | 22 | |
| Total Hours | 22 | |
| Students should choose 3 courses from the following list for lower-division electives: | 9 | |
| Informatics and Your Health | ||
Department of Public Health-approved elective(s) appropriate to student’s career planning. | ||
| Total Hours | 9 | |
- *
Indicates courses which can be used to satisfy General Education requirements.
Public Health Foundational Courses
All Bachelor of Science in Public Health students are required to complete the following public health foundational courses.
| PHC 4024 | Applied Research Methods in Public Health + | 3 |
| PHC 4101 | Essentials of Public Health + | 3 |
| PHC 4109 | Diseases in Human Populations + | 3 |
| PHC 4140 | Public Health Planning and Analysis + | 3 |
| PHC 4320 | Environmental and Occupational Health + | 3 |
| PHC 4464 | Understanding Health Equity and Health Disparities + | 3 |
| PHC 4940 | Public Health Capstone | 3 |
| MCB 4276 | Epidemiology of Infectious Disease + | 3 |
| STA 4173 | Biostatistics + | 3 |
| HSC 4300 | Changing Health Behaviors + | 3 |
| HSA 3111 | Understanding U.S. Healthcare +, *** | 3 |
| Total Hours | 33 | |
- +
- Courses included in the major GPA.
- ***
Meets College-Level Communication Skills Requirement.
Public Health Major Courses
All Bachelor of Science in Public Health students must choose 5 courses (for a total of 15 credits) from the approved set of public health major courses.
| Choose five (5) courses from the following list: | 15 | |
| Bioinformatics and Data Science | ||
| Bioterrorism: The Interprofessional Response | ||
| Health Information Systems | ||
| Data Analysis in the Health Sciences | ||
| Globalization and Public Health | ||
| Epidemiology for Public Health Practice | ||
| Foundations of Maternal and Child Health | ||
| Pandemics and Microbial Threats to Health | ||
| Applied Qualitative Research Methods | ||
| Public Health Seminar | ||
Department of Public Health-approved elective(s) appropriate to student’s career planning. | ||
| Total Hours | 15 | |
Approved Electives
Students should discuss their professional goals with their advisor and public health faculty before selecting elective courses.
| Department of Public Health-approved elective(s) appropriate to student’s career planning. | 12 | |
| Total Hours | 12 | |
Accelerated Bachelor's (BS) in Public Health to Master's (MPH) in Public Health Program
Minimum Requirements for admission include:
- Minimum overall undergraduate GPA of 3.25/4.0.
- Minimum GPA of 3.5 in major at UWF.
- One letter of recommendation from a faculty member.
Process
A prospective student who meets the minimum requirements for admission to the Accelerated Bachelor's (BS) in Public Health to Master's (MPH) in Public Health Program must schedule a meeting with their undergraduate faculty advisor and graduate advisor to discuss and develop a degree plan for the student's Accelerated BS/MPH program. The student must then submit an Accelerated BS/MPH program application and a letter of recommendation to the graduate advisor.
Eligibility and Restrictions
Students must have completed 75 undergraduate credit hours, including credits earned from advanced placement, prior to applying to the Accelerated BS/MPH program. Transfer students must have completed a minimum of two semesters and at least 24 credit hours at the University of West Florida prior to application to the Accelerated BS/MPH program.
For admission into the Accelerated BS/MPH program in the summer semester, application materials must be submitted by April 1. For admission into the Accelerated BS/MPH program in the fall semester, application materials must be submitted by July 1. For admission into the Accelerated BS/MPH program in the spring semester, application materials must be submitted by November 15.
Admission into the Accelerated BS/MPH program does not guarantee admission into the MPH program upon completion of the BS. Students must still submit an Express Admission application for the MPH program. Students who are a part of the Accelerated BS/MPH program cannot be provisionally or conditionally admitted into the MPH program.
Program Requirements
Upon admission into the MPH, the 12 graduate credit hours completed as an undergraduate student will count for 12 semester hours in Public Health coursework for the MPH. Students in the Accelerated BS/MS program must earn a grade of "B" (3.0/4.0) or better in each of the graduate-level courses that are being applied to both degrees. Courses completed with a grade of "B-" or below cannot be applied to the MPH degree.
Students accepted into the MPH program must complete all MPH requirements within 24 months of completing the BS degree. If the MPH program requirements are not completed within 24 months, the student is no longer eligible to apply the graduate credit hours toward both degrees (i.e., the student can only apply the graduate credit hours either toward completion of the bachelor’s degree or toward a future master’s degree) and is automatically terminated from the Accelerated BS/MPH program.
If a student in the Accelerated BS/MPH program completes the BS degree requirements with an overall GPA of less than 3.25/4.0, the student is no longer eligible to apply the graduate credit hours to both degrees (i.e., the student can only apply the credit hours towards completion of the BS degree or toward a future master’s degree) and is automatically terminated from the Accelerated BS/MPH program.
A student who becomes ineligible to continue participating in or withdraws from the Accelerated BS/MPH program cannot apply any graduate credit hours toward both degrees.
Students who are enrolled in the Accelerated BS/MPH program are eligible for graduate assistantship positions only after completing the BS degree.
In addition to the General Education requirements, students must satisfy all additional State of Florida requirements, including the College-Level Communication and Computation, Civic Literacy, and Foreign Language requirements. With appropriate planning and coordination with an academic advisor, students may satisfy some of the general University requirements through the General Education curriculum. For a complete listing of general degree requirements, refer to the State University Requirements and Degree Requirements sections of this catalog.
Mathematics Pathway
Students are advised to complete the following courses to fulfill the mathematics pathway that aligns with the mathematics skills needed for success in their program and their career goals. Students should refer to their academic advisor for questions about the math pathway for their program. For information about this requirement, refer to the Mathematics Pathways catalog page. These courses may also fulfill requirements for General Education and Common Prerequisites.
| Statistical Reasoning | ||
| STA 2023 | Elements of Statistics | 3 |
| MAC 1105 | College Algebra | 3-4 |
| or MAC 1105C | College Algebra with Lab | |
| or MAC 1114 | Trigonometry | |
| or MAC 1140 | Precalculus Algebra | |
| or MAC 1147 | Precalculus with Trigonometry | |
| or MAC 2311 | Analytic Geometry and Calculus I | |
| or MAC 2233 | Calculus with Business Applications | |
| or MAC 2312 | Analytic Geometry and Calculus II | |
| or MGF 1130 | Mathematical Thinking | |
| or MGF 1131 | Mathematics in Context | |
Common Prerequisites
State-mandated common prerequisites must be completed prior to graduation, but are not required for admission to the program. See the Common Prerequisites Manual for course substitutions from Florida colleges and universities.
| PSY 2012 | General Psychology * | 3 |
| STA 2023 | Elements of Statistics * | 3 |
| Choose one of the following: | 8 | |
| Anatomy and Physiology I and Anatomy and Physiology I Laboratory and Anatomy and Physiology II and Anatomy & Physiology II Laboratory * | ||
BSC 1085C | Anatomy and Physiology I & BSC 1086C Anatomy and Physiology II | |
| Biology I and Biology I Laboratory and Biology II and Biology II Laboratory | ||
BSC 2010C | Biology I and BSC 2011C Biology II | |
| Total Hours | 14 | |
- *
Indicates common prerequisites which can be used to satisfy General Education requirements.
Lower Division Electives
| Students must complete sufficient 1000/2000 level electives to satisfy at least 60 semester hours (sh) in the lower division. Current UWF students may use elective courses at any level (1000-4000) to meet this elective requirement. | 22 | |
| Total Hours | 22 | |
| Students should choose 3 courses from the following list for lower-division electives: | 9 | |
| Informatics and Your Health * | ||
Department of Public Health-approved elective(s) appropriate to student’s career planning. | ||
| Total Hours | 9 | |
- *
Indicates courses which can be used to satisfy General Education requirements.
Public Health Foundational Courses
All Bachelor of Science in Public Health students are required to complete the following public health foundational courses.
| PHC 4024 | Applied Research Methods in Public Health + | 3 |
| PHC 4109 | Diseases in Human Populations +, 1 | 3 |
| PHC 4140 | Public Health Planning and Analysis + | 3 |
| PHC 4320 | Environmental and Occupational Health + | 3 |
| PHC 4464 | Understanding Health Equity and Health Disparities + | 3 |
| PHC 4940 | Public Health Capstone | 3 |
| MCB 4276 | Epidemiology of Infectious Disease +, 2 | 3 |
| STA 4173 | Biostatistics + | 3 |
| HSC 4300 | Changing Health Behaviors + | 3 |
| HSA 3111 | Understanding U.S. Healthcare +, *** | 3 |
| Total Hours | 30 | |
- +
-
Courses included in the major GPA.
- ***
Meets College-Level Communication Skills Requirement.
- 1
Required substitution for PHC 5123 Biological Basis of Public Health in BSPH for Generalist or Health Promotion concentration.
- 2
Required substitution for MCB 5273 Epidemiology of Infectious Disease in BSPH for Generalist or Health Promotion concentration.
Required 5000-level Courses for All ABM Program Students
The following 5000-level courses are required for all students in the ABM program (regardless of concentration):
| PHC 5102 | Principles of Public Health 3 | 3 |
| PHC 5410 | Social and Behavioral Sciences in Public Health (required as an elective choice) | 3 |
| Total Hours | 6 | |
- 3
Required substitution for PHC 4101 Essentials of Public Health in BSPH for all concentrations.
Approved Electives
Students continuing into the Master of Public Health program at UWF should use the recommendations below for their elective course choices based on their selected concentration.
- MPH - Generalist concentration, choose these two courses as course substitutions in their degree plan:
| PHC 5123 | Biological Basis of Public Health 4 | 3 |
| MCB 5273 | Epidemiology of Infectious Disease 5 | 3 |
| Total Hours | 6 | |
- 4
Required substitution for PHC 4109 Diseases in Human Populations in BSPH.
- 5
Required substitution for MCB 4276 Epidemiology of Infectious Disease in BSPH.
- MPH - Global Health concentration, choose these two courses as electives or course substitutions in their degree plan:
| PHC 5442 | Global Health | 3 |
| PHC 5108 | Monitoring and Evaluation in Global Health | 3 |
| Total Hours | 6 | |
- MPH - Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior concentration, choose these two courses as course substitutions in their degree plan:
| PHC 5123 | Biological Basis of Public Health 6 | 3 |
| MCB 5273 | Epidemiology of Infectious Disease 7 | 3 |
| Total Hours | 6 | |
- 6
Required substitution for PHC 4109 Diseases in Human Populations in BSPH.
- 7
Required substitution for MCB 4276 Epidemiology of Infectious Disease in BSPH.
Students may select remaining elective hours at the undergraduate level from the following course groups based on career interests. Students should discuss their professional goals with their advisor and public health faculty before selecting elective courses.
Public Health Major Courses
All Bachelor of Science in Public Health students must choose 5 courses (for a total of 15 credits) from the approved set of public health major courses.
| Choose five (5) courses from the following list: | 15 | |
| Bioinformatics and Data Science | ||
| Bioterrorism: The Interprofessional Response | ||
| Health Information Systems | ||
| Data Analysis in the Health Sciences | ||
| Globalization and Public Health | ||
| Epidemiology for Public Health Practice | ||
| Foundations of Maternal and Child Health | ||
| Pandemics and Microbial Threats to Health | ||
| Applied Qualitative Research Methods | ||
| Public Health Seminar | ||
Department of Public Health-approved elective(s) appropriate to student’s career planning. | ||
| Total Hours | 15 | |
Approved Electives
Students should discuss their professional goals with their advisor and public health faculty before selecting elective courses.
| Department of Public Health-approved elective(s) appropriate to student’s career planning. | 12 | |
| Total Hours | 12 | |
No more than 24% of the program requirements for this degree may be in traditional business subjects.
Health Promotion Minor
Students earning the Minor in Health Promotion will be able to assess individual and community/worksite needs for health promotion, develop analytical skills to examine needs assessment data, and determine priority area(s) of health promotion. They will also be able to compare and contrast health promotion program planning models and theories for application in a health promotion and wellness setting, and plan and implement effective health promotion programs.
| HSC 4581 | Health Promotion and Planning | 3 |
| HSC 3032 | Foundations in Health Education | 3 |
| Choose two of the following Health Foundations courses: | 6 | |
| Theoretical Foundations of Health Promotion and Planning | ||
| Drugs in Society | ||
| Communicable and Degenerative Diseases | ||
| Health Aspects of Stress Management | ||
| Human Environmental Health | ||
| Epidemiology | ||
| Current Issues in Health Promotion | ||
| Changing Health Behaviors | ||
| Nutrition and Health | ||
| Total Hours | 12 | |
AI and Analytics in Public Health and Health Systems Certificate
The AI and Analytics in Public Health and Health Systems Undergraduate Certificate equips students with foundational and applied skills at the intersection of data science, informatics, and emerging technologies. Through coursework in health data analysis, health information systems, and bioinformatics, students learn to manage, analyze, and interpret complex health data while exploring applications of artificial intelligence in public health and health system decision-making.
Admission Requirements
In addition to the University undergraduate non-degree seeking requirements described in the Undergraduate Admissions section of the UWF undergraduate catalog, the department requires the following:
- Submission of Undergraduate Non-Degree Seeking Application.
- Current UWF undergraduate students interested in completing the undergraduate certificate are not required to complete the non-degree seeking application, but will need to contact the Public Health Academic Advisor to review their degree audit and initiate the declaration of certificate process.
Once admission to the University has been approved, students will need to contact the Public Health Academic Advisor to start the declaration of certificate process. This includes reviewing the requirements for each Undergraduate Certificate in Public Health and completion and submission of the Declaration of Certificate form to the Office of the Registrar.
Questions regarding the undergraduate certificate should be directed to the Public Health Academic Advisor.
Course Requirements
| HSC 3510 | Data Analysis in the Health Sciences | 3 |
| HSA 4191 | Health Information Systems | 3 |
| BSC 4434 | Bioinformatics and Data Science | 3 |