The Tracks

Two tracks are available within the public health sciences major: social science and science. Both tracks prepare students for entry-level public health positions and graduate school. The social science track is a good match for students who thrive in the social and behavioral sciences. The science track is intended for students interested in research, epidemiology, biostatistics, pre-med, pre-nursing, and physician assistant school. This track is a good match for students who excel in math and science.

Each track consists of four components: Mathematics and statistics courses; foundation courses; public health core courses; and courses chosen from collateral fields related to public health. Students may choose tracks based on their interests and academic strengths. The required public health courses in each track are designed to introduce students to the five recognized public health core competencies: Community health education; health policy and management; environmental health sciences; epidemiology; and biostatistics. In addition, students in both tracks must complete a collateral requirement of 18 credits from courses of their choice that are related to the study of public health.

Requirements for the Social Sciences Track
I. Mathematics and Statistics courses: MATH 121 or higher and one of the following statistics courses—PSYCH 240, RES-ECON 212, SOCIOL 212, STATISTC 111 or 240.

II. Foundation courses: a minimum of 15 credits required from sections 1 and 2 (below) with at least 9 credits at the 200 level or above.

1. At least two courses from the following or equivalent courses:

BIOLOGY 102 - Intro Biology for Science Majors

BIOLOGY 105 - Biology of Social Issues

BIOLOGY 106 - Human Biology

BIOCHEM 100 - My DNA

CHEM 101 - Gen Chem Non-Sci

CHEM 111 - Gen Chem-Sci

CHEM 112 - Gen Chem-Sci

ENVISCI 213 - Intro to Environmental Policy

KIN 100 - Introduction to Kinesiology

KIN 110 - Human Performance & Nutrition

KIN 270 - Anatomy & Physiology I with lab

KIN 272 - Anatomy & Physiology II with lab

MICROBIO 160 - Biology of Cancer and AIDS

MICROBIO 255 - Intro to Medical Microbiology

MICROBIO 310- General Microbiology

NUTR 130 - Nutrition for a Healthy Lifestyle

NUTR 140 - Nutrition, Weight and Fitness

NUTR 230 - Basic Nutrition

NUTR 397A - Eating Disorders

PLSOILIN 126 - Insects and Human Society

PLSOILIN 185 - Sustainable Living

PLSOILIN 326 - Insect Biology

PLSOILIN 342 - Pesticides, Public Policy, & Environment

2. At least three courses from the following or equivalent courses approved by the student’s academic advisor:

ANTHRO 104 - Culture, Society and People

ANTHRO 205 - Inequality and Oppression

ANTHRO 312 - Medical Anthropology

ANTHRO 397RR - Disease Ecology

ECON 103 - Introduction to Microeconomics

ECON 104 - Introduction to Macroeconomics

ECON 105 - Introduction to Political Economy

ECON 308 - Political Economics of the Environment

EDUC 202 - Social Issues in Intergroup Relations: Exploring Social/Cultural Differences and Common Ground

EDUC 210 - Social Diversity in Education

EDUC 229 - International Education

GEOSCI 102 - Human Landscape

PHIL 170 - Problems in Social Thought

PLSOILIN 140 - Plagues: the Ecology of Disease

POLISCI 111 - Comparative Politics

POLISCI 181 - Controversies in Public Policy

POLISCI 220 - Public Administration

POLISCI 252 - Globalization, Governance and World Order

POLISCI 253 - International Environ Politics and Policy

POLISCI 381 - Health, Education, and Arts Policy

PSYCH 100 - Introduction Psychology

PSYCH 305 - Educational Psychology

PSYCH 350 - Child Psychology

PSYCH 355 - Adolescent Psychology

PSYCH 360 - Social Psychology

PSYCH 380 - Abnormal Psychology

RES-ECON 121- Hunger in a Global Economy

SOCIOL 103 - Social Problems

SOCIOL 106 - Race, Sex, & Social Class

SOCIOL 110 - General Introduction Sociology

SOCIOL 224 – Social, Class, and Inequality

WOMENSST 201 - Gender and Difference: Critical Analyses

WOMENSST 297B - ST-Race, Gender, Sexuality and Science

WOMENSST 301 - Theorizing Gender, Race, and Power

III. Public Health Courses
At least 26 credits are required: 17 from category A. and 9 from category B.

A. The following courses are required:
PUBHLTH 129 Healthcare for All
PUBHLTH 160 My Body, My Health*
PUBHLTH 320 Introduction to Public Health (Junior Year Writing requirement)
PUBHLTH 324 Introduction to Epidemiology
PUBHLTH 494CI Capstone Course, open to seniors only, must complete all core public health courses before enrolling
*Only one General Education course can be applied to to a PUBHLTH department class to fulfill the major requirement.  SPIRE automatically puts PUBHLTH 160 into this category. 

B. An additional 9 credits in Public Health at the 300-599 level.

-Take one 500-level PUBHLTH course
-Take six units of PUBHLTH courses numbered 300-599. Independent Study (PUBHLTH 396) and Internships (PUBHLTH 398) can fulfill this requirement but are not required. No more than nine credits total can be taken as an independent study or internship.

IV. Collateral Fields related to Public Health Courses

At least 18 credits are required, with 12 or more credits at the 300 level or above. Pre-approval from an advisor is required before courses are able to count toward the collateral. Fill out Collateral Field Proposal Form and submit it to Peer Advisors in Arnold House Rm 330. Course material must be relevant to the study of public health. Details for this requirement and suggestions for public health related majors/minors/certificates can be found on our website: http://www.umass.edu/sphhs/public_health/academics/undergraduate/CollateralFieldRequirement.html

Requirements for the Science Track
I. Mathematics and Statistics courses: MATH 127 and 128 or MATH 131 and 132, and one of the following statistics courses—PSYCH 240, RES-ECON 212, SOCIOL 212, STATISTC 111 or 240.

II. Foundation courses: At least 15 credits required of the following courses from section one and two. At least 8 credit has to be from Section One

Section One:

Choose one of the following course sequences:

CHEM 111 – General Chemistry I

CHEM 112 – General Chemistry II

CHEM 261 – Organic Chemistry

CHEM 262 – Organic Chemistry

CHEM 269 – Organic Chemistry with Lab

KIN 270 & 271 – Anatomy & Physiology I with lab

KIN 272 & 273 – Anatomy & Physiology II with lab

MICROBIO 310 – General Microbiology

MICROBIO 312 – Microbiology Lab

PHYSICS 131 – Intro to Physics I with lab

PHYSICS 132 – Intro to Physics II with lab

Section Two:

Choose two courses from below or another course sequence from above.

BIOCHEM 420 - Elementary Biochemistry

BIOLOGY 151 - Introduction to Biology I

BIOLOGY 152 - Introduction to Biology II

BIOLOGY 153 - Introduction to Biology Lab

BIOLOGY 190H - Quantitative Biology of the Cell

BIOLOGY 284 - General Genetics

BIOLOGY 285 - Cell and Molecular Biology

BIOLOGY 383H - Gene and Genome Analysis

CHEM 250- Organic Chemistry

CE-ENGIN 371 - Water and Wastewater Management

CE-ENGIN 462 - Water Resources Engineering and Sustainability

CE-ENGIN 469 - Water Supply & Water Collection

CE-ENGIN 473 – Groundwater

CE-ENGIN 476 - Solid and Hazardous Waste Management

ENVISCI 315 - Principles of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry

ENVISCI 515 - Microbiology of Soil

ENVISCI 530 - Aquatic Toxicology

III. Public Health Courses
At least 24 credits are required: 15 from category A. and 9 from category B., Independent Study or Internships.

1. The following courses are required:
PUBHLTH 320 Introduction to Public Health (Junior Year Writing requirement)
PUBHLTH 324 Introduction to Epidemiology
PUBHLTH 303 Introduction to Environmental Health Sciences (or PUBHLTH 565)
PUBHLTH 391B Introduction to Biostatistics (or PUBHLTH 540)
PUBHLTH 490B Capstone Course, open to seniors only and offered spring semester

B. An additional 9 credits in Public Health at the 300-599 level.
-Take one 500-level PUBHLTH course
-Take six units of PUBHLTH courses numbered 300-599. Independent Study (PUBHLTH 396) and Internships (PUBHLTH 398) can fulfill this requirement but are not required. No more than nine credits total can be taken as an independent study or internship.

IV. Collateral Fields related to Public Health Courses

At least 18 credits are required, with 12 or more credits at the 300 level or above. Pre-approval from an advisor is required before courses are able to count toward the collateral. Fill out Collateral Field Proposal Form and submit it to Peer Advisors in Arnold House Rm 330. Course material must be relevant to the study of public health. Details for this requirement and suggestions for public health related majors/minors/certificates can be found on our website: http://www.umass.edu/sphhs/public_health/academics/undergraduate/CollateralFieldRequirement.html

 

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