Bachelor of Science in Public Health 

The Bachelor of Science in Public Health program is offered through the Department of Health Promotion and Physical Education and is based on the Eight Areas of Responsibility for an entry-level health educator delineated by the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, which represents a comprehensive set of competencies defining the knowledge and skills required of a health education specialist in a variety of job settings (NCHEC 2023).

erica lundak ksu

B.S. in Public Health Program Benefits

The Bachelor of Science in Public Health helps to:

  • Prepare students with the knowledge and skills to assess community needs and design, implement, and evaluate public health programs.
  • Focus on improving quality of life and overall well-being of individuals, worksites, and communities through behavioral, environmental, and policy-based initiatives.
  • Prepare students for entry to mid-level positions in public health departments, community-based health organizations, outreach education programs, health care settings, private health organizations, and corporate wellness settings as well as advanced studies in Public Health.
  • Prepare students to work collaboratively in interdisciplinary teams, patient care coordination, quality improvement for strategic planning and systems redesign, community engagement, community needs assessment, and health coaching.
  • Prepare students for the Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) exam.

The Bachelor of Science in Public Health degree includes 18 hours of lower division major requirements, 33 hours of public health core courses, a 6 or 9-credit-hour public health internship experience, and either 18 or 21 free electives. 

Upon declaration of the Public Health Major on Owl Express, please schedule a formal appointment with the Wellstar College Advising Center. 

Concentrations

  1. Community Health - The Community Health Education concentration enables students to blend public health, communication, human services, nursing and sociology courses in their professional preparation. Health education specialists who work in community health settings, design, implement and evaluate programs at the individual, group, institutional, community and system-level to improve community health indicators. Health education specialists also act as a resource on health information and advise on health policy.
  2. Worksite Health Promotion - The Worksite Health Promotion concentration enables students to blend public health, communication, business and leadership courses in their professional preparation. Health education specialist who work in the business and industry setting, plan and coordinate programs in areas such as nutrition, fitness, weight control, smoking cessation, hypertension, and stress management. In addition to assisting employees to maintain or improve their health, they also advise companies on health policies.
  3. Health Coaching and Patient Education - The Health Coaching and Patient Education concentration enables students to blend public health, communication, human services and sociology courses in their professional preparation. Health education specialists who work in health care and medical insurance settings, plan and coordinate programs in areas such as nutrition, fitness, weight control, smoking cessation, hypertension, and stress management to improve patient health literacy. In addition to program planning, health education specialists also counsel clients to implement theoretically based behavior modification interventions.

Health Promotion & Physical Education Additional Information

 

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    Admission Requirements

    This program does not have specific admission requirements and only admission to Kennesaw State University is required. For more information, please visit the Admissions section of the catalog.

     

  • Program of Study

    Core IMPACTS Curriculum (42 Credit Hours)
    (see KSU Undergraduate Catalog)

    Lower Division Major Requirements (18 Credit Hours)

    • PHE 2000: Writing and Analysis for Public Health 
    • PHE 2100: Introduction to Public Health or HHS 2100 Overview of Health and Human Services
    • PHE 2400: Behavior Theory and Applications
    • WELL 2000: Foundations of Health and Wellness
    • HPAL 2250: Anatomy and Physiology for Health and Physical Activity Leadership or BIOL 2251: Anatomy & Physiology |
    • HS 2300: Cultural Competence in the Human Services

    Public Health Core (33 Credit Hours)

    • PHE 3150: Applied Analytic Techniques in Public Health
    • PHE 3400: Disease Prevention and Management
    • PHE 3850: Fundamentals of Program Planning
    • PHE 4200:Introduction to Community and Worksite Health
    • PHE 4300: Environmental Health Issues
    • PHE 4350: Methods of Public Health Research
    • PHE 4500: Epidemiology
    • PHE 4600: Program Implementation and Evaluation
    • PHE 4650: Health Coaching and Patient Education
    • PHE 3330: Health Systems & Health Policy
    • PHE 4720: Introduction to the Public Health Internship

    Public Health Internship (6 or 9 Credit Hours)

    • PHE 4750: Public Health Internship

    Free Electives (18 or 21 Credit Hours)

    Any course offered by the university regardless of prefix.

    Note: Students who complete 9 credit hours of internship will need to complete 18 credit hours of Free Electives. Those who complete 6 credit hours of internship will need to complete 21 credit hours of Free Electives.

    Program Total (120 Credit Hours)

    More information

  • Public Health Policies

    Course and Academic Expectations

    In addition to the specific course and program related expectations and requirements specified by each faculty member in their course syllabi, the Public Health Program upholds high expectations of Public Health Majors' performance in the classroom and in all related academic, departmental, professional, and field experiences. These expectations include but are not limited to the following:

    Professional Dispositions

    Public Health Majors are evaluated on their professional dispositions in every Public Health related course in which they are enrolled. Dispositions reflect the values, commitments, behaviors, and professional ethics that demonstrate students’ behaviors toward the Public Health Major, instructors, advisors, peers and other students, colleagues, communities, and the profession as a whole. Dispositions serve to guide as well as reinforce students’ learning, academic behavior and performance, as well as professional growth as future Public Health practitioners.

    The Public Health and program-related faculty complete the disposition assessment either during (as warranted) or at the end of each semester (as warranted)—see below for Dispositions Rubric:

    Public Health Dispositions Rubric 

    What happens if a major receives a negative disposition evaluation?

    Public Health Professional Dispositions Scoring Guide: The minimal acceptable level on the Disposition Rubric is “L3 – Acceptable.” If a Public Health Minor/Major is rated as a “L2 – Marginal” on any component of the Disposition Rubric in a course (either during or at the conclusion of a course as  warranted), the course instructor notifies the Public Health Program Coordinator and student. The course instructor then meets with the student and Public Health Program Coordinator (if necessary), to determine how to improve performance in future courses. If a Public Health Minor/Major is rated as a “L1 – Unsatisfactory” on any component of the Disposition Rubric, a formal remediation plan is developed in consultation with the Public Health faculty member, academic advisor (if applicable), Public Health Program Coordinator, and the student for the following semester. The student may not be formally admitted to nor progress in the program until the remediation plan is completed and disposition concerns are effectively and consistently addressed.

Contact

Dr. LaNita Wright

Public Health Program Director

Convocation Center 3020
(470) 578-2196
lwrigh92@kennesaw.edu