BA & BS Selectives

Are you an applicant wondering how to choose between the Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science in Public Health - Global Health?

The BA makes the most sense for students who have a long-term interest in sociocultural aspects of public health. BA students may be interested in work focusing on health education and promotion, public health policy and administration, public health nursing, or non-profit/governmental work. The BS makes more sense for students who are preparing for advanced education in health science or science-focused graduate and professional programs such as biostatistics, dentistry, epidemiology, environmental and occupational health sciences, medicine, nutritional sciences, pathobiology, and pharmacy. BS students may also have an interest in working in laboratory settings as their primary capacity.

You will notice from the degree requirements that the difference is in the Selectives. Both the BA and BS have a reasonable breadth of the following public health domains: health, ethics and social justice, social science, policy and politics, environment, communication, and public health tools. The BS is meant to have an additional focus on natural science while the BA provides the opportunity to explore focused sociocultural competency areas.

As an undergraduate degree in public health is relatively new to the scene, no one is likely to make any assumptions about your BA or BS degree in Public Health. Your individual courses, your experiential learning opportunities, and what you choose to do with your degree will help to define the meaning of the degree selected.

If you are still not sure after reviewing the Selectives below, please discuss with a Public Health-Global Health Major adviser.

BS Selectives

While both degrees require students to complete at least one introductory course in biology and chemistry, BS students need to complete at least two full year-long sequences of courses which are typical of prerequisites required by various professional- and graduate-level programs in the health sciences. 
Two year-long sequences of introductory science (with labs) or mathematics from the following list:

  • Biology: BIOL, 180, 200, 220
  • Chemistry*: CHEM 142, 152, 162
  • Organic Chemistry: CHEM 237, 238, 239, 241, 242
  • Physics:
    • PHYS 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119 or
    • PHYS 121, 122, 123
  • Mathematics: MATH 124, 125, 126

*The CHEM 120, 220, 221 series is NOT an approved sequence for the BS Selectives requirement.

BA Selectives

BA students must complete 20 credits of Selectives which focus on skill building or broadening your knowledge base.  BA Selectives are organized around three general categories:  Health Economics, Health Promotion, and Social Justice.  The courses below have been preapproved to meet the BA Selective requirement.  These courses do not typically overlap with the Social & Behavioral Science Breadth requirement in areas of ANTH, GEOG, POL S, PSYCH or SOC.  These courses also do not overlap with the PH-GH Elective requirement’s intentions of expanding competencies in 300 and 400-level courses with direct relationship to public health.

Health Economics

Course Number

Course Title

Credits

ACCTG 215

Introduction to Accounting and Financial Reporting

5

ACCTG 219

Essentials of Accounting

4

ACCTG 225

Fundamentals of Managerial Accounting

5

ECON 200

Introduction to Microeconomics

5

ECON 201

Introduction to Macroeconomics

5

ECON 300

Intermediate Microeconomics

5

ECON 301

Intermediate Macroeconomics

5

MGMT 200

Introduction to Law

5

PUBPOL201

Introduction to Public Policy and Governance

5

PUBPOL403

Professional Leadership

5

 

Health Promotion

Course Number

Course Title

Credits

COM 201

Introduction to Communication I

5

COM 202

Introduction to Communication II

5

COM 220

Introduction to Public Speaking

5

COM 233

Introduction to Language and Society

5

COM 234

Public Debate

5

COM 270

Interpersonal Communication

5

COM 289

Communication Power and Difference

5

COM 320

Advanced Public Speaking

5

EDC&I 351

Teaching as a Profession

5

EDC&I 352

Teaching to Change the World

5

EDPSY 302

Child Development and Learning

5

EDPSY 406

Learning and Teaching in our Changing World: Insights from Experience and Research

5

HSERV 204

Communicating about Health: Current Issues and Perspectives

3

INFO 100

Fluency in Information Technology

5

INFO 101

Social Networking Technologies

5

INFO 200

Intellectual Foundations of Informatics

5

INFO 320

Information Needs, Searching, and Presentation

5

 

Social Justice

Course Number

Course Title

Credits

AAS 101

Introduction to Asian American Cultures

5

AAS 206

Contemporary Problems of Asian Americans

5

AAS 210

Asian-American Identity

5

AES 150

Introductory History of American Ethnic Groups

5

AES 151

Introduction to the Cultures of American Ethnic Groups

5

AFRAM 101

Introduction to African American Studies

5

AFRAM 150

Introduction to African-American History

5

AIS 102

Survey of American Indian Studies

5

AIS 201

Introduction to American Indian Histories

5

AIS 202

Introduction to Contemporary Experience in Indian America

5

AIS 270

Native Peoples of the Pacific Northwest

5

CHID 222

BioFutures

5

CHID 260

Re-Thinking Diversity I&S

5

CHID 280

Indigenous Encounters: Politics, Culture, and Representation in Latin America

5

CHSTU 101

Introduction to Chicano Studies

5

CHSTU 200

Latinos in the United States

5

CHSTU 254

Northwest Latinos: History, Community, Culture

5

CHSTU 260

Introduction to Chicano Politics

5

DIS ST 230

Introduction to Disability Studies

5

ENVIR 211

Environmental Justice

5

GWSS 244

Indigenous Feminism

5

GWSS 255

Masculinities: Contestation, Circulation, and Transformation

5

GWSS 283

Introduction to Women’s History

5

LING 234

Language and Diversity

5

LSJ 200

Introduction to Law, Societies, and Justice

5

NEAR E 201

Introduction to the Ancient Near East

5

NEAR E 229

Introduction to Islamic Civilization

5

NEAR E 232

Introduction to the Modern Middle East

5

NEAR E 243

Iranian Culture and Civilization

5

NEAR E 244

Voices of the Iranian Revolution

5

NEAR E 261

Turkic Peoples of Central Asia

5

NEAR E 271

Cultural History of Turkey: From Empire to Nation

5

NEAR E 285

Religion, Violence, and Peace: Patterns Across Time and Tradition

5

NEAR E 315

Israel: Dynamic Society and Global Flashpoint

5

NEAR E 316

Israeli Identities

5

NEAR E 335

Trends in the Contemporary Middle East

5

NEAR E 357

Peoples and Cultures of Central and Inner Asia

5

NEAR E 358

Islam and Muslims in China

5

PHIL 207

Issues of Global Justice

5

PHIL 242

Introduction to Medical Ethics

5

SOC WF 200

Introduction to Social Welfare Practice

5

SOC WF 215

Intergroup Dialogues

3

VALUES 207

Issues of Global Justice

5

VALUES495

Ethics in Practice

2

 

2nd year level and beyond courses in a Foreign Language will count in any area of the BA Selectives requirement.

Updated September 2019