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
o Can also accept Honors Chemistry (CHEM 145, 155, 165) or Accelerated Chemistry (CHEM 143, 153) as Chemistry sequence
Remaining 10 credits to be chosen from:
- Biochemistry: BIOC 405, 406
- 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 |
ANTH 233 | Introduction to Language and Society | 5 |
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 |
EDUC 215 | Resilience and Wellness in College and Beyond | 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 |
LING 233 | Introduction to Language and Society | 5 |
NURS 201 | Growth & Development through the Life Span | 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 230 | Introduction to Disability Studies | 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 |
EDUC 251 | Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity | 5 |
ENVIR 211 | Environmental Justice | 5 |
GWSS 200 | Introduction to Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies | 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 |
LSJ 230 | Introduction to Disability Studies | 5 |
MELC 201 | Introduction to the Ancient Near East | 5 |
MELC 229 | Introduction to Islamic Civilization | 5 |
MELC 232 | Introduction to the Modern Middle East | 5 |
MELC 243 | Iranian Culture and Civilization | 5 |
MELC 244 | Voices of the Iranian Revolution | 5 |
MELC 261 | Turkic Peoples of Central Asia | 5 |
MELC 271 | Cultural History of Turkey: From Empire to Nation | 5 |
MELC 285 | Religion, Violence, and Peace: Patterns Across Time and Tradition | 5 |
MELC 315 | Israel: Dynamic Society and Global Flashpoint | 5 |
MELC 316 | Israeli Identities | 5 |
MELC 335 | Trends in the Contemporary Middle East | 5 |
MELC 357 | Peoples and Cultures of Central and Inner Asia | 5 |
MELC 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 2024