Public Health

Overview

The public health design-your-own major, or area of concentration, blends a variety of courses across multiple disciplines. This liberal arts-based interdisciplinary program prepares the next generation of healthcare leaders, researchers and advocates with the tools to promote community wellbeing and advance health equity. As a student pursuing this program, you will be introduced to the basics of statistics, environmental policy, biology, sociology, and psychology, and be able to take courses that fulfill public health electives. You will enter the workforce or advanced graduate studies ready to design, evaluate and implement public health interventions that dismantle systemic barriers and improve health outcomes.

Public health is not an established major within a particular discipline at UMN Morris. It was developed by science, humanities, and social sciences faculty who selected the academic curriculum and course requirements for it. To design a public health major, please reach out to one of the faculty associated with public health.

Degree Requirements

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Degree Requirements

Graduation Requirements

If you’re interested in pursuing this area of concentration, you will need to work with a faculty member associated with public health to have it approved. The following requirements and courses can be used to guide the development of your public health major.

Complete a minimum of 59 credits of coursework.
- At least 24 credits must be upper division (3000- and 4000-level) courses.
- At least 8 credits must be electives.
Complete a 4-credit capstone experience.

Recommended Required Courses

STAT 1601. Introduction to Statistics (4 credits)
ENST 1101. Environmental Problems and Policy (4 credits)
BIOL 1111. Fundamentals of Genetics, Evolution, and Development (3 credits)
CMR 2411. Health Communication (4 credits)
HMSV 3002. Introduction to Public Health (4 credits)
PSY 3521W. Health Psychology (4 credits)

Recommended Core Courses

Social Science (complete 4 credits)

ANTH 1111. Introductory Cultural Anthropology (4 credits)
SOC 1101. Introductory Sociology (4 credits)

Research Methods (complete 4 credits)

IS 2303. Quantitative Research Methods (4 credits)
POL 2001W. Political Science Research Methods (4 credits)
PSY 2001. Research Methods in Psychology (4 credits)

Human Health (complete 4 credits)

BIOL 1002. Human Nutrition (3 credits)
BIOL 1054. Introduction to Immunology and Infectious Disease (2 credits)
BIOL 2102. Human Anatomy (4 credits)
IS 1071. Systematic Introduction to the Art and Science of Emergency Medical Care (4 credits)
PSY 2581. Drugs and Human Behavior (2 credits)
PSY 3223. Hormones and Behavior (4 credits)
PSY 3261. Human Sexuality (4 credits)
SSA 2112. Exercise Physiology (2 credits)

Policy and Systems (complete 4 credits)

POL 2263. Social and Welfare Policy across the United States (4 credits)
ANTH 3005. Policy Problems: Power and the Experience of Law (4 credits)
ENST 3001. Water Resources Policy (4 credits)
POL 3272. Making Environmental Public Policy (4 credits)
SOC 3307. Medical Sociology (4 credits)

Equity and Justice (complete 4 credits)

ANTH 2501. Medical Anthropology (4 credits)
ANTH 3304. Anthropology for Social Justice (4 credits)
ENST 3201. Environmental Justice (4 credits)
NAIS 3001. Indigenous Environmentalism (4 credits)

Applied Research and Data Analysis (complete 4 credits)

IS 2304. Qualitative Research Methods (4 credits)
STAT 3501. Survey Sampling (4 credits)
STAT 4601. Biostatistics (4 credits)

Student Learning Outcomes

By completing a major in public health, you will be able to

demonstrate foundational knowledge across the essential domains of public health practice and use systems thinking to analyze interconnections among those domains;
demonstrate a systematic and comprehensive understanding of social determinants of health in theory and practice and critically evaluate how structural, institutional and sociocultural factors (including racism, discrimination, and historical trauma) create and perpetuate health inequities and barriers to care and services;
effectively communicate public health information to diverse audiences and engage with communities in ethical, respectful and culturally responsive ways; and
critically evaluate public health research and claims, evaluate policies and programs relevant to public health, develop effective evidence-based study designs, conduct appropriate statistical tests to analyze data and interpret results, and accurately convey findings in academic and non-academic contexts.