Bachelor of Science in Applied Science in Public Health, Environmental Health Track

Public Health

The public health program offers the Bachelor of Science in Applied Science (BSAS) degree and can be completed in eight semesters if students average 16 hours per semester. The program has two tracks:

• Health Education/Health Promotion
• Environmental Health and Safety

The program offers a minor in public health and community health planning and evaluation. The program offers minors in:

• Public health
• Community Health Planning and Evaluation
• Environmental Health and Safety

The program contributes to the University’s general education requirements by offering PHLT 1500 Introduction to Online Learning in Health Professions,  PHLT 1513 Introduction to Environmental Health and Safety, PHLT 1531 Fundamentals of Public Health, and PHLT 1568 Healthy Lifestyles, which meet the general education requirements for First Year Experience, Social and Personal Awareness, Social Sciences/Social and Personal Awareness and Social and Personal Awareness, respectively. To be admitted to the public health program, a student must have a minimum GPA of 2.0. To continue enrollment in the major, students must maintain a 2.0 GPA. If a student falls below a 2.0 GPA, he or she can only reapply to the major after a minimum GPA of 2.0 has been achieved.

There are five standard areas in public health training that enable students to perform the essential services of public health. These are :

• epidemiology
• biostatistics
• health services administration
• environmental health
• behavioral science/health education 

The curriculum for the YSU bachelor’s degree in public health addresses each of the five core areas through multiple courses. This curriculum enables mastery at the bachelor’s level of the nationally recognized Public Health Core Competencies, and requires an internship tailored to the area of public health interests of each student. All of the major courses for the degree can be completed through online distance learning options.

The BSAS in public health can also prepare the student to become a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) or be eligible to take the sanitarian examination. CHES assesses:

• individual and community health needs
• the ability to plan and implement effective health education and health promotion programs
• the ability to coordinate and manage the provision of health education and promotion services
• he ability to effectively communicate health and health education needs, concerns, and resources
• the ability to conduct program evaluation

The environmental health and safety track prepares students to be sanitarians/sanitarians-in-training. Sanitarians promote public health by conducting environmental health inspections and related activities for settings such as food service establishments (restaurants), children's camps, hotels, long-term and adult care facilities, and diagnostic and treatment centers.

Public health professionals work in multiple settings:

• public
• non-profit
• academic
• private 
• governmental 

For more information visit the Public Health Program.

During the freshman and sophomore years, students are expected to take the courses that meet the requirements for general education. In addition to the English, mathematics, and communication requirement, specific general education courses for the BSAS public health degree include:

 A total of 122 semester hours are required for the BSAS in public health. No minor is required for this professional BSAS degree.

• The following development courses do not count toward degree requirements:

  Course List

  COURSE	TITLE	S.H.
  ENGL 1539	Fundamentals of College Writing	4
  ENGL 1540	Introduction to College Writing	3
  RSS 1510A	Advanced College Success Skills	3
  RSS 1510B	Basic College Success Skills	3
  MATH 1501		5

• No minor is required for this major.
• To continue enrollment in the major, a GPA of 2.0 must be maintained.
• Courses in the major require a grade of “C” or better.
• Courses taken under the Credit(CR)/No Credit (NC) option may not be counted toward the major. You must confer with Dr. Robinson prior to electing this option. (Refer to the Undergraduate Bulletin for more information.)

Learning Outcomes

The student learning outcomes for public health are as follows:

•  The public health student will demonstrate skill in competence in core Public Health content including program planning and evaluation, program implementation, coordination of effective communication, use of resources, environmental health and safety, and cultural competence by achieving a score of at least 85% on a program comprehensive exam taken as part of PHLT 4898 Environmental Health and Safety Senior Seminar or PHLT 4899 Public Health Senior Seminar courses.
•  The public health student will demonstrate mastery of entry-level Public Health competency by receiving an internship score of at least 85% by his/her public health/environmental health internship supervisor.