Interdisciplinary Minor in Public Health: Academic Programs: SUNY Fredonia

Public Health
Coordinator: Linda Dorsten
W393 Thompson Hall
(716) 673-3469
PublicHealth.Minor@fredonia.edu

NOTE: Requirements may differ according to date of enrollment.
Current students should check their college catalog.

Requirements for the Interdisciplinary Minor in Public Health

Requirements may differ according to date of enrollment. Current students should check their college catalog.

Public health incorporates nearly every aspect of health and perhaps is best defined by its mission: maximum health for all, via the prevention of disease, disability and unhealthful environmental conditions. The focus of public health is on the conditions of people in a community; in contrast, medicine focuses on the health conditions of the individual.

The interdisciplinary minor in Public Health offers students the opportunity to acquire knowledge and skills in the broad field of public health, incorporating emergent issues (new public health topics such as bioterrorism) along with more traditional topics such as: infectious and chronic diseases; maternal and child health; injuries; psychosocial issues and tobacco; mental health, substance abuse and social violence; and air, water and solid hazardous waste. The minor will facilitate private or public sector careers addressing physical, mental and/or environmental health concerns of communities and populations at risk for disease/injury, and graduate study in public health.

Hours:
The PH minor requires successful completion of 19 credit hours (minimum 2.0 GPA).

Courses:
Six credits must be from 300-400 level courses. Only 6 credits may be taken in a students major.

Prerequisites:
Some courses have prerequisites and/or require department permission to enroll.

Sequencing:
SOC215 Introduction to Public Health should be completed early, preferably during sophomore year, and as soon as possible after declaring the PH minor. Enrolling in SOC415 Seminar in Public Health requires 15 hours of PH coursework, including completion of SOC215.

Electives:
Based on individual interests, one or more courses from Specialty Groups/Courses can be selected. Some groupings are shown (e.g., community health), but other combinations are possible. Also, additional electives can be selected from the Biosciences and Social Behavioral Sciences areas (but see above requirements).

Course Number	Title	Credit Hours
Public Health Core (10 credit hours required)
SOC 215	Introduction to Public Health	3
BIOL 110	Human Biology
or BIOL 111	Introduction to Biology
or BIOL 133	Principles of Biology II	3
BIOL 457	Biostatistics
or SOC 300/ PSY 210/ POLI 210/ COMM 295	Research Methods	3
SOC 415	Seminar in Public Health (1 credit; after completing 15 hours PH courses)	1
Electives (9 credit hours required):
1. BioSciences (at least 3 credit hours required)
BIOL 131	Prinicples I	3
BIOL 243	Biodiversity	3
BIOL 221	Human Anatomy	3
BIOL 251	Basic Concepts in Biology	3
BIOL 310	Human Genome	3
BIOL 336	Mammalian Physiology	3
BIOL 338	Microbiology	3
BIOL 345	Emerging Infectious Diseases
or BIOL 360	AIDS & STDs
or BIOL 450	Molecular Basis of Disease	3
CHEM 107	Chemistry for Consumers
or CHEM 113	Chemistry and the Environment
or CHEM 115	General Chemistry I	3

ESCI 105	Global Environmental Issues
or ESCI 410	Environmental Assessment	3
2. Social/Behavioral Sciences (minimum 3 credit hours)
PSY 247	Health Psychology	3

SOC 240	Health and Society
or SOC 343	Health Systems & Policy	3

SOC 311	Sociology of Addiction

SOC 321	Population and Society	3

SOC 345	Women, Health and Society
or PSY 255	Psychology of Women	3

3. Specialty Groups/Courses (suggested courses)
Biosciences Specialty
BIOL 437	Molecular Genetics Laboratory
BIOL 470	Hormone Mechanisms	3
CHEM 116	General Chemistry II	3
CHEM 125 & 126	1-credit (labs)	2
Women’s Health Specialty
HLTH 215	Personal & Community Health
HLTH 303	Fitness & Nutrition	2
HLTH 386	Wellness and Health Promotion
SOC 345	Women, Health and Society
or PSY 255	Psychology of Women
SOC 472	Internship (after 15 hours PH courses and with Coordinator permission -- includes on-campus BCIC internship)
Community Health Specialty
COMM 101	Fundamentals of Communication
or COMM 105	Public Speaking	3
or COMM 460	Organizational Communication

CRMJ 320	Crime and Crime Theory	3
or SOC 363	Victimology

CSIT 104	Introduction to Microcomputer Software	3
HLTH 386	Wellness and Health Promotion	3
POLI 371	Civil Rights and Liberties	3
SOC 337	Sociology of Aging
or SOC 338	Death and Dying	3
Fitness, Nutrition and Wellness
COMM 101	Fundamentals of Communication
or COMM 105	Public Speaking	3
or COMM 460	Organizational Communication

HLTH 115	First Aid Skills and Knowledge	2
HLTH 215	Personal & Community Health
HLTH 303	Fitness & Nutrition	2
HLTH 386	Wellness and Health Promotion	3
Specialty Courses
SOC 350	Special Topics (permission of Coordinator)	3
SOC 472	Internship (after 15 hours PH courses and with Coordinator permission -- includes on-campus BCIC internship)	3