Public Health-related Programs
Core Competencies
The basic structure of the majors provides every student with a set of core competencies that are presented in a series of three courses in the domain of public health plus a course in statistics and a course in either public health or medical ethics. All of these courses are being offered during the 2011-12 academic year.
FALL 2011
- PH 101 Introduction to Public Health I
- Instructor: Chin, N.
Prerequisites: None
Restrictions: None
Description:
This is a broad survey course designed to introduce beginning students to public health history, concepts, and contemporary issues locally, nationally, and globally. The 15 week course is divided into 4 sections: What is Public Health (history and definitions); Public Health Concepts (health disparities; gender and health; social class and health); Issues in Public Health (food practices and obesity; tobacco addiction; childhood lead poisoning) and Global Health Issues (HIV/AIDS; malaria; maternal mortality). Students are responsible for weekly readings, films, two in-class exams, and two short essays. - PH 103 Concepts of Epidemiology
- Instructor: van Wijngaarden, E.
Prerequisites: None
Restrictions: None
Description:
This course provides beginning students with an understanding of the fundamental concepts to understand health-related information and health policy. The course will introduce students to the history of epidemiology, and the basic methodological principles used to describe disease occurrence in populations and identify causes of disease. These concepts are subsequently discussed in the context of health policy, outbreak investigations, and epidemiological specialties. Students are responsible for weekly readings, two in-class exams, and two short essays. - PHL 228 Public Health Ethics
- Instructor: Dees, R.
Prerequisites: One previous course in philosophy or permission of the instructor
Restrictions: None
Description:
Most health care ethics focuses on the individual decisions about health care, but many ethical questions have implications for society at large. The demands that individual health decisions make on the system may create collective problems, and conversely, the needs of society may limit the freedoms that individuals think they should have. Public health ethics then, lie at the intersection of medicine, political philosophy, and public policy. This course will examine the values of health, social needs, and freedom through a systematic examination of situations in which these conflicts arise. Three papers, weekly responses, class participation. - STT 212 Applied Statistics for the Biological & Physical Sciences I
- Instructor: Zaino, N.
Prerequisites: None
Restrictions: None
Description:
Descriptive statistics, statistical analysis, and statistical inference as used in the biological and physical sciences; including elements of correlation, regression, and analysis of variance. Excel, Minitab and similar programs. Lectures plus a weekly recitation section. Weekly homework. Two mid-terms and a final. - Restrictions: None
Description:
Descriptive statistics, statistical analysis, and statistical inference as used in the social sciences; including elements of correlation, regression, and analysis of variance. Excel, Minitab and similar programs. Please note that, because of the significant overlap between them, students may earn degree credit for only one of these courses: BCS 200, CSP/PSI 211, STT 211 and STT 212.
STT 211 Applied Statistics for the Social Sciences I
- Instructor: TBD
- Prerequisites: None
SPRING 2012
- PH 101 Introduction to Public Health I
- Instructor: Alio, A.
Prerequisites: None
Restrictions: Not Open to Seniors
Description:
This is a broad survey course designed to introduce beginning students to public health history, concepts, and contemporary issues locally, nationally, and globally. The 15 week course is divided into 4 sections: What is Public Health (history and definitions); Public Health Concepts (health disparities; gender and health; social class and health); Issues in Public Health (food practices and obesity; tobacco addiction; childhood lead poisoning) and Global Health Issues (HIV/AIDS; malaria; maternal mortality). Students are responsible for weekly readings, films, two in-class exams, and two short essays. - PH 102 Introduction to Public Health II
- Instructor: Fisher, S.
Prerequisites: PH 101
Restrictions: None
Description:
This is a broad survey course designed to introduce beginning students to four core areas in public health: biostatistics (descriptive methods, probability, and statistical inference), health policy and management (role of policy in public health, policy-making process, and health insurance), environmental health science (environment and human health, environmental policy and regulation, sustainability), and social and behavioral sciences (behavior and health, social and behavioral theories, health promotion). Each of these areas will be addressed by experts in the field. Students are responsible for weekly readings, two in-class exams, and four short assignments. - STT 212 Applied Statistics for the Biological & Physical Sciences I
- Instructor: MCDERMOTT, M.
Prerequisites: None
Restrictions: None - Description:
- Descriptive statistics, statistical analysis, and statistical inference as used in the biological and physical sciences; including elements of correlation, regression, and analysis of variance. Excel, Minitab and similar programs. Lectures plus a weekly recitation section. Weekly homework. Two mid-terms and a final.
- STT 211 Applied Statistics for the Social Sciences I
- Instructor: Zaino, N.
Prerequisites: None
Restrictions: None - Description:
- Descriptive statistics, statistical analysis, and statistical inference as used in the social sciences; including elements of correlation, regression, and analysis of variance. Excel, Minitab and similar programs. Please note that, because of the significant overlap between them, students may earn degree credit for only one of these courses: BCS 200, CSP/PSI 211, STT 211 and STT 212.
- Instructor: FITZPATRICK, W.
Prerequisites: One previous course in philosophy or permission on instructor
Restrictions: None
Description:
Medicine now produces some of the most troubling ethical questions that our society faces. We are now confronted with extremely premature infants, elderly people incapacitated by Alzheimer's Disease, and others who have sunk into permanent vegetative state. We can now diagnose horrible diseases with genetic testing, we have a myriad of options of reproduction if the old-fashioned way is not possible, and we now have the option to replace the failing organs and even to enhance our mental and physical abilities. Lying behind all these issues are deep questions about social justice in the allocation of resources of health care. In this class, we will examine some of these ethical controversies, both in lectures and in small groups in which students will have more opportunity to present their own views and explore those of others. You must sign up for one of the three discussion sections as well as the lecture to enroll in the class. You will be required to write three short papers. Final examination.
