Public Health-related Majors
Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Health, Behavior, and Society
This major has 12 required and 2 foundational courses. It is a Bachelor of Arts major that satisfies the Social Science requirement of the Rochester Curriculum.
- Key goals for this major:
- Understand the psychological and societal structures and mechanisms affecting human health behavior.
- Understand that health and disease do not depend uniquely on biological mechanisms, but include societal and cultural influences as well;
- Understand that psychological and behavioral factors affect human health, and interact with surrounding economic and environmental conditions; and
- Understand the role of behavioral theory, research, and clinical practice in the promotion and maintenance of physical health and well-being.
**NEW: Students are also encouraged to talk to one of our Health, Behavior, and Society (HBS)
Peer Advisers. For information, go to 'Advising Services - Peer Advisers' webpage.
Requirements of the Major (prerequisites in parentheses):
| A. Foundational Anthropology and Psychology Courses: | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ANT 102 | Introduction to Medical Anthropology (or other Anthropology course) |
(none) | |
| PSY 101 | Introduction to Psychology | (none) | |
| B. Common Core (5 courses): | |||
| PH 101 | Introduction to Public Health I | (none) | |
| PH 102 | Introduction to Public Health II | (PH 101) | |
| PH 103 | Concepts of Epidemiology | (none) | |
|
|
STT 212 or STT 211 | Appl. Stat. for the Biological and Physical Sciences I (212) or Appl. Stat for Social Sciences (211) | (none) |
| PHL 228 or PHL 225 |
Public Health Ethics (228) or Ethical Decisions in Medicine (225) | (1 in PHL; or permission on instructor) | |
| C. Specific Core Requirements (4 courses): | |||
| ANT 216 | Medical Anthropology | (1 in ANT) | |
| PH 116 | Introduction to the U.S. Health System | (none) | |
| CSP 161/PSY 161 | Social Psychology & Individual Differences | (none) | |
| CSP 283/PSY 283 | Behavioral Medicine | (PSY 101) | |
| D. Electives (3 of the following): | |||
| BCS/ PSY 246 | Biology of Mental Disorders | (BCS 110. BIO 110) | |
| CAS 397 | European Health Science Internship | (none) | |
| CSP/PSY 267 | Psychology of Gender | (none) | |
| HIS 202/202W |
Health, Medicine and Social Reform *prior to fall 2013 HIS 208 |
(none) | |
| HIS 203/203W (H) |
Changing Concepts of Health and Illness *prior to fall 2013 HIS 209 |
(none) | |
| HIS 204/204W |
History of International and Global Health *prior to fall 2013 HIS 287 |
(none) | |
| PH 216 | Peer Health Advocacy |
(none) | |
| PM 426 |
Social and Behavioral Medicine | (CSP 283) | |
| WST 206 | Feminism, Gender, and Health | (none) | |
| E. Upper-Level Writing Requirement: | |||
| Students will be required to register for two upper-level writing courses within this major, one of these courses is PH 116. The registration rules for new or existing College courses are determined by their respective home departments. | |||
Honors Program:
Students will be invited by the Office for Public Health-related Programs to apply to the honors program. Invitations are based on a 3.70 grade-point average in the five Public Health-related Common Core Courses (all five courses need to have been completed by the end of junior year) and on progress toward finishing requirements for the major. Students who receive an invitation will need to formally apply to the office for Public Health-related Programs to enroll in the honors program. To graduate with honors in Health, Behavior and Society, students must complete the major; complete the honors section of HIS 209; complete eight credit hours of independent study over and above the credits required for the major (PH 391 for fall semester and PH 398 for spring semester of senior year); have a cumulative grade-point average of at least a 3.70 in the major; and, complete a distinguished research paper under the direction of a faculty adviser. The thesis must be of at least A- quality. Students will not receive honors for a thesis that does not meet this minimum standard.
Distinction Program:
This major will offer a distinction program in which the terms “distinction”, “high distinction”, and “highest distinction” will reflect the quality of performance in the major. A GPA of at least 3.40 will qualify for “distinction”; a GPA of at least 3.60 will qualify for “high distinction”; and a GPA of at least 3.80 will qualify for “highest distinction”.
