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Major Degree Program

About the Major Degree

The major degree in Public Health provides students with advanced training and expertise in core areas of the field. It enables students to develop expert knowledge and experience with population-level challenges to health and well-being, and prepares them to enter professions in public health research and service.

Program Learning Outcomes

Upon graduation, students who major or minor in Public Health will be able to:

  • Define public health and describe the roles and responsibilities of government, non-governmental organizations, and private citizens in maintaining public health.
  • Use the theories and principles of public health to explain a public health problem.
  • Apply public health research methods to conduct rigorous research on public health issues
  • Describe causes and risk factors in the major areas of focus in Public Health including but not limited to determinants of mortality and morbidity; leading causes of health disparities among regional, national, and global populations; and transmission for infectious and chronic diseases.
  • Identify and analyze scientific data and other information to assess complex public health challenges, with special consideration of strategies for health promotion at the individual, community, and policy levels, as appropriate.
  • Communicate effectively and persuasively, orally and in writing, particularly to convey complex concepts and information in a clear and concise manner.

Public Health Major, BA

In addition to adhering to General Education and School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts Requirements, the Public Health major requires at least 56 units courses. Courses in the major must be taken for a letter grade, and specifically may not be taken on a pass/no pass basis unless the course is only offered on a pass/no pass basis.

Lower Division Major Requirements [16-17 Units]

Complete the following courses:

One lower division statistics course from the following:

* Meets Quantitative Reasoning General Education requirement.

Upper Division Major Requirements [28 Units]

Additional Elective Requirements [8-9 Units]

Complete two electives from the following:

Please Consult a SSHA Advisor, the SSHA Advising website (ssha-advising.ucmerced.edu) or MyAudit for the most updated list.

Transfer Students

The Public Health major is not available to incoming transfer students until the 2016-2017 school-year. Transfer students who wish to major in Public Health should complete the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) at their community college. Transfer students may not be admitted to the Public Healthmajor without specific major preparation. Please contact the Office of Admissions for current information.

Updated 2021