Indiana University Bloomington

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B.S. IN PUBLIC HEALTH

IMPROVING YOUR COMMUNITY'S HEALTH

DOES THIS SOUND LIKE YOU?
You want to be on top of the latest health issues—and you want to bring health information to the community.
You want variety in what you study and your career choices and plenty of hands-on experience to prepare you for the real world.

Public health promotes the health of the general public by educating people and communities about health maintenance and healthy lifestyles. With this degree, you might help change policies to improve people’s environments or teach others how to prevent disease and make healthy choices through government agencies, nonprofi t organizations, hospitals, or corporations. As a community health leader, you might decide to become an advocate for health among legislators, offi cials, and business leaders.

“The job that I have as a health educator is exactly what I went to school for. The classes helped me develop a more comprehensive way of thinking and gave me the tools to educate the community on very important issues. I know that every day I am at work, I am using my degree.”
—Larisa Niles-Carnes, B.S. Public Health, ‘04, Health Educator, Planned Parenthood

About the Program

The Public Health Program prepares students to develop, implement, and evaluate health education programs in the community. Students can choose to take courses related to specialized health issues, such as women’s health, sexual health, cancer, health disparities, substance abuse, international health, nutrition, safety management, violence prevention, or bioterrorism. Our students are prepared to work in health promotion, community development, public health research, and public health program planning. Many students also go on to graduate school in health-related fields such as medicine and dentistry as well as business and law.

Knowledge and Experience

The Public Health Program gives students the skills they need to educate the public and to keep current with health issues:

  • Gain hands-on experience in the fi eld through a required 5 credit hour internship.
  • Earn CPR or Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) certifications.
  • Expand knowledge of basic health through anatomy, physiology, and biology.
  • Polish communication skills with 15 credit hours of oral and written communications courses.
  • Learn to teach effectively by tapping into the latest technology and education methods.
  • Learn how to develop public health programs through conducting a community needs assessment and intervention proposal.
  • Choose from a wide variety of “related content” courses that can include premed and predental prerequisites.

Educational and Professional Requirements

Students must complete 26 credit hours and have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 to be admitted as a major to the Public Health Program. Through 119 credit hours of course work plus a required 5 credit hour internship, the Public Health Program prepares students academically and professionally. Students complete the internship in a community, corporate, or governmental health agency, either locally, nationally, or internationally.

The Public Health Program prepares students to take the exam to become a Certifi ed Health Education Specialist (CHES), the nationally recognized credential for professional health educators. To learn more about CHES certifi cation, visit the Web site of the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, www.nchec.org/index.htm.

Tab sheet for major and tab sheet for minor (PDF)

Job Outlook and Salaries

Public interest in a healthy lifestyle and community health needs creates a demand for public health educators. Public health education careers can be found in local, state, and federal government agencies; nonprofi t organizations; businesses and corporations; hospitals; county health departments; community health foundations; and health and wellness-based projects within universities.

Sample of Early Critical Courses

HPER-H 263 Personal Health
MATH-M 118 Finite Mathematics
ANAT-A 215 Human Anatomy
BIOL-M 200 Microorganisms in Nature and Disease

Sample of Upper-Division Core Courses

HPER-C 310 Health Care in Diverse Communities
HPER-C 366 Community Health
HPER-C 403 Public Health Program Planning
HPER-C 444 Field Experience in Public Health
HPER-H 311 Human Diseases and Epidemiology
SPEA-H 316 Environmental Health

Career Opportunities

Recent graduates with a public health degree have chosen career opportunities
such as:

  • Coordinator of Public Health
  • Disease Prevention Manager
  • Maternal and Child Health Specialist
  • Public Health Educator
  • Public Health Epidemiologist
  • Public Health Marketing Manager
  • Sexual Assault Services Coordinator
  • Vaccine Advisor and Program Manager
  • Wellness Associate

Entry-level annual salaries for public health educators range from $30,000 to $35,000; salaries for master’s degree graduates range from $35,000 to $45,000. However, a master’s degree in public health education with just one to four years of experience in the field can command salaries exceeding $50,000 to $55,000. As with any profession, salaries vary by geographic region, employment setting, and job responsibilities.

For More Information

For more information about this program or the Department of Applied Health Science, please contact:

Department of Applied Health Science
Indiana University
HPER Building 116
1025 E. Seventh Street
Bloomington, IN 47405-7109
Telephone: (812) 855-3627
E-mail: ahsinfo@indiana.edu 

If you want to know more about career options or issues in public health
education, check out:

Program Brochure (PDF)