BS in Public Health
Degree Requirements
To earn the Bachelor of Science in Public Health degree from UIC, students need to complete the university and school degree requirements. University and school degree requirements for all Bachelor of Science in Public Health students are outlined below. Students should consult the General Education section of the catalog for more information on completing the General Education requirements.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Summary of Requirements | ||
| Pre-Public Health (includes 11 semester hours of PUBH prerequisites and 19-24 hours of free electives) | 60 | |
| Major Course Requirements in Public Health | 35 | |
| Selectives | 15 | |
| Electives: Preapproved by advisor as relevant to plan of study | 3 | |
| Additional Free Electives | 7 | |
| Total Hours | 120 | |
Pre-Public Health
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses | ||
| ENGL 160 | Academic Writing I: Writing in Academic and Public Contexts | 3 |
| ENGL 161 | Academic Writing II: Writing for Inquiry and Research | 3 |
| Quantitative Reasoning Course a | 4-5 | |
Select one of the following: | ||
| Introduction to Statistics | ||
| Introduction to Statistics for the Life Sciences | ||
| Precalculus Mathematics | ||
| Calculus for the Life Sciences | ||
| Calculus I | ||
| PUBH 100 | Health and the Public b,c | 3 |
| PUBH 105 | Foundations for Public Health d | 2 |
| PUBH 110 | Public Health and Global Societies b,e | 3 |
| PUBH 120 | Public Health and the Study of Disease and Epidemics f | 3 |
| Life Science course with a lab. Select one of the following: | 4 | |
| Biology of Cells and Organisms | ||
or BIOS 120 | Biology of Populations and Communities | |
| Exploring World Cultures course g,i | 3 | |
| Understanding U.S. Society course h,i | 3 | |
| Understanding the Individual and Society course g,h,i | 3 | |
| Understanding the Past course i | 3 | |
| Understanding the Creative Arts course i | 3 | |
| Additional General Education course(s) from any category, as necessary, to total 24 hours of General Education | 0-2 | |
| Free electives to total 60 hours j | 19-24 | |
| Total Hours | 60 | |
- a
See Quantitative Reasoning in the School of Public Health section. STAT 101 or STAT 130 is recommended to fulfill this requirement.
- b
This course is approved for the Understanding the Individual and Society General Education category.
- c
This course is approved for the Understanding U.S. Society General Education category.
- d
Required for first year students in the School of Public Health as well as transfer students who enter the School of Public Health with less than 24 semester hours. Other students may enroll with permission of the instructor if space permits.
- e
This course is approved for the Exploring World Cultures General Education category.
- f
This course is approved for the Analyzing the Natural World General Education category (non laboratory course).
- g
Students must take a course approved for this General Education category if not fulfilled by PUBH 110.
- h
Students must take a course approved for this General Education category if not fulfilled by PUBH 100.
- i
Students should consult the General Education section of the catalog for a list of approved courses in this category. All students must complete a minimum of 24 semester hours of General Education course work with at least one course from each of the six General Education categories. Courses approved for more than one General Education category may only be applied to one General Education category.
- j
If any future selective courses have prerequisites that are not already satisfied by the University and General Education requirements, students are advised to choose free electives that work towards satisfying these requirements.
Major Course Requirements in Public Health
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses | ||
| PUBH 300 | Critical Thinking in Public Health | 4 |
| PUBH 301 | Critical Thinking in Public Health II | 2 |
| PUBH 310 | Public Health and Global Citizenship | 3 |
| PUBH 320 | Ecologies of Health and Modern Life | 3 |
| PUBH 330 | Health Equity and Health Disparities | 3 |
| PUBH 340 | Health Literacy | 3 |
| PUBH 350 | Health Systems, Health Policy | 3 |
| PUBH 360 | Local Citizenship and Community Health Initiatives | 4 |
| PUBH 370 | Using the Public Health Toolbox | 3 |
| PUBH 395 | Professional Topics Seminar | 0 |
| PUBH 397 | Baccalaureate Project in Public Health | 3 |
| PUBH 410 | Historical and Contemporary Public Health Challenges I | 2 |
| PUBH 411 | Historical and Contemporary Public Health Challenges II | 2 |
| Total Hours | 35 | |
Selectives and Electives
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Select from a list of courses within the School of Public Health and across campus representing an array of bench, lab, and applied sciences. Students are highly encouraged to consider PUBH 393 for one of their selective options. PUBH 420 is among the selective options and may be a prerequisite requirement for some other public health courses on the list. | 15 | |
| Select elective courses preapproved by the advisor as relevant to the student's plan of study. | 3 | |
| Additional free electives a | 7 | |
| Total Hours | 25 | |
- a
If any of the selective courses have prerequisites that are not already satisfied with the University and General Education Requirements, students are advised to choose free electives that work toward satisfying these prerequisites requirements.
Sample Major Course Schedule
| Junior Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall Semester | Hours | |
| PUBH 300 | Critical Thinking in Public Health | 4 |
| PUBH 330 | Health Equity and Health Disparities | 3 |
| PUBH 350 | Health Systems, Health Policy | 3 |
| PUBH 395 | Professional Topics Seminar | 0 |
| Free electives | 6 | |
| Hours | 16 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| PUBH 301 | Critical Thinking in Public Health II | 2 |
| PUBH 320 | Ecologies of Health and Modern Life | 3 |
| PUBH 340 | Health Literacy | 3 |
| PUBH 360 | Local Citizenship and Community Health Initiatives | 4 |
| PUBH 395 | Professional Topics Seminar | 0 |
| Public Health elective | 3 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Senior Year | ||
| Fall Semester | ||
| PUBH 370 | Using the Public Health Toolbox | 3 |
| PUBH 410 | Historical and Contemporary Public Health Challenges I | 2 |
| Public Health selective a | 3 | |
| Public Health selective a | 3 | |
| Public Health selective a | 3 | |
| Free elective | 1 | |
| Hours | 15 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| PUBH 310 | Public Health and Global Citizenship | 3 |
| PUBH 397 | Baccalaureate Project in Public Health | 3 |
| PUBH 411 | Historical and Contemporary Public Health Challenges II | 2 |
| Public Health selective | 3 | |
| Public Health selective | 3 | |
| Hours | 14 | |
| Total Hours | 60 | |
- a
PUBH 393 is strongly recommended as one of the selective options.