Welcome to the IU Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health!
Undergraduate
Degree Programs
Bachelor of Science in Public Health
Bachelor of Science in Public Health
The Bachelor of Science in Public Health prepares you for a career preventing disease, promoting health, and addressing the inequities that keep our family, friends, and neighbors from living a long and healthy life.
This multidisciplinary, flexible degree provides a strong foundation in public health to address the obstacles to health facing us today.
You will have the opportunity to personalize your degree by choosing from courses in a variety of public health discipline areas including community health, health policy, epidemiology, biostatistics, and global health.
With this degree, you will have the opportunity launch your career or pursue graduate studies at the top of your game. You will gain the public health problem solving skills you need to become a leader in Indiana and beyond.
BS in Public Health competencies
- Recognize the social determinants of health that impact individuals and communities
- Prepare written and oral reports and presentations that effectively communicate information to diverse stakeholders, colleagues, communities, and the general public
- Select, collect, interpret, analyze, and summarize data drawing accurate conclusions for public health decision making
- Collaborate with diverse populations and utilize critical thinking to address public health problems
- Describe the historical role of public health nationally and globally and identify and understand current and future public health challenges faced by the U.S. and the world
Academic requirements
General education courses
Take 10 courses for a total of 30 credits
Core Communication
Take two courses for a total of 6 credits
- COMM R110 Fundamentals of Speech Communication (3 credits)
- ENG W131 Reading, Writing and Inquiry (3 credits)
Analytical Reasoning
Take two courses for a total of 6 credits
- Choose one course from Analytical Reasoning Group A list (MATH-M118 recommended)
- PBHL B300 Introduction to Biostatistics (3 credits)
Cultural Understanding
Take one course for a total of 3 credits
- Choose one course from the approved Cultural Understanding list
Life and Physician Sciences
Take two courses for a total of 6 credits
- Choose two courses from the approved Life and Physical Sciences list
Social Sciences and Arts and Humanities
Take three courses for a total of 9 credits
- Choose one course from the approved Arts and Humanities list
- Choose one course from the approved Social Sciences list
- Choose one course from either the Arts and Humanities list or the Social Sciences List
Public Health core
Take 14 courses for a total of 42 credits
- PBHL-P109 Introduction to Public Health
- PBHL-S120 Introduction to Community Health
- PBHL-H101 Influencing the Public’s Health
- PBHL-H120 Health Care Delivery in the US
- PBHL-A215 Storytelling with Data
- PBHL-E210 Zombie Apocalypse and other Doomsday Infections
- PBHL-A316 Environmental Health Science
- PBHL-E322 Principles of Epidemiology
- PBHL-E330 Evidence Based Public Health P/C: PBHL-E 322
- PBHL-S315 Community Organizing for Health Promotion P/C: PBHL-S 120
- PBHL-S337 Health Equity and Social Determinants of Health
- PBHL-S349 Research Methods in Community Health P: PBHL-S 120
- PBHL-S305 Careers in Public Health
- PBHL-P491 Capstone in Public Health
Public health discipline electives
Take seven courses for a total of 21 credits
- PBHL-A325 How Not to Get Killed: Injury Prevention
- PBHL-A435 Energy, Climate Change, Resilience, and Health
- PBHL-A450, A454, A455, or A456 Study Abroad: Health Systems Across the World
- PBHL-B275 Probability Without Tears and Without Calculus
- PBHL-B285 Classical Biostatistical Regression Methods P: PBHL-B 275, PBHL-B 280 or PBHL-B 300
- PBHL-B481 Introduction to Biostatistical Computing P: PBHL-B 275, PBHL-B 280 or PBHL-B 300
- PBHL-E391 Chasing Disease: Public Health Surveillance and Response
- PBHL-E333 Buzzed and Stoned: The Epidemiology of Substance Abuse
- PBHL-E335 The Lurking Pandemic: Chronic Disease Epidemiology
- PBHL-E395 Sores and Drips: The Epidemiology of STIs
- PBHL-H315 High Risk Health Behaviors and Harm Reduction
- PBHL-H330 Global Public Health
- PBHL-H420 Health Policy
- PBHL-S415 Applied Health Promotion Methods P: PBHL-S 120
- PBHL-S422 Coaching for Health Behavior Change
- PBHL-P300 Topics in Public Health
- PBHL-P400 Topics in Public Health
- PBHL-P490 Internship in Public Health P: PBHL-P 109, admission to FSPH, 2.5 GPA
Updated: April 2024
