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-R 110 Fundamentals of Speech Communication (3 credits)
- ENG-W 131 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-M 118 recommended)
- PBHL-B 300 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 Physical 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-P 109 Introduction to Public Health
- PBHL-S 120 Introduction to Community Health
- PBHL-H 101 Influencing the Public’s Health
- PBHL-H 120 Health Care Delivery in the US
- PBHL-A 215 Storytelling with Data
- PBHL-E 210 Zombie Apocalypse and other Doomsday Infections
- PBHL-A 316 Environmental Health Science
- PBHL-E 322 Principles of Epidemiology
- PBHL-E 330 Evidence Based Public Health P/C: PBHL-E 322
- PBHL-S 315 Community Organizing for Health Promotion P/C: PBHL-S 120
- PBHL-S 337 Health Equity and Social Determinants of Health
- PBHL-S 349 Research Methods in Community Health P: PBHL-S 120
- PBHL-S 305 Careers in Public Health
- PBHL-P 491 Capstone in Public Health
Public health discipline electives
Take seven courses for a total of 21 credits
- PBHL-A 325 How Not to Get Killed: Injury Prevention
- PBHL-A 435 Energy, Climate Change, Resilience, and Health
- PBHL-A 450, A 454, A 455, or A 456 Study Abroad: Health Systems Across the World
- PBHL-B 275 Probability Without Tears and Without Calculus
- PBHL-B 285 Classical Biostatistical Regression Methods P: PBHL-B 275, PBHL-B 280 or PBHL-B 300
- PBHL-B 481 Introduction to Biostatistical Computing P: PBHL-B 275, PBHL-B 280 or PBHL-B 300
- PBHL-E 391 Chasing Disease: Public Health Surveillance and Response
- PBHL-E 333 Buzzed and Stoned: The Epidemiology of Substance Abuse
- PBHL-E 335 The Lurking Pandemic: Chronic Disease Epidemiology
- PBHL-E 395 Sores and Drips: The Epidemiology of STIs
- PBHL-H 315 High Risk Health Behaviors and Harm Reduction
- PBHL-H 330 Global Public Health
- PBHL-H 420 Health Policy
- PBHL-S 415 Applied Health Promotion Methods P: PBHL-S 120
- PBHL-S 422 Coaching for Health Behavior Change
- PBHL-P 300 Topics in Public Health
- PBHL-P 400 Topics in Public Health
- PBHL-P 490 Internship in Public Health P: PBHL-P 109, admission to FSPH, 2.5 GPA
Updated: April 2025
