IU Indianapolis Campus Bulletin 2024-2025

IU Indianapolis Bulletin » Schools » Welcome to the IU Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health! » Undergraduate » Minors

Welcome to the IU Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health!

Undergraduate

Minors

An undergraduate minor is an excellent way to:

• Enhance your knowledge of population health;
• Boost your chances of being accepted to medical, dental or law school;
• Make you a more competitive candidate for jobs in a variety of industries, including health care, human services, law, education, environmental services, and business.

A minor is just 15 credit hours, making it easy to fit into most undergraduate schedules.

The Fairbanks School of Public Health minors include:

Community Health Minor

Many groups of people face significant challenges to living healthy lives. These challenges are influenced not only by individual choices but also by where we live, work and play. Through the Minor in Community Health, students gain knowledge, skills and hands-on experience that prepares them to tackle these real world problems.

Eligibility and application procedure

• Students must complete at least 9 credit hours of the minor through the IU Indianapolis campus.
• Students enrolled in baccalaureate programs at Indiana University who are in good academic standing may pursue the minor in community health.
• Public health majors are eligible for up to one minor from the following FSPH disciplines: community health, epidemiology, or global health. Additional details on this policy can be found in the FSPH Student Handbook.
• Students who successfully complete the requirements for the community health minor with a grade of “C” or better in all courses credited to the minor will have the minor conferred with their baccalaureate degree.

Minor requirements

Required courses

Take four courses for 12 credits (with minimum grade of “C” or better required):

• PBHL-P 109 Introduction to Public Health
• PBHL-S 120 Introduction to Community Health
• PBHL-S 337 Health Equity and Social Determinants of Health
• PBHL-S 415 Applied Health Promotion Methods (offered spring semesters only) – Prerequisite: PBHL-S 120

Elective courses

Choose one course for 3 credits (with minimum grade of “C” or better required):

• PBHL-S 315 Community Organizing for Health Promotion – Prerequisite: PBHL-S 120
• PBHL-S 220 Navigating the Maze of Healthy Living
• PBHL-S 349 Research Methods in Community Health – Prerequisite: PBHL-S 120
• PBHL-S 422 Coaching for Health Behavior Change (offered fall semesters only)

For students who started the community health minor fall 2023-summer 2024

For students who started the community health minor prior to fall 2023

Minor in Community Health – CHES Pathway

Students will take these five 3-credit courses:

• PBHL-S 120 Introduction to Community Health
• PBHL-S 315 Community Organizing for Health Promotion
• PBHL-S 330 Theoretical Foundations of Community Health
• PBHL-S 360 Assessment and Planning for Community Health Promotion
• PBHL-S 361 Implementation and Evaluation for Community Health

You must complete the required courses with a grade of “C” or better in all courses credited to the minor.

Minor in Community Health – Non-CHES Pathway

Students will take these four 3-credit courses:

• PBHL-S 120 Introduction to Community Health
• PBHL-S 220 Navigating the Maze to Healthy Living
• PBHL-S 250 Social and Behavioral Dimensions of Public Health
• PBHL-S 337 Health Equity and Social Determinants of Health

PLUS - Pick any one of the following 3-credit courses:

• PBHL-S 105 Music, Movies, and Public Health
• PBHL-S 222 This Stress is Killing Me: Stress and Its Effects on You
• PBHL-S 240 Peer Health Education and Leadership
• PBHL-S 325 Urban Angst Suburban Blues: Public Mental Health
• PBHL-S 422 Coaching for Health Behavior Change

You must complete the required courses with a grade of “C” or better in all courses credited to the minor.

Epidemiology Minor

The minor in public health epidemiology is designed to introduce students to the application of epidemiological methods to real world public health challenges and research. After completing the two required courses, students may select three courses from the list of elective courses below.

Eligibility and application procedure

1. Students must complete at least 9 credit hours of the minor through the IU Indianapolis campus.
2. Students enrolled in baccalaureate programs at Indiana University or other accredited colleges or universities who are in good academic standing may pursue the minor in epidemiology.
3. Students must declare their intention to receive a minor by completing an application. Students may contact their undergraduate academic advisor in the Fairbanks School of Public Health at (317) 278-0753 if there are any questions associated with the minor or minor application. This application should be completed when the student completes an application for graduation of the baccalaureate degree.
4. Public health majors are eligible for up to one minor from the following FSPH disciplines: community health, epidemiology, or global health. Additional details on this policy can be found in the FSPH Student Handbook.
5. Students who successfully complete the requirements for the epidemiology minor with a grade of “C” or better in all courses credited to the minor will have the minor conferred with their baccalaureate degree.

Epidemiology Minor requirements

Take five courses for a total of 15 credits.

Take the three courses below for a total of nine credits.

• PBHL-P 109 Introduction to Public Health
• PBHL-E 210 Zombie Apocalypse and Other Doomsday Infections
• PBHL-E 322 Principles of Epidemiology

And choose two of the courses below for a total of six credits.

• PBHL-E 333 Buzzed and Stoned: The Epidemiology of Substance Abuse
• PBHL-E 335 The Lurking Pandemic: Chronic Disease Epidemiology
• PBHL-E 391 Chasing Disease: Public Health Surveillance and Response
• PBHL-E 395 Sores and Drips: Epidemiology of Sexually Transmitted Infections

Note: PBHL-E 323 will be accepted as a substitution for one course in the choose from list.

Global Health Minor

The minor in global health is designed to introduce students to selected aspects of current thinking on the connections between the environment and human health. After completing the initial general education course in global health, students take three courses focused on climate change, sustainable development, and environmental health science. Finally, students take one course from a variety of global health electives.

Eligibility and application procedure

1. Students must complete at least 9 credit hours of the minor through the IU Indianapolis campus.
2. Students enrolled in baccalaureate programs at Indiana University or other accredited colleges or universities who are in good academic standing may pursue the minor in global health.
3. Public health majors are eligible for up to one minor from the following FSPH disciplines: community health, epidemiology, or global health. Additional details on this policy can be found in the FSPH Student Handbook.
4. Students must declare their intention to receive a minor by completing an application. Students may also contact their undergraduate academic advisor at 317-278-0753 for the application or if they have questions. This application should be completed at the same time the student completes an application for graduation for the baccalaureate degree.
5. Students who successfully complete the requirements for the global health minor with a grade of “C” or better for all courses credited to the minor will have the minor conferred with their degree.

NOTE: Some courses listed below are not offered every semester – students should check with the Undergraduate Academic Advisor to determine scheduling of specific courses. Students should discuss their elective course selection with a global health faculty member. Course substitutions and course waivers must be approved by the faculty advisor.

Minor requirements (five courses, 15 credit hours)

Take the four courses below for a total of 12 credits.

• PBHL-P 109 Introduction to Public Health (offered fall, spring and summer)
• PBHL-A 316 Environmental Health Science (offered fall & spring)
• PBHL-A 325 How Not to Get Killed – Injury Prevention (offered spring)
• PBHL-A 435 Energy, Climate Change, Resilience, and Health (offered spring)

And choose one of the courses below for a total of three credits.

• PBHL-A 215 Storytelling with Data (offered fall & spring)
• PBHL-A 453 Comparing Health Systems: Geneva Study Abroad (offered spring)
• PBHL-A 454 Comparing Health Systems: London Study Abroad (offered spring)
• PBHL-A 455 Comparing Health Systems: Israel Study Abroad (offered spring)
• PBHL-A 453 Comparing Health Systems: Geneva Study Abroad (offered spring)

Note: Other public health study abroad courses may be acceptable substitutions. Please speak with a Fairbanks School of Public Health academic advisor.

For students who started the global health minor prior to fall 2023

Students must take two of the following courses (6 credits):

• PBHL-P 109 Introduction to Public Health
• PBHL-A 115 What's in your Back Yard? Environment and Health
• PBHL-A 120 Culture, Health and Happiness
• PBHL-A 140 Preparing for Disasters
• PBHL-A 215 Storytelling with Data

Students must take the following three courses (9 credits):

• PBHL-A 316 Environmental Health Science
• PBHL-A 435 Energy, Climate Change, Resilience, and Health
• PBHL-A 445 Global Environmental Health and Sustainable Development

Health Administration Minor

Are you interested in learning what it takes to run a health care delivery system? If so, this is the minor for you. You’ll learn what top thought leaders say about key aspects of administration of today’s health systems. This is a minor that is easy to customize to your specific interests. You’ll take two required health administration course, then you’ll choose three electives from a list that includes health care management, policy, marketing, legal issues, human resources, and health information technology.

Eligibility and application procedure

• Students must complete at least 9 credit hours of the minor through the IU Indianapolis campus.
• Students enrolled in baccalaureate programs at Indiana University who are in good academic standing may pursue the minor in health administration.
• Public health students majoring in health services management are not eligible for the health administration minor.
• Students who successfully complete the requirements for the minor with a grade of "C" or better in all courses credited to the minor will have the minor conferred at time of graduation

Health Administration Minor requirements

Required courses

Take two courses for 6 credits:

• PBHL-H 120* Health Care Delivery in the US
• PBHL-H 375* Management of Health Services Organizations

*These courses are offered online at least once per year.

**PBHL-H220 will be considered an acceptable substitution for PBHL-H 120 for public health majors. PBHL-H 320 may be an acceptable substitution for PBHL-H 375 for students who started the minor prior to fall 2023. Please reach out to a Fairbanks School of Public Health academic advisor for confirmation

Elective courses

Choose three elective courses for 9 credits:

• PBHL-H 320* Health Systems Administration
• PBHL-H 411 Chronic and Long-Term Care Administration
• PBHL-H 420* Health Policy
• PBHL-H 432* Health Care Marketing
• PBHL-H 441 Legal Aspects of Health Care Administration
• PBHL-H 330** Global Public Health
• PBHL-H 310 Lean in Healthcare
• PBHL-H 325 Health Information Technology, Management and Policy
• PBHL-H 346* Organizational Behavior and HR Management in Healthcare
• PBHL-H 345* Operations Management and Quality Improvement in Health Organizations
• PBHL-H 305* Medical Group Management
• PBHL-H 315 High Risk Health Behaviors and Harm Reduction
• PBHL-H 101* Influencing the Public's Health
• PBHL-H 303 Topics in Public Health
• PBHL-H 455 Topics in Public Health

*These courses are offered online at least once per year.

**This course is offered online in the summer.

Health Data Science Minor

Health data science uses cutting edge technologies to gain insights into biomedical data. The minor in health data science will introduce students to the language of data in health applications so they are able to transform, visualize, analyze, and interpret information in a modern data science pipeline, presenting fundamental concepts of biostatistics through the use of computing and simulation.

Eligibility and application procedure

Health Data Science Minor requirements

Required courses

Take four courses for 12 credits (with minimum grade of "C" or better required):

• PBHL-B 275 Probability Without Tears and Calculus (3 credits)
• PBHL-B 304 Biostatistics for Health Data Scientists: A Computational Approach (3 credits) – Prerequisite: MATH-M 118 or higher (PBHL-B 300 counts as a substitute for this class)
• PBHL-B 384 Classical Biostatistical Regression Methods (3 credits) – Prerequisites: PBHL-B 275 and PBHL-B 304 or PBHL-B 302 or PBHL-B 300 or PBHL-B 300 equivalent
• PBHL-B 420 Introduction to Biostatistical Learning (3 credits) – Prerequisites: Linear Algebra and PBHL-B 304 or PBHL-B 300 (or equivalent)

Elective courses

Choose one elective course for 3 credits (with minimum grade of "C" or better required):

• PBHL-B 352 Fundamentals of Data management in R (3 credits) – offered fall only
• PBHL-B 481 Introduction to Biostatistical Computing (3 credits) – Prerequisite: PBHL-B 275

For students who started the health data science minor prior to fall 2024

Public Health Minor

Public health is one of the most important factors influencing health today. It’s about promoting prevention and protection rather than focusing on treating disease and injury. The IU Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health allows you to discover the social, economic, behavioral, biological, and environmental influences that can be the difference between a successful population health strategy and one that misses the target. This is a perfect minor for anyone who is interested in a career that allows them to impact the health of populations of people.

Eligibility and application procedures

• Students must complete at least 9 credit hours of the minor through the IU Indianapolis campus.
• Students enrolled in baccalaureate programs at Indiana University who are in good academic standing may pursue the minor in public health.
• Public health majors are not eligible for the public health minor.
• Students who successfully complete the requirements for the public health minor with a grade of “C” or better in all courses credited to the minor will have the minor conferred with their baccalaureate degree.

Public Health Minor requirements

Students will take one required course (3 credit hours):

• PBHL-P 109 Introduction to Public Health

Students will choose four courses (12 credit hours):

• PBHL-A 316 Environmental Health Sciences
• PBHL-B 300 Introduction to Biostatistics
• PBHL-E 322 Principles of Epidemiology
• PBHL-H 120 Health Care Delivery in the US
• PBHL-S 120 Introduction to Community Health

Note: PBHL-S 250 can be accepted as a substitution for PBHL-S 120. PBHL-B 301 or PBHL-B 302 can be accepted as a substitution for PBHL-B 300. Please see an FSPH academic advisor for additional details.

You must complete all required courses with a grade of “C” or better.

Honors option

An honors option is available. Visit the IU Indianapolis Honors College website for details or reach out to one of our undergraduate academic advisors.

Updated: April 2025