Welcome to the IU Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health!
Undergraduate
Degree Programs
BSPH-GH
BSPH - Global Health
This degree prepares students to begin a career in Global Health; to apply to advanced degree programs in public health and related fields; or to prepare for global/international professions. Our program and courses prepare students with a broad, contemporary foundation of knowledge, skills and abilities relevant to global health. This includes attention to public health across low, middle- and high-income countries as well as the social, economic, political, and organizational conditions that comprise the environmental backdrop for health and well-being. We place particular emphasis on the most urgent and important global health challenges of our time, including climate change, environmental injustices, infectious diseases, socioeconomic inequalities and associated health disparities, increased nationalism, systemic racism, and more, many of which are due to successes in science and technology that have accelerated globalization and demographic shifts.
The following degree requirements are required of all students majoring in Global Health that are admitted to the Fairbanks School of Public Health (FSPH) beginning with fall 2021. Students who are returning to the FSPH and have not enrolled in classes for 2 major (fall or spring) semesters will be required to follow the current degree requirements.
Some courses in the major are not offered each semester. Students should contact the FSPH Office of Student Services (317-278-0753) for advising information, course rotation, and to ensure that they will meet graduation requirements.
Students enrolled in this major are eligible for special scholarship and internship opportunities. For more information, contact your academic advisor in the Department of Global Health.
Competencies
Upon completing this degree, you will be able to:
- Describe a framework to anticipate, recognize, evaluate, prevent, and control environmental exposures.
- Use analytical tools and methods to characterize and address environmental health issues.
- Practice critical thinking to characterize and address environmental health issues.
- Acquire experience in communicating effectively with diverse stakeholders – both written and oral, public and interpersonal, professional and technical – on environmental health issues.
- Classify human health effects of environmental exposures.
- Identify barriers to health equity related to environmental health.
Academic Requirements
Environmental Health Science majors must fulfill the IUPUI general education requirements corresponding the IUPUI's Statewide Transferrable General Education Core.
Global Health Requirements
19 courses for a total of 57 credits
Global Health General Education
Take 3 courses for a total of 9 credit hours
- PBHL-A 115 What’s in your Back Yard? Environment and Health (3 credits)
- PBHL-A 140 Preparing for Disasters (3 credits)
- PBHL-A 215 Storytelling with Data (3 credits)
Foundations
15 courses for a total of 45 credits
Public Health Fundamentals
Take 5 courses for a total of 15 credit hours
- PBHL-A 316 Environmental Health Science (3 credits)
- PBHL-E 322 Principles of Epidemiology (3 credits)
- PBHL-H 120 Health Care Delivery in the US (3 credits)
- PBHL-S 250 Social and Behavioral Dimensions of Public Health (3 credits)
- PBHL-S 305 Careers in Public Health (3 credits)
Global Health Core
Take 10 courses for a total of 30 credits
- PBHL-A 320 Prevention Strategies to Improve Population Health (3 credits)
- PBHL-A 441 Public Health Applications of Geographic Information Systems (3 credits)
- PBHL-A 435 Energy, Climate Change, Resilience, and Health (3 credits)
- PBHL-A 445 Global Environmental Health and Sustainable Development (3 credits)
- PBHL-A 415 Explosions, Collapses, and Toxic Spills: Prevention and Response (3 credits)
- PBHL-A 450 Food and Water: Safety, Scarcity, Security (3 credits)
- PBHL-A 45X Public Health Study Abroad Programming* (3 credits)
- PBHL-A 428 Public Health Sanitation (3 credits)
- PBHL-A 420 Armed Conflict, Natural Disasters, and Health (3 credits)
- SPEA-V 310 Environmental Justice (3 credits)
Experience
1 course for a total of 3 credits
- PBHL A380 Global Health Internship (3 credits)
Recommended Electives
Take 4 courses for a total of 12 credits
- PBHL-A 404 At War with the Virus: Coping with COVID-19 (3 credits)
- PBHL-H 330 Global Public Health (3 credits)
- PBHL-S 337 Health Equity and Social Determinants of Health (3 credits)
- PBHL-H 420 Health Policy (3 credits)
- one approved course on Foreign language (3 credits)
We have provided some recommended electives above; please discuss elective courses with your academic advisor.
Internships and Research Opportunities
Global Health majors are required to complete 240 hours of internship experience. This connects you to the community and is an excellent way to gain work experience and professional networks to launch your career.
Last Updated March 2022
