Undergraduate Program

Degree Offered

  • Bachelor of Science in Population Health (B.S.)

Program Description

The Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Population Health transcends the traditionally siloed fields of medicine and health professions and public health, community health, and health education. The Population Health major is the liaison between the study of health care systems, finance, health policy and health law, with prevention and wellness in communities. The undergraduate minor in Population Health offers students the opportunity to the study of the public health system, focusing on community prevention and wellness, and to the health care system, focusing on treatment, quality care, costs, access and health policy. 

Borrowing from the language of the Interdisciplinary Association for Population Health Science, Population Health "is dedicated to advancing an integrative understanding of multiple determinants of health - biological, behavioral and societal - and the ways in which they interact to produce and maintain health." Population Health Science is the essence of trans-disciplinary science - not solely the combination of multiple disciplines but rather a new science focused on answering complex questions about the sources of health and the causes of illness and disability. Features of Population Health include:

  • focuses on the level and distribution of health within populations as well as practical approaches for improvement.
  • produces integrated knowledge and action about the societal, behavioral, biological, and organizational system causes of health and disease, the mechanisms through which health is produced, health risks are created and the evidence base for effective policies, health system responses, and public health practices.
  • requires innovations in upstream and downstream approaches to reduce disparities and improve population health.
  • requires technological solutions to grass roots problems.
  • needs practitioners and scientists from different disciplinary backgrounds to come together and transcend the limits of their knowledge and expertise to create an entirely new discipline.

Graduates develop skills to promote the health of populations in a variety of domains that comprise the continuum from wellness to health care, from health systems to community systems, from health policy to community policies, and from economic theory to economic practices. Graduates will find jobs in business, informatics, engineering, architecture and planning, law, medicine, community advocacy, and political organizations to name a few.


Admission Requirements

All students seeking acceptance to the College of Population Health must meet requirements for admission to the University. See the Admissions section of this Catalog for information on University admission requirements. Applications must be received by July 15 for acceptance to the Fall semester. Applications are accepted through the College of Population Health Web site

All students applying to the B.S. in Population Health are required to complete PH 101 Introduction to Population Health and PH 102 Global Health Challenges and Responses; or students must have completed either PH 101 or PH 102 with a grade of "B" or better, and be currently enrolled in the other course. Acceptance is contingent upon maintaining a "B" average between the two courses.


Degree Requirements

The B.S. in Population Health is granted to students upon fulfillment of the following:

  1. Completion of 121 credit hours of coursework of the prescribed curriculum.
  2. Completion of the University of New Mexico Core Curriculum.
  3. Completion of at least 42 credit hours of upper-division coursework. Such courses are numbered 300 or above.
  4. Compliance with the minimum residence requirements, as stated in the Undergraduate Program section of this Catalog.
  5. Areas of focused study are optional. Credit hours may vary from 12-15 hours depending on the selected topic.
  6. Maintenance of an overall minimum GPA of 2.00.
      Credit
Hours
UNM Core
Area 1 Writing and Speaking 9
Area 2 Mathematics 3
Area 3 Physical and Natural Sciences 7
Area 4 Social and Behavioral Sciences  6
Area 5 Humanities 6
Area 6 Foreign Language 3
Area 7 Fine Arts 3
Subtotal 37
Population Health Core
PH 101 Introduction to Population Health 3
PH 102 Global Health Challenges and Responses 3
PH 201 Population Health Biology 3
PH 221 Population Health: Introduction to Social, Cultural, Behavioral Theory 3
PH 230 Introduction to Environmental and Occupational Health 3
PH 240 Health Systems, Services and Policies 3
PH 241 Fundamentals of Health Care Finance 3
PH 310 Population Health Research Methods 3
PH 311 Essentials of Epidemiology: The Language of Population Health 3
PH 350 Health Data Systems 3
PH 360 Population Health Management 3
PH 420 Population Health Evidenced-Based Practices 3
PH 421 Population Health Planning I 3
PH 422 Population Health Planning II 3
PH 475 Population Health Capstone 6
Subtotal 48
Areas of Focus
Examples: Biostatistics, Built Environment, Community Health Education, Disaster Medicine, Environmental Health, Exercise Science, Health Economics, Health Information Systems, Health Policy, Nutrition. 15
Subtotal 15
Electives
Provides students with the flexibility to explore courses 21
Subtotal 21
Degree Total 121

Minor Study

Population Health focuses on the level and distribution of health within populations as well as practical approaches for improvement. Population Health minors will develop basic knowledge and skills to promote the health of populations in a variety of domains that comprise the continuum from wellness to health care, from health systems to community systems, from health policy to community policies, and from economic theory to economic practices. 

Requirements

Credit
Hours
Required Courses
PH 101 Introduction to Population Health 3
PH 102 Global Health Challenges and Responses 3
PH 311 Essentials of Epidemiology: The Language of Population Health 3
PH 420 Population Health Evidenced-Based Practices 3
Subtotal 12
Electives
Select one:
PH 201 Population Health Biology 3
PH 221 Population Health: Introduction to Social, Cultural, Behavioral Theory 3
PH 230 Introduction to Environmental and Occupational Health 3
PH 240 Health Systems, Services and Policies 3
PH 241 Fundamentals of Health Care Finance 3
Subtotal 3
Select one:
PH 310 Population Health Research Methods 3
PH 350 Health Data Systems 3
PH 360 Population Health Management 3
PH 375 Population Health Field Experience 3
Subtotal 3
Total 18

Courses

PH 101. Introduction to Population Health. (3)



PH 102. Global Health Challenges and Responses. (3)



PH 201. Population Health Biology. (3)



PH 221. Population Health: Introduction to Social, Cultural, Behavioral Theory. (3)



PH 230. Introduction to Environmental and Occupational Health. (3)



PH 240. Health Systems, Services and Policies. (3)



PH 241. Fundamentals of Health Care Finance. (3)



PH 260. Special Topics in Population Health. (1-3 to a maximum of 6 Δ)



PH 310. Population Health Research Methods. (3)



PH 311 [210]. Essentials of Epidemiology: The Language of Population Health. (3)



PH 350. Health Data Systems. (3)



PH 360. Population Health Management. (3)



PH 375. Population Health Field Experience. (1-3 to a maximum of 3 Δ)



PH 420. Population Health Evidenced-Based Practices. (3)



PH 421. Population Health Planning I. (3)



PH 422. Population Health Planning II. (3)



PH 460. Special Topics in Population Health. (1-3 to a maximum of 6 Δ)



PH 475. Population Health Capstone. (6)



PH 501. Principles of Public Health. (3)



PH 502. Epidemiologic Methods I. (3)



PH 506. Environmental-Occupational Health. (3)



PH 507. Health Care Systems. (3)



PH 508. Theory and Practice. (2)



PH 510. Public Health and Health Care Management. (3)



PH 511. Writing for Public Health Professionals. (1 to a maximum of 3 Δ)



PH 513. Public Health Seminar. (0-1 to a maximum of 3 Δ)



PH 520. Epidemiologic Methods II. (3)



PH 521. Introduction to Epidemiology. (1-3 to a maximum of 3 Δ)



PH 524. Social Epidemiology. (2)



PH 528. Infectious Disease Epidemiology. (2)



PH 529. Introduction to Developmental Epidemiology. (2)



PH 531. Perinatal Epidemiology. (2)



PH 532. Cancer Epidemiology. (2)



PH 533. Public Health Research Methods. (3)



PH 534. Epidemiology Data Analysis. (3)



PH 538. Public Health Biostatistical Methods I. (3)



PH 539. Public Health Biostatistical Methods II. (3)



PH 543. Evidenced-Based Practice. (2)



PH 544. Health Policy and Advocacy for Medical Practitioners. (2)



PH 552. Public Health Program Planning. (3)



PH 554. Health Policy, Politics and Social Equity. (3)



PH 555. Public Health Evaluation Methods. (3)



PH 556. Community Participatory-Based Research. (2-3)



PH 558. Intervention Research with Marginalized Populations. (3)



PH 560. Special Topics in Public Health. (1-3, no limit Δ)



PH 564. Public Health and Health Care Communication. (3)



PH 575. Public Health Leadership on Facilitation. (1-2)



PH 579. New Mexico Border Health: U.S. - Mexico Border Migration and Latino Health. (2)



PH 593. Independent Studies. (1-3, no limit Δ)



PH 595. Introduction to Public Health Integrative Experience. (1)



PH 596. Professional Paper. (1-3 to a maximum of 3 Δ)



PH 597. Public Health Integrative Experience. (2)



PH 598. Public Health Practicum. (1-6 to a maximum of 6 Δ)



PH 599. Master's Thesis. (1-6 to a maximum of 6 Δ)



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