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 major in Population Health 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 120 credit hours of coursework of the prescribed curriculum and requirements, which includes:
- Completion of General Education curriculum. Refer to the Undergraduate Program section of this Catalog for information on courses that meet General Education curriculum and U.S. and Global Diversity and Inclusion requirements.;
- Completion of at least 42 credit hours of upper-division coursework. Such courses are numbered 300 or above;
- Compliance with the minimum residence requirements, as stated in the Undergraduate Program section of this Catalog;
- Areas of focus or minor study total credit hours may vary from 12-18 depending on the selected topic. Electives will be adjusted to meet the total credit hours to complete the degree;
- Maintenance of an overall minimum GPA of 2.00.
| Credit Hours |
||
| General Education Curriculum | ||
| Refer to the Undergraduate Program section of this Catalog. | ||
| Subtotal | 31 | |
| 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 | Assessment and Planning | 3 |
| PH 422 | Program Evaluation | 3 |
| PH 475 | Population Health Capstone | 6 |
| Subtotal | 48 | |
| Areas of Focus or Minor | ||
| Areas of focus examples: Biostatistics, Built Environment, Community Health Education, Disaster Medicine, Environmental Health, Exercise Science, Health Economics, Health Information Systems, Health Policy, Nutrition. | ||
| Subtotal | 12-18 | |
| Electives | ||
| Provides students with the flexibility to explore courses. | ||
| Subtotal | 23-29 | |
| Degree Total | 120 |
Minor Study
The undergraduate minor in Population Health focuses on the level and distribution of health within populations as well as practical approaches for improvement. Students completing the minor in Population Health 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. (1-3 to a maximum of 6 Δ)
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 375. Population Health Field Experience. (1-3 to a maximum of 3 Δ)
PH 420. Population Health Evidenced-Based Practices. (3)
PH 421. Assessment and Planning. (3)
PH 422. Program Evaluation. (3)
PH 460. Special Topics in Population Health. (1-3 to a maximum of 6 Δ)
PH 475. Population Health Capstone. (6)
PH 493. Population Health Independent Study. (1-6 to a maximum of 6 Δ)
PH 501. Determinants and Equity in Public Health. (4)
PH 502. Epidemiology and Biostatistics I. (4)
PH 503 [520]. Epidemiology and Biostatistics II. (3, may be repeated twice Δ [4])
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, may be repeated twice Δ)
PH 513. Public Health Seminar. (0-1 to a maximum of 3 Δ)
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 533. Public Health Research Methods. (3)
PH 534. Epidemiology Data Analysis. (3)
PH 537. Advanced Epidemiology Methods. (3, may be repeated once Δ)
PH 538. Epidemiology and Biostatistics Workshop [Public Health Biostatistical Methods I]. (1 [3])
PH 539. Advanced Biostatistics [Public Health Biostatistical Methods II]. (3)
PH 552. Interventions for Health Equity. (3, may be repeated twice Δ [4])
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. (1-6 to a maximum of 30 Δ)
PH 564. Public Health and Health Care Communication. (3)
PH 579. New Mexico Border Health: U.S. - Mexico Border Migration and Latino Health. (2)
PH 583. Advanced Topics in Health Sector and Globalization. (3, may be repeated once Δ)
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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Office of the Registrar
MSC11 6325
1 University of New Mexico
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Phone: (505) 277-8900
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