Public Health Major, B.S. (Community Health Concentration)

College of Public Health

Department of Community and Behavioral Health

Public Health Admission Policy

Eligibility for Admission Consideration:

Admission to the B.S. in Public Health program of study is a competitive process and separate from the student’s admission to ETSU. A limited number of students are admitted annually. Each applicant is evaluated on the basis of academic record and written personal statement.

Candidate Admission Eligibility:

Applicants must meet the following minimum requirements to be eligible for consideration for admission:

1. Submission of complete department application by admission deadline.

2. Minimum overall GPA of 2.75 on a 4.0 scale or minimum 3.00 GPA on a 4.0 scale in the applicant’s last 30 credit hours of college-level coursework.

3. Be within 8 credit hours of completion of general education core curriculum.

Admission to the Public Health Program of Study:

Admission to the Public Health program of study is a competitive process and based on the following criteria:

1. 40 points: The higher of the applicant’s overall GPA or GPA in the last 30 hours of completed college-level coursework, calculated at the end of the fall semester in which the applicant has applied to the program. Example of grade point average conversion: 3.2 grade point average = 32 points.

2. 20 points: Resume and written personal mission statement as evaluated by admissions committee.

Composite scores for students on this 60 point scale will be the criteria for admission based on available space.

For additional information and/or an admissions packet please e-mail Mike Stoots, Undergraduate Coordinator, at BSPHcoordinator@etsu.edu.

Retention/Progression Policy:

Public Health students will be allowed to progress in the Public Health major as long as all Public Health core and concentration courses are completed with a grade of C or better. Progression status will be evaluated at the close of each semester. Students receiving a grade below a C in any core or concentration course will be placed on probationary status in the College of Public Health. If those students wish to repeat the course and progress in the program, they must file an appeal with the Public Health Undergraduate Coordinator. A student with probationary status who receives a second grade below a C in any core or concentration course will not be permitted to progress in the Public Health major.For additional information, contact the program’s undergraduate academic advisor.

Community and Behavioral Health Program Information

Taylor Dula
Box 70674
Johnson City, TN 37614
Phone: (423) 439-4826
Fax: (423) 439-6570
Email: BSPHcoordinator@etsu.edu

The Department of Community and Behavioral Health offers the Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in public health with a concentration in community health. The degree prepares students to become effective health educators and community health specialists capable of developing and implementing health programs in a variety of community-based settings. Students completing the degree are eligible to sit for the national credential exam - Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES).

Transfer Students - Transfer students who major or minor in public health shall earn a minimum of 18 hours of credit (12 hours must include either field experience or student teaching) with an average grade of C or above in this department. (See section of catalog on transfer students for other requirements.)

Graduate Study - The Department of Community and Behavioral Health offers the Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) degree in Public Health and the Doctor of Public Health (Dr.P.H.) degree in community health. The department also offers a graduate certificate in rural health and an interdisciplinary graduate certificate in gerontology in conjunction with the colleges of Nursing, Business and Technology, Medicine, Arts and Sciences, and Education.

General Program Information

To earn a degree from ETSU, there are specific course requirements established by ETSU, by the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR), by each college, and by each department. All students must meet the degree requirements at each of these levels outlined in the following list:

University-level Degree and Graduation Requirements

• Degree and Graduation Requirements  
• Completion of a minimum of 120 credit hours is required.
• CSCI 1100 or the proficiency exam
• California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST)  (Senior Exit Exam)
• Additional Requirements for Transfer Students
• Second Bachelor Degrees
• Double Majors/Double Degrees

Total Credit Hours for Degree: 120

TBR General Education Requirements: 41 Credit Hours

Listed below are the categories and courses specified under TBR General Education Requirements. Note that certain courses are required for this degree, specific to this major. Thus, these courses will satisfy both a TBR General Education requirement AND a requirement of this major. (Other majors may require different General Education courses.) Where specific courses are required for this major,  only those courses are listed under the category. If there are no specific major requirements for a category, all course options appear.

Communication

9 credits, consisting of 6 credits of written composition and 3 credits of oral communication.

Written Composition

Complete both of the following: 

• ENGL 1010 - Critical Reading and Expository Writing (3 credits)
• ENGL 1020 - Critical Thinking and Argumentation (3 credits)

• Students required to complete learning support in writing must enroll in a learning support-designated section (L01-L99) of ENGL 1010  during their first 15 hours at ETSU (not including summer) unless they are also required to complete learning support in reading. Students needing learning support in both reading and writing should enroll in ENGL 1010-Lxx immediately upon completing learning support in reading. Additional information may be found on the University Advisement Center website www.etsu.edu/uac/learningsupport.

   

  Students must earn a grade of “C” or better in ENGL 1010  and ENGL 1020 .

   

Oral Communication

Complete one of the following:

• SPCH 1300 - Introduction to Communication Studies (3 credits)
• SPCH 2300 - Public Speaking (3 credits)
• SPCH 2320 - Argumentation and Debate (3 credits)

Humanities and Fine Arts

9 credits, consisting of 3 credits of literature, 3 credits of fine arts, and 3 credits of humanities electives.

Literature

Complete one of the following: 

• ENGL 2030 - Literary Heritage (3 credits)
• ENGL 2110 - American Literature I (3 credits)
• ENGL 2120 - American Literature II (3 credits)
• ENGL 2210 - British Literature I (3 credits)
• ENGL 2220 - British Literature II (3 credits)
• ENGL 2330 - World Literature (3 credits)
• ENGL 2430 - European Literature (3 credits)

Fine Arts

Complete one of the following:

• ARTH 2010 - Art History Survey I (3 credits)
• ARTH 2020 - Art History Survey II (3 credits)
• BLUE 2150 - American Roots Music (3 credits)
• DANC 1500 - Dance as a Human Experience (3 credits)
• HUMT 2310 - Arts and Ideas I (3 credits)
• HUMT 2320 - Arts and Ideas II (3 credits)
• MUSC 1030 - Introduction to Music (3 credits)
• MUSC 1035 - History of Jazz (3 credits)
• THEA 1030 - Introduction to the Theatre (3 credits)

Humanities Electives

Complete one of the following:

• ENGL 3150 - Literature, Ethics, and Values (3 credits)
• ENGL 3280 - Mythology (3 credits)
• ENTC 3020 - Technology and Society (3 credits)
• HIST 1110 - World History to 1500 (3 credits)
• HIST 1120 - World History Since 1500 (3 credits)
• PHIL 1030 - Introduction to Philosophy (3 credits)
• PHIL 2020 - Introduction to Ethics (3 credits)
• PHIL 2040 - Philosophy as Conversation (3 credits)
• PHIL 2640 - Science and the Modern World (3 credits)
• RELI 2210 - Introduction to the Study of World Religions (3 credits)

Social and Behavioral Sciences

6 credits, consisting of two of the following: 

• ANTH 1240 - Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (3 credits)

•  

• ECON 1050 - Economics and Society (3 credits) or
• ECON 2210 - Principles of Macroeconomics (3 credits)

•  

• ECON 2220 - Principles of Microeconomics (3 credits)
• GEOG 1012 - Introduction to Cultural Geography (3 credits)
• HDAL 2310 - Developmental Psychology (3 credits)
• HDAL 2340 - Understanding Cultural Diversity (3 credits)
• MCOM 1030 - Introduction to Mass Communications (3 credits)
• PSCI 1110 - Political Life (3 credits)
• PSCI 1120 - Introduction to American Government (3 credits)
• PSYC 1310 - Introduction to Psychology (3 credits)
• SOCI 1020 - Introduction to Sociology (3 credits)
• SOCI 2020 - Social Problems (3 credits)
• SRVL 1020 - Introduction to Service-Learning in the Community (3 credits)
• WMST 2010 - Introduction to Women’s Studies (3 credits)

History

6 credits, consisting of both of the following:

• HIST 2010 - The United States to 1877 (3 credits)
• HIST 2020 - The United States since 1877 (3 credits)

• Note:  HIST 2030 History of Tennessee  (3 credits) may be substituted for 3 credits of United States History.

Natural Sciences

8 credits, consisting of the following lectures and labs.

• HSCI 2010 - Anatomy and Physiology I (4 credits)
• HSCI 2011 - Anatomy and Physiology Laboratory I (0 credit)
• HSCI 2020 - Anatomy and Physiology II (4 credits)
• HSCI 2021 - Anatomy and Physiology Laboratory II (0 credit)

Mathematics

3 - 4 credits, consisting of one of the following:

• MATH 1530 - Probability and Statistics – Noncalculus (3 credits)
• MATH 1840 - Analytic Geometry and Differential Calculus (3 credits)
• MATH 1910 - Calculus I (4 credits)

• Note:

  Students will enroll in the appropriate general education math course during their first calendar year of enrollment at ETSU. Students required to complete learning support in mathematics must enroll in a learning support-designated section (L01-L99) of MATH 1530  during their first 15 hours at ETSU (not including summer) unless they are also required to complete learning support in reading or writing. Students needing learning support in reading or writing in addition to learning support in math should enroll in MATH 1530-Lxx immediately upon completing their other learning support requirements. Additional information may be found on the University Advisement Center website www.etsu.edu/uac/learningsupport/

Community Health Concentration

The Department of Community and Behavioral Health offers the Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in public health with a concentration in community health. The degree prepares students to become effective health educators and community health specialists capable of developing and implementing health programs in a variety of community-based settings. Students completing the degree are eligible to sit for the national credential exam - Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES.)

Public Health Core (46 credit hours)

• BSTA 3000 - Introduction to Biostatistics (3 credits)
• COBH 2000 - ESSENTIALS (3 credits)
• COBH 2030 - First Aid and Emergency Care (3 credits)
• COBH 2082 - Skills and Encounters I (1 credit)
• COBH 3082 - Skills and Encounters II (1 credit)
• COBH 3083 - Skills and Encounters III (1 credit)
• COBH 3120 - Principles and Practices of Public Health Education I (3 credits)
• COBH 4040 - Top 5 Health Threats Facing the U.S. (3 credits)
• COBH 4082 - Skills and Encounters IV (1 credit)
• COBH 4457 - Emerging Technologies for the Health Professions (3 credits)
• ENVH 3040 - Environmental Sanitation (3 credits)
• EPID 3080 - Principles of Epidemiology (3 credits)
• HSMP 2100 - Health Systems (3 credits)
• HSMP 3200 - Health Services Administration (3 credits)
• HSMP 3500 - Public Health Budgeting and Finance (3 credit hours)

•  

• COBH 4850 - Field Experience - Community and Behavioral Health (1-12 credits) (Register for 9 credits.) or
• HSMP 4850 - Field Experience - Health Services Management and Policy (1-12 Credits) (Register for 9 credits.)

Community Health Concentration: 15 Credit Hours

• COBH 3330 - Cultural Competence and Spirituality in Health Care (3 credits)
• COBH 3690 - Behavior Change Theory for Public Health (3 credits)
• COBH 4019 - Service Grant Writing (3 credit hours)
• COBH 4060 - Community Organization for Health Education Programs (3 credits)
• COBH 4120 - Lifespan Health Promotion (3 credits)

Minor: 18 - 24 Credit Hours

Note:

¹ Lab fee applies.

² See College of Education  for requirements of K-12 licensure with emphasis on health.

Note for transfer and graduate students:

Transfer students - transfer students who major in public health shall earn a minimum of 18 hours of credit (12 hours must include either field experience or student teaching) with an average grade of C or above in this department. (See section of catalog on transfer students for other requirements.)

Graduate study - The Department of Community and Behavioral Health offers the Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) degree in Public Health and the Doctor of Public Health (Dr. P.H.) degree in community health. the department also offers a graduate certificate in rural health and an interdisciplinary graduate certificate in gerontology in conjunction with the colleges of Nursing, Business and Technology, Medicine, Arts and Sciences, and Education.

Suggested Course Sequence

Freshman Year

Sophomore Year

Junior Year

Senior Year

Total credits required for degree: 120