Community Health Major

The Bachelor of Science in Community Health is an interdisciplinary public health degree program rooted in social and behavioral science and theory and focused on making meaningful contributions to impact health and quality of life at all levels of society.  Students learn to address the complex individual, community, and societal factors impacting health through a highly-structured, professionally-focused program that culminates in a full-time, mentored internship during the final semester. 

The program is designed to serve as a gateway to graduate studies or as a transition directly to the field as an engaged, prepared, and well-informed public health practitioner. During the program, students have opportunities to learn outside of the classroom through volunteer work, study abroad opportunities, collaboration with departmental faculty through independent study, work at the University Health Center for credit, and public health-related student groups.

Graduates of the Community Health major pursue careers in research, advocacy, policy, health education, social work, community outreach, and other public health related areas. They work locally, nationally, and internationally primarily through foundations, non-profit organizations, and government services.   

PROGRAM LEARNING OUTCOMES

As a result of the Bachelor of Science in Community Health degree program, students will be able to:

1. Identify individual, interpersonal, organizational, community, and policy-level needs for health promotion, disease prevention, environmental protection, and policy development
2. Identify principles and theories of public and community health that are needed for the development of effective health promotion and disease prevention strategies
3. Apply statistics and epidemiologic methods to describe the distribution and examine the determinants of population health
4. Apply statistics and research methods to public and community health program evaluations
5. Communicate and disseminate the results of public and community health program evaluations
6. Describe how to advocate for effective public and community health initiatives at the local, state, and federal levels
7. Identify strategies that effectively incorporate cultural competence within health promotion and public and community health initiatives
8. Demonstrate competency in planning, preparing and delivering effective public and community health presentations 

The Bachelor of Science in Community Health degree program will feature a new curriculum for students entering the major in the Fall 2018 semester.

The total number of credits required to graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in Community Health is 120, and the number of Community Health major-required course credits is 69. Students must earn a grade of C- or higher in all Community Health major-required coursework. HLTH491, Community Health Internship, is completed during the final semester in the Community Health major, after all other coursework has been successfully completed.  Students can elect to complete an area of specialization in selected areas (Special Populations, Health Communication, Health Risk Behavior).

Click here for roadmaps for four-year plans in the School of Public Health.

Additional information on developing a four-year academic plan can be found on the following pages:

• 4yearplans.umd.edu
• the Student Academic Success-Degree Completion Policy section of this catalog