Public Health - B.S.P.H. Download to print

The Bachelor of Science in Public Health degree broadly prepares students to enter the workforce as a public health professional or to enter an advanced program of study. Students explore the five disciplines of public health: biostatistics, environmental health, epidemiology, health policy and management and the social and behavioral sciences through general coursework. Students augment their core coursework by selecting a concentration (listed below) for more in-depth study.

The Allied Health concentration seeks to augment the career portfolio of the allied health professional or student. Students interested in this concentration must currently hold or must be actively pursuing a state licensure in an allied health field. This concentration adds depth to the students’ prior clinical experiences by adding the liberal education and public health components to broaden the professional’s career path. Students holding state licensure in select fields may be eligible to receive up to 12 hours of upper division credit for their prior experience and demonstrated competency in select areas. Students in this concentration will be exposed to broad areas of public health including epidemiology, biostatistics, environmental health, global health and health policy. Thus, preparing students to meet the increased demands for a trained and educated public health workforce. This concentration is offered 100 percent online or in person.

The Community-Based Public Health concentration focuses on identifying and exploring ways to influence the multi-level determinants of population health and health behaviors, from a perspective that prioritizes health equity and social justice. Approaches focus on community- and system-level strategies to promote health and healthy behaviors among populations and eliminate health disparities through media, policy, and education initiatives. Graduates career options include work in the public sector, social services, non-profit agencies, or with other community-based health promotion and advocacy efforts. Graduates will be prepared to assist with developing, implementing, and coordinating public health interventions that promote community health and organize diverse communities around issues related to health and health behavior. This concentration is offered 100 percent online or in person.

The Environmental Health Science concentration prepares students to help reduce the burden of human illness and injury that can result from natural and man-made environmental exposures. The program trains students for a challenging, dynamic, and interdisciplinary career focused on public environmental health and safety risks associated with human activities. Students use their basic sciences and environmental health and safety training to learn how to solve problems in their community and the workplace.  They learn risk assessment principles and control measures to correct problems and effect policy change, along with the administration and enforcement of environmental, public, and occupational health and safety laws. In addition to classroom lectures, the program includes laboratory and field experiences. Graduates typically enter the environmental health and safety workforce at local, state, and national levels. They also work in academic institutions, private industry, and for international health organizations.

The Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety concentration provides students with a working knowledge of the source, nature and scope of conditions that are or could be hazardous to the employer, employee and the environment. This program will prepare students for employment as a safety, health, and environmental professional. Topics covered in the program include toxicology, occupational safety, industrial hygiene, accident investigation, fire prevention, emergency planning and response and environmental concerns. In addition to the environmental, health and safety core programs, students complete selected required math and science courses, and elective courses from an approved list. Students must participate in at least two internships, cooperative positions, or cumulative experience for academic credit that allows students to gain practical on-the-job experience. Students learn the use of risk assessment along with the administration and enforcement of environmental, health and safety regulations. This concentration is offered at the Trumbull Campus only.

The Global Health concentration aims to educate students in identifying and working to address the critical public health and human needs of diverse, underserved and vulnerable populations locally and globally. Students learn the need for multidisciplinary (biological and social sciences) approaches and cooperation to address the major global public health problems. Students have the opportunity to focus on a specific aspect of global health, e.g. HIV/AIDS, health policy, health disparities, health education, environmental health, nutrition, through various electives. The Global Health concentration prepares students to work at entry level positions in public health with local, regional, national or international public health agencies in both public and private sectors. Students who pursue this concentration are required to participate in a study abroad experience and complete four courses (Elementary I and II; Intermediate I and II) of either Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish.

The Health Promotion and Education concentration focuses on the social determinants of health behaviors. Such behaviors include alcohol, tobacco, other drug use, exercise, physical activity, injury and violence and sexual activity. Prevention approaches address community-level strategies to promote healthy behaviors, including media, policy and education initiatives. Students career options are in the public sector in social service agencies or non-profit agencies. There is also a demand in the private sector as large corporations actively promote healthy lifestyles among employees as a means of increasing productivity and lowering health care costs. This concentration is offered 100 percent online or in person.  

The Health Services Administration concentration prepares students for entry-level positions in health care management and establishes a foundation for graduate work in health policy and management. Students analyze national and local public health infrastructure, evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of health care delivery and explore the legal and ethical issues of health care administration. Graduates enter the health care workforce as finance managers, compliance officers, patient navigators, insurance specialists and other health care managers. In addition, students are encouraged to pair this concentration with a minor. This concentration is offered 100 percent online or in person. 

The Pre-Medicine, Dentistry, Osteopathy concentration includes preparatory courses for the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT), the Dental Admissions Test (DAT), and other professional schools. Courses include those in the Kent Core, public health core requirements, concentration electives and general electives. The overall curriculum of the Bachelor of Science in Public Health degree program focusing on biological, social and economic determinants of health, prevention and control of diseases, introduction to biostatistics and public health research, makes this program highly desirable for admission to professional schools. The unique features of the program open new opportunities and offer competitive advantages for students seeking to enter into clinical medicine. 

Admission has been suspended for the Prevention and Preparedness concentration as of fall 2013. The Prevention and Preparedness concentration of the BSPH offers the student a unique view of public health. Courses introduce the concepts of preparedness and prevention by alerting the student to common injuries requiring first aid or ergonomic correction. The student is then introduced to hazardous materials and safety issues that are common in environmental and occupational environments. Finally, more advanced courses teach the student the practical sides of preparedness and prevention by (1) explaining the mechanisms by which chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear hazards impact public health; (2) using epidemiological methods to trace criminal activities; and (3) demonstrating how the public health practitioner partners with others in the first responder community to provide joint leadership.

Health educators held about 58,000 jobs in 2010. They work primarily in two industries with 20 percent working in State and local government and 53 percent working in health care and social assistance. In addition, a small percent of health educators work in grant-making services and social advocacy organizations. The average wage for health educators is around $50,000.
(Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)

General Admissions for New Freshman: Admission Requirements at the Kent Campus: The freshman admission policy at the Kent Campus is selective. Admission decisions are based upon the following: cumulative grade point average, ACT and/or SAT scores, strength of high school college preparatory curriculum and grade trends.

The university affirmatively strives to provide educational opportunities and access to students with varied backgrounds, those with special talents and adult students who graduated from high school three or more years ago. For more information on admissions, visit the admissions website for new freshmen.

For more information about admission criteria for transfer, transitioning and former students, please visit the admissions website.

Minimum 120-125 total credit hours, depending on concentration chosen. Minimum 39 upper-division credit hours. Minimum 2.000 GPA cumulative and in major.

1. Public Health Core Values, Concepts and Functions in Society
   Students should be able to describe the public health approach, identify the milestones in the field of public health and describe major local, national and global health challenges.  
2. The Role and Importance of Data in Public Health
   Students should be able to apply principles of epidemiology, biostatistics and surveillance to understand data collection, use and analysis of rates, causation and evaluation of interventions.
3. Population Health Challenges
   Students should be able to describe the history, population health perspective and methods used in public health to address population-wide concerns through the provision of essential services.
4. Human Health and Disease
   Students should be able to list the leading causes of mortality, morbidity and disparities among local communities and explain risk factors, modes of transmission, and health effects for communicable and non-communicable diseases.
5. Determinants of Health
   Students should be able to discuss the basic socio-economic, behavioral, biological, environmental and other factors that impact human health, and describe strategies for influencing these factors.
6. Project Implementation
   Students should be able to apply fundamental concepts in assessing, planning, implementing and evaluating clinical and community interventions for Health protection and promotion.
7. Overview of the Health System
   Students should be able to discuss the fundamental characteristics and organization of the U.S. health system and how it compares with systems in other countries.
8. Health Policy, Law and Economics
   Students should be able to explain basic concepts of legal, ethical, economic and regulatory dimensions of health care and public health policy.
9. Health Communication
   Students should be able to describe and discuss the use of mass media, technical and professional writing and electronic technologies to deliver health messages.
10. Community, Diversity and Advocacy
    Students should be able to describe the role of community engagement in promoting health and explain how the contexts of gender, race, poverty, history, migration and culture contribute to health disparities and are important in the design of interventions.
11. Professionalism and Ethics
    Students should be able to evaluate the relationship between human rights and health, and demonstrate ethical choices, values and professional practices implicit in public health decisions.
12. Leadership, Teamwork and Organizational Dynamics
    Students should be able to discuss strategies for collaboration and partnership to achieve organizational, community, and population health goals.
13. Critical Thinking, Creativity and Systems Approach
    Students should be able to apply evidence-based principles and synthesize interdisciplinary approaches to  decision-making.

The College of Public Health is an associate member of the Association of Schools of Public Health and intends to become a fully accredited school of public health through a formal review process administered by the Council on Education For Public Health (CePH).

Schools of public health are accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CePH). The College of Public Health at Kent State University has applied to CePH for accreditation and is in the process of preparing for the formal review process. Being an accredited institution adds great value to the degrees conferred and ensures a comprehensive student experience. Feedback from a variety of constituents is required by CePH for accreditation. Feedback from students is critically important to the process. Accordingly, it is an expectation of the college that students participate in Student Surveys of Instruction (SSI) as well as annual, exit, and alumni satisfaction surveys. Participation in the feedback process will not only assist in the College's accreditation but allow the administration to quickly identify and address any problems as they arise.