Public Health
Public Health is a science concerned with protecting and promoting health in individuals, families, communities and entire populations through such measures as disease prevention, promotion of healthy lifestyles, and research on epidemics and infectious diseases. The Public Health Program at Gallaudet offers a major (Bachelor of Science in Public Health - BSPH) which prepares students to work in a number of health-related fields or enter graduate or professional school. Public Health professionals with Bachelor’s degrees are in increasing demand for employment by government agencies and private organizations as public health analysts, health care managers, patient educators, risk assessors, and occupational health and safety technicians. Majors in Public Health are prepared to take the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing (CHES) exam or the Certification in Public Health (CPH) exam and to succeed in obtaining certification. The minor in Public Health is designed to increase awareness and understanding of public health principles among students preparing for careers in other fields such as, but not limited to, physical education and recreation, social work, business, medicine, health education or psychology.
The Public Health Program builds on a base curriculum of science and math courses and offers a number of required and elective courses which promote core knowledge in the areas of biostatistics, epidemiology, environmental health sciences, social and behavioral sciences, and health services and policy. The core curriculum currently emphasizes a specific track called Behavioral and Community Health, which focuses on how to improve public health by encouraging people to make health choices such as through community-wide education initiatives on health topics, fitness and injury and disease prevention. Students are also exposed to specialized information and strategies to deal with health care disparities in the Deaf and hard of-hearing communities. Our faculty are committed to providing an excellent curriculum and experiential opportunities that allow each student to possess the knowledge and skills to succeed and make contributions in public health to diverse communities and a multicultural world beyond Gallaudet.
Declaring a Major
Students seeking to declare a major in Public Health must satisfy the following minimum criteria:
- A cumulative GPA of 2.75 or above.
- Completion of BIO 107 and BIO 108 with a grade of C or better.
To continue and graduate with a major in Public Health, students are expected to maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.75 or above in all major and related courses. Students not receiving a grade of “C” or better in a major course must repeat the course.
Students interested in majoring in Public Health are encouraged to meet with the Public Health program director as early as possible, preferably during their freshman year. Transfer students who are interested in the major must meet with the program director to discuss acceptance into the major.