Department of Public Health Sciences

Division of Biological and Applied Health Sciences

Library Resource Center 321 - (504) 520-6707 - http://www.xula.edu/publichealth/index

The mission of the undergraduate major in Public Health Sciences is to utilize a strong foundation in liberal arts and public health to educate students on how to critically think and implement multidisciplinary public health strategies to promote health and well-being on a population basis. Completing the Public Health Sciences major will: (1) expose students to the historical and societal associations between determinants of health and health outcomes utilizing analytical thinking and critical assessment; (2) provide students with a variety of professional development and academically challenging experiences that prepare students to enter the public health workforce or graduate/professional schools; (3) assist students with demonstrating creativity, inquisitiveness, and evidenced-based rigor in the application of public health problem-solving skills; and 4) assist students with developing skills and abilities to design, implement, and evaluate health intervention to address a variety of health issues.

The Public Health Sciences undergraduate degree program is built upon Xavier’s strong emphasis in the liberal arts. The liberal arts courses help to establish an interdisciplinary perspective based on a variety of disciplinary contributions in the arts and sciences - all of which are critical to students’ preparation in public health. These courses include history, ethics and philosophy, English literature, psychology, sociology, political science/public policy, economics, biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics/statistics, languages, communication studies, and fine arts. These recommended courses align nicely with the required core courses every Xavier University student must take.

The Master of Public Health in Health Equity graduate degree program is a 45-credit hour program that includes MPH core foundational competency courses and a range of other courses to choose from related to determinants of health equity. The program is offered in an on-campus format with courses being offered in late afternoon and evening to accommodate work schedules.

The MPH in Health Equity is designed to accomplish the following goals and is based on the current work of the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health and the Council on Education for Public Health:

Educate students so that they understand the core beliefs and functions of the profession and evidence-based science of public health; and
Educate students so that they understand the environmental, biological, genetic, behavioral and psychological factors, and globalization affects related to human health.

In addition to satisfying these goals, the MPH in Health Equity will be assessed based on the learning objectives and competencies listed for each individual course. Identified key domains and preliminary core constructs around which the assessment of the MPH Program will be assessed are:

Evidence-Based Approaches to Public Health,
Public Health and Health Care Systems,
Planning and Management to Promote Health,
Policy in Public Health,
Leadership,
Communication,
Interprofessional Practice, and
Systems Thinking.

Honors in Public Health Sciences - In order to obtain Honors in Public Health Sciences, students majoring and minoring in Public Health Sciences must meet the following criteria: