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.