The focus of public health is on protecting the health of entire populations. This can be accomplished through education, policy making, and research related to disease and injury prevention. Public health is a broad field which draws from and applies many different disciplines including biology, psychology, mathematics, computer science, business, and public policy. Individuals working in public health may be employed in government agencies (local, state, or federal), hospitals, non-profits organizations, and in worksite health promotion programs. Public health knowledge is pertinent to students with aspirations of a career in medicine and other allied health careers.

Public health minors will demonstrate understanding of:

• the underlying science of human health and disease including opportunities for promoting and protecting health across the life course
• the basic concepts, methods and tools of public health data collection, use, analysis and why evidence-based approaches are essential
• the socioeconomic, behavioral, biological, environmental factors that impact health
• the fundamental characteristics and organizational structures of the U.S. health system as well as differences in systems in other countries

For the course descriptions for Public Health, please see Kinesiology and Health Studies.