New programs for undergraduate students

The Arnold School of Public Health is introducing two undergraduate degree programs this fall. In adding the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science programs, the school joins only seven other accredited schools of public health to offer undergraduate majors nationwide. The first class, with a modest initial enrollment, is expected to expand dramatically over the next five years.

The programs will provide an undergraduate education that conveys a general understanding of public health history, cross-cutting competencies, and current issues; requires a broad liberal education with exposure to many disciplines and develops intellectual and civic capabilities; instills a strong sense of values and ethics; and provides the capacity to adapt acquired knowledge and abilities to address new challenges.

Dr. Greg Hand

The programs provide two paths to a broad pre-professional degree. In addition to general education and public health-related coursework in epidemiology, environmental health, biostatistics, health promotion, and health administration, the BA curriculum will prepare undergraduates through rigorous study of the social and behavioral sciences for entry into social science-based graduate programs, business, and, perhaps, law schools.

Students in the BS major will receive the same general and public health core courses. Additionally they will take courses in the natural sciences leading potentially to graduate work in the public health sciences, allied health, or medicine.

Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Dr. Greg Hand, who was responsible for much of the planning for the new degrees, said South Carolina’s public health workforce is both undertrained and losing staff at an alarming rate. Nationally, 25 per cent of this workforce will retire by 2012.

Hand’s expectation is that these degrees will result in an increased number of well-trained public health workers, a pool of post-graduate trained persons capable of stepping into leadership positions within state and federal agencies and international organizations, and a general understanding of public health issues among USC students who pursue other careers.

A 1999 analysis discovered only 3.6 percent of the S.C. public health workforce is academically prepared in public health. In addition, the public health system is challenged by a large number of retirees and an inadequate number of replacements.

“This drain on the pubic health system is compounded by severe budget cuts, leaving agencies searching for strategies to enhance and retain the workforce as well as recruit new employees,” the Arnold School noted in its report to the S.C. Commission on Higher Education (CHE), seeking approval for the programs.

The application to the CHE also noted that the new degrees can be expected to strengthen the numbers of students in the Arnold School graduate programs, more widely disseminate the body of knowledge regarding public health to USC undergraduates, and attract students interested in law, social sciences, natural sciences and medicine.

Admission requirements for the new degrees include:

New freshmen who meet University admissions standards are eligible for admission to degree programs offered by the Arnold School of Public Health. A student who wishes to enter the Arnold School from another college on the Columbia campus must be in good standing and have a cumulative GPA of 2.75 or higher.

A student who wishes to enter the Arnold School from another USC campus must fulfill one of the following requirements:

Be in good standing, meet the admission requirements for a baccalaureate degree on the Columbia campus, and have a cumulative GPA of 2.75 or higher. Be in good standing and have completed 30 semester hours with a GPA of 2.75 or higher on a USC campus.

For more information visit the Arnold School web site at www.sph.sc.edu/undergrad/ or e-mail Will Lyerly, MSS at gwlyerl@gwm.sc.edu.