Welcome

The Arnold School of Public Health's new bachelor degrees in Public Health, among fewer than 10 multidisciplinary programs offered by accredited schools of public health, are designed to provide the student with two paths to a broad pre-professional education. In addition to general education and public health-related coursework, the B.A. curriculum will prepare undergraduate students through rigorous study of the social and behavioral sciences for entry into social science-based graduate programs and schools of law. Students in the B.S. major will receive the same general and public health core courses and, will take courses in the natural sciences leading potentially to graduate work in the public health laboratory sciences or study in the field of medicine.

Several studies indicate increasing U.S. public health workforce shortages at the local, state, and federal levels, as well as internationally. In addition, the next several years will show a loss of perhaps half of public health professionals to retirement and private sector employment. The public health workforce is comprised of people from various educational levels, ranging from doctoral-trained to high school graduates. The governmental workforce in South Carolina falls far below the national average of approximately 20% being trained in public health. In addition, the public health system is challenged with a large number of retirees and an inadequate number of replacements. It is anticipated that a significant number of students completing these new undergraduate programs will matriculate into the Arnold School's graduate programs. This will increase the available number of trained Public Health professionals to the State of South Carolina. Further, students matriculating into the study of law, medicine, and other disciplines will expand the group of practicing attorneys, health care providers, and health management professionals with a working knowledge of Public Health principles and will significantly impact health policy and practice in the State of South Carolina. 

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the program, the student will be able to:

1. Illustrate the contributions of a range of disciplines and professions in improving the health of the public;
2. Demonstrate the ability to utilize information from various contexts in the field of public health;
3. Understand and discuss the importance and influence of social and cultural factors and their effects on public health;
4. Discuss individual and social accountability including civic responsibility and ethical reasoning as they apply to the health of populations and the health of the environment;
5. Explain how public health can utilize social and behavioral interventions to improve the health of populations and the health of the environment;
6. Use suitable technologies, scientific inquiry skills and communication strategies to conduct ethical research on public health issues;
7. Demonstrate proficient reasoning and critical thinking including the ability to analyze, synthesize and evaluate information to make sound decisions and solve problems as they apply to public health.