Health Sciences/Public Health Education and Promotion, Combined B.S./M.S. Program
This program allows advanced students to complete a B.S. in health sciences with a public health emphasis and an M.S. in public health education and promotion in five years.
Admission Requirements: In addition to meeting the university's undergraduate admission requirements, undergraduate students with a major in health sciences with a public health emphasis must have the following prerequisites to apply:
- Students may apply at any time to the combined program, but they are strongly advised to do so upon entry to the university or in their freshman year.
- Prior to being admitted, applicants must submit a letter of intent to the chair of the Department of Health and Human Performance with contact information and indicating an interest in both the program and a career in public health education/promotion.
- Students in the program must maintain an overall undergraduate GPA of 3.0. Students falling below an overall 3.0 GPA will be placed on departmental academic probation the following semester during which time they must raise their GPA to ≥ 3.0. Students with a GPA that remains below 3.0 at the conclusion of a probationary semester will be dismissed from the combined program and placed in the traditional four-year health sciences health promotion track.
- To remain in the program, HPR 202, HPR 215, HPR 240, HPR 330, HPR 410, and HPR 430 must be completed with a minimum grade of C-.
Students in good standing will take graduate public health education and promotion courses during their senior year. These students are automatically admitted to the M.S. program at the end of their senior year, typically after completing a total of 120 undergraduate and graduate credits while maintaining the required GPA. The GRE and interview are waived. Students complete 36 graduate credits in their fourth and fifth years of study to complete the M.S. in public health education and promotion. Please see the university’s Graduate Catalog for details on the M.S. in public health education and promotion program as well as graduate academic policies and course descriptions.
Graduate Student Status: Upon satisfactory completion of HPR 501, HPR 502, HPR 520, and HPR 540, and the awarding of the B.S. degree in health sciences, the student attains full admission to the M.S. program and is subject to all graduate student policies and procedures.
Combined-Degree Requirements — Health Sciences/Public Health Education and Promotion
This degree requires a total of 154 credits.
Liberal Arts Core and University Requirements
See University Requirements and the Liberal Arts Core for details. Health sciences (public health) majors will satisfy the three-course university Writing Intensive (WI) requirement in the following way. All majors must take HPR 301 Health/Fitness Program Management, HPR 330 Designing Public Health Programs, and HPR 430 Public Health Capstone.
B.S./M.S. Requirements
To fulfill the requirements of the bachelor’s and master’s degrees, all students in this program will take the following coursework in a sequence determined in collaboration with a faculty advisor. Some courses satisfy Liberal Arts Core and/or University Requirements (*).
| BIO 151 | General Biology I * | 3 |
| BIO 151L | General Biology I Lab * | 1 |
| BIO 152 | General Biology II * | 3 |
| BIO 152L | General Biology II Lab | 1 |
| BIO 161 | Anatomy and Physiology I * | 3 |
| BIO 161L | Anatomy and Physiology I Lab | 1 |
| BIO 162 | Anatomy and Physiology II * | 3 |
| BIO 162L | Anatomy and Physiology II Lab | 1 |
| COMM 101 | Public Speaking | 3 |
| HIM 115 | Medical Terminology | 3 |
| LA 250 | Legal Aspects of Health Care | 3 |
| HPR 201 | Introduction to Health and Exercise Science | 3 |
| HPR 202 | Exercise Physiology | 3 |
| HPR 215 | Introduction to Public Health | 3 |
| HPR 225 | Health Psychology * | 3 |
| HPR 230 | Community Health | 3 |
| HPR 240 | Principles of Epidemiology * | 3 |
| HPR 301 | Health/Fitness Program Management * | 3 |
| HPR 308 | Global Health and Culture * | 3 |
| HPR 330 | Designing Public Health Programs * | 3 |
| HPR 340 | Nutrition for Optimal Health | 3 |
| HPR 406 | Stress Management * | 3 |
| HPR 410 | Anatomical Kinesiology | 3 |
| HPR 430 | Public Health Capstone * | 3 |
| | One (1) health and human performance activity elective | |
| | |
| HPR500 | Exercise Physiology | 3 |
| | OR | |
| HPR534 | Topics in Nutrition and Weight Management | 3 |
| | |
| HPR501 | Foundations of Health Education and Health Promotion | 3 |
| HPR502 | Introduction to Public Health and Preventive Medicine | 3 |
| HPR520 | Principles of Epidemiology | 3 |
| HPR540 | Designing and Evaluating Health Promotion Programs | 3 |
| HPR555 | Health Communication | 3 |
| IPE715 | Critical Assessment and Research Methods I for Evidence-Based Health Care Practice | 3 |
| | |
| HPR598 | Internship | 3 |
| OR | |
| HPR599 | Research Project | 3 |
| | |
| | Six (6) credits in 500-level health and human performance electives | 6 |
| | Six (6) credits of electives at the 500-level from HPR listings or outside of the department | 6 |
Sample Combined-Degree Plan — Health Sciences/Public Health Education and Promotion
Please note that this is a sample plan; all students must consult with an advisor in making course selections.
Year One — Fall
Year One — Spring
| BIO 152 | General Biology II * | 3 |
| BIO 152L | General Biology II Lab | 1 |
| EN 102 | Composition II * | 3 |
| HPR 215 | Introduction to Public Health | 3 |
| TRS 100 | Theological Inquiry * | 3 |
| | Mathematics (MT) core course - MA 132 recommended * | |
Year Two — Fall
| BIO 161 | Anatomy and Physiology I * | 3 |
| BIO 161L | Anatomy and Physiology I Lab | 1 |
| HPR 225 | Health Psychology * | 3 |
| PH 100 | Introduction to Philosophy * | 3 |
| COMM 101 | Public Speaking | 3 |
| | Introductory Social Science (SS-1) core course * | 3 |
Year Two — Spring
| BIO 162 | Anatomy and Physiology II * | 3 |
| BIO 162L | Anatomy and Physiology II Lab | 1 |
| HPR 202 | Exercise Physiology | 3 |
| HPR 230 | Community Health | 3 |
| HIM 115 | Medical Terminology | 3 |
| HI | Introductory History (HI-1) core course * | 3 |
Year Three — Fall
| HPR 301 | Health/Fitness Program Management * | 3 |
| HPR 308 | Global Health and Culture * | 3 |
| LA 250 | Legal Aspects of Health Care | 3 |
| HPR 240 | Principles of Epidemiology * | 3 |
| EN | Introductory Literature (LT-1) core course * | 3 |
Year Three — Spring
| HPR 330 | Designing Public Health Programs * | 3 |
| | Fine Arts (FNA), Advanced Literature (LT-2), or Advanced History (HI-2) core course * | 3 |
| | Advanced Theology/Religious Studies (TRS-2) or Theological Ethics (TRS-E) core course - TRS-2 recommended * | |
| | One (1) health and human performance activity elective | |
| | One (1) elective - HPR 335 Current Topics in Public Health recommended | |
Year Four — Fall
| HPR 340 | Nutrition for Optimal Health | 3 |
| HPR 410 | Anatomical Kinesiology | 3 |
| HPR501 | Foundations of Health Education and Health Promotion | 3 |
| HPR502 | Introduction to Public Health and Preventive Medicine | 3 |
| | Advanced Philosophy (PH-2) or Philosophical Ethics (PH-E) core course - PH 311 (PH-E) recommended * | |
Year Four — Spring
| HPR 406 | Stress Management * | 3 |
| HPR 430 | Public Health Capstone * | 3 |
| HPR520 | Principles of Epidemiology | 3 |
| HPR540 | Designing and Evaluating Health Promotion Programs | 3 |
| | Fine Arts (FNA), Advanced Literature (LT-2), or Advanced History (HI-2) core course * | 3 |
Year Four — Summer
| | Two (2) Health and Human Performance or other graduate electives | 6 |
Year Five — Fall
| | Two (2) Health and Human Performance or other graduate electives | 6 |
| HPR555 | Health Communication | 3 |
Year Five — Spring
| HPR500 | Exercise Physiology | 3 |
| | OR | |
| HPR534 | Topics in Nutrition and Weight Management | 3 |
| | |
| IPE715 | Critical Assessment and Research Methods I for Evidence-Based Health Care Practice | 3 |
| | |
| HPR598 | Internship | 3 |
| OR | |
| HPR599 | Research Project | 3 |
| | |