Majors will complete a core consisting of twelve courses and a capstone requirement spread out across their four years. Students have the choice of earning a BA or a BS, depending on which option they complete in addition to the core required courses.
Degree Requirements
The suggested sequence for core courses is:
First Year
| PH 101 | Introduction to Public Health | 4 |
| BIOL 113 | General Biology | 4 |
| SOCI 241 | Health, Illness & Society | 4 |
| CHEM 109 | Chemistry and Society: General, Organic, and Biochemistry for Public Health | 4 |
Sophomore Year
Junior Year
Senior Year
Capstone Requirement
Public Health Seniors will complete their capstone requirement by taking the Public Health Senior Seminar (PH 347), plus undertaking a senior internship or research experience over one or two semesters (totaling 180 -200 hours) and submitting an internship paper, a research paper, or a research thesis as the final product of their capstone experience.
In addition to the Public Health Senior Seminar (4 credits), students will pursue one of the following courses for 4 or 8 credits, depending on whether they are undertaking an internship, research experience, or thesis work.
For students doing internships
For students doing independent research
For students completing a thesis
BA in Public Health
Required Course
| SOCI 239 | Introduction to Social Research I | 4 |
Social Analysis Electives
Students must choose two additional courses from the BA electives list:
BS in Public Health
Required Courses
| BIOL 246 | Foundations of Exercise and Health | 4 |
| BIOL 347 | Human Development and Genetics | 4 |
Elective Courses
Students must choose one additional course from the BS electives list:
All students will be required to submit a final paper or thesis and make an oral presentation of their work at an approved internal or external symposium.
Arrangements for satisfying the independent learning requirement must be made with the student’s public health advisor before the end of the junior year.
In addition to completing the 12 core courses and fulfilling the capstone requirement, students will take an additional 3 courses for the major. Completion of these courses determines whether the student receives a BA or BS degree in Public Health.
The Public Health Department has matriculation agreements in place for Masters Programs in Public Health with Boston University School of Public Health (Select Scholars Program) and The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Interested students should discuss these options with the Chair of the Public Health Department in the fall of their junior year.
Students will be encouraged to attend open lectures on Public Health in Boston. In addition, courses developed at Simmons will integrate guest speakers from the pool of expertise in the area.