College of Public Health Announces New Degree Program

The new degree will prepare graduates to meet the public health challenges of the 21st century.

The University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health will offer a bachelor of science in public health degree beginning in the fall of 2009. The new degree will prepare graduates to meet the public health challenges of the 21st century.    

The program's curriculum is based on the recommendations of the Association of Schools of Public Health taskforce on undergraduate education and includes courses on the U.S. health care system, epidemiology, biostatistics, global health, program planning and evaluation and health disparities. 

Dr. Joe Gerald, assistant professor in the Division of Community, Environment and Policy at the UA Zuckerman College of Public Health, will serve as the program's director.

"A particular strength of the program is a public health internship that places students in the community during their last year of study," said Dr. Gerald. "As active participants, students will gain valuable experience and will have the opportunity to apply the knowledge gained in the classroom.

Ultimately, students will have the skills to develop novel public health interventions and programs aimed at solving many of today's problems, including obesity, rising health-care costs and infectious diseases such as the current H1N1 flu pandemic."

"Public health challenges are rapidly changing, and practitioners and the general public alike are struggling to adapt to the new role of public health," said Douglas Taren, associate dean for academic affairs and professor at the UA Zuckerman College of Public Health. "In response, the college has adopted a new strategy to improve the training of public health professionals. Furthermore, the bachelor of science in public health program will help address the public health workforce shortage facing Arizona and the nation by preparing students to immediately enter the public health workforce."

In addition, graduates will be well-prepared to pursue graduate studies in medicine, nursing, public health, pharmacy and other health related careers.

"The bachelor of science in public health program is a wonderful new opportunity for our undergraduates," said Iman Hakim, dean of the UA Zuckerman College of Public Health. "The program will provide students with a solid foundation in the core disciplines of public health – health behavior, epidemiology, administration, environmental health and biostatistics – as well as internship experiences to allow students to integrate and demonstrate their knowledge and analytical skills in research and practice settings."