Public Health Studies Major Requirements
(Also see General Requirements for a Bachelor's Degree.)
All courses must be taken for a letter grade and not S/U, unless the course is not offered as a graded course. Students must earn a C- or higher to count courses toward their Public Health Studies Degree.
Writing in the Major
Students must complete at least 6 credits of Writing and Communication foundational ability coursework in one major. For this major, students will fulfill this requirement through completing AS.280.101 Introduction to Public Health and AS.280.240 Research Methods in Public Health.
Hyperlinks are included to view all course descriptions and requirements. Major requirements are as follows:
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Foundation Courses | ||
| Quantitative | ||
| AS.110.106 | Calculus I (Biology and Social Sciences) | 4 |
| or AS.110.108 | Calculus I (Physical Sciences & Engineering) | |
| Natural Science | ||
| Select two Biology Lecture Courses of the following: | 6-8 | |
| General Biology I | ||
| General Biology II | ||
| Genetics | ||
| Biochemistry | ||
| Cell Biology | ||
| Comparative Physiology | ||
| Biodiversity and Public Health | ||
| Select one Biology Lab Course of the following: | 1-4 | |
| General Biology Laboratory I | ||
| General Biology Lab II | ||
| Biochemistry Project lab | ||
| Cell Biology Lab | ||
| Developmental Genetics Lab | ||
| Comparative Physiology Lab | ||
| Protein Engineering and Biochemistry Lab | ||
| Social Science | ||
| Select two introductory social science courses from Table 1. Other courses may apply with advisor approval. These courses must be from two different departments as distinguished by department course number, not name. | 6 | |
| Public Health Studies Core Courses | ||
| AS.280.101 | Introduction to Public Health (Fall & Spring) | 4 |
| AS.280.240 | Research Methods in Public Health (Fall & Spring) | 4 |
| AS.280.335 | The Environment and Your Health (Fall & Spring) | 3 |
| AS.280.340 | Fundamentals of Health Policy & Management (Spring) | 3 |
| AS.280.345 | Public Health Biostatistics (Fall & Spring) 1 | 4 |
| AS.280.350 | Fundamentals of Epidemiology (Fall & Spring) | 4 |
| Social and Behavioral Aspects of Public Health | ||
| Select one of the following: | ||
| AS.280.355 | Introduction to Social and Behavioral Determinants of Health | 3 |
| or AS.230.341 | Sociology of Health and Illness | |
| Intermediate Public Health Courses at Homewood | ||
| Select three additional Public Health courses at the 200-400 level from Table 2. 2 | 9 | |
| Applied Experience | ||
| The Applied Experience (AE) is a required experiential learning component of the Public Health Studies curriculum. The Applied Experience gives students an opportunity to explore an area of interest within the field of public health by actively engaging in and directly contributing to a public health project or program. The AE must be at least 80 hours and 4 weeks long under the supervision of a public health profession. Students are eligible to start their AE second semester sophomore year and must complete the requirement prior to graduation. | ||
| AS.280.500 | Applied Experience-Public Health | 2 |
| Courses at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (BSPH) | ||
| Students must have completed all 6 PHS Core courses and be in their final academic year of study before registering for BSPH courses. Undergraduates are not permitted to take BSPH courses during the Summer or Winter terms. Students take 15 BSPH credits, which is the equivalent of 10 Homewood credits. On-site, online, and blended and online courses can count for this requirement, Independent Research and Special Studies will not. The courses PH.120.600 and PH.120.601 may not apply here. All BSPH credits must be taken for a letter grade unless a course is only offered as Pass/Fail. As part of the requirement, 8 BSPH credits must create a "focus area" that is related to a particular topic or taken within a single department. | ||
| Bloomberg School of Public Health Courses | 10 | |
| Total Credits | 63-68 | |
- 1
Other statistics courses may apply. Review Policy on Statistics Courses Sequencing for details.
- 2
All courses must be at least 3 credits. Up to two Gordis Teaching Fellowship (GTF) courses may apply (AS.280.4xx courses).
Sample Program of Study
While there are many paths through the requirements, a typical program might include the following sequence of Public Health Studies requirements. A student's personal sequence of courses may look very different. Students should work with their PHS advisor to ensure they are satisfying all program requirements.
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| First Semester | Credits | Second Semester | Credits |
| AS.280.101 | 4 | AS.020.152 | 3 |
| AS.020.151 | 3 | Introductory Level Social Science from Table 1 | 3 |
| AS.020.153 | 1 | ||
| AS.110.106 or 108 | 4 | ||
| Introductory Level Social Science from Table 1 | 3 | ||
| 15 | 6 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| First Semester | Credits | Second Semester | Credits |
| AS.280.345 | 4 | AS.280.240 | 4 |
| AS.280.335 | 3 | AS.280.350 | 4 |
| AS.280.340 | 3 | ||
| 7 | 11 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| First Semester | Credits | Second Semester | Credits |
| Social/Behavioral Aspects of Public Health Course | 3 | AS.280.500 (if not taken First Semester) | 1 |
| Intermediate Public Health Elective (200-400 level) | 3 | ||
| 3 | 4 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| First Semester | Credits | Second Semester | Credits |
| Bloomberg School of Public Health Courses | 4-6 | Bloomberg School of Public Health Courses | 4-6 |
| Intermediate Public Health Elective (200-400 level) | 3 | Intermediate Public Health Elective (200-400 level) | 3 |
| 7-9 | 7-9 | ||
| Total Credits 60-64 | |||
Table 1
Approved Introductory Level Social Science Courses. Students matriculating in 2017 or later must take these from two different departments:
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AS.070.132 | Invitation to Anthropology | 3 |
| AS.140.105 | History of Medicine | 3 |
| AS.140.106 | History of Modern Medicine | 3 |
| AS.150.219 | Introduction to Bioethics | 3 |
| AS.180.101 | Elements of Macroeconomics | 3 |
| AS.180.102 | Elements of Microeconomics | 3 |
| AS.190.220 | Global Security Politics | 3 |
| AS.200.101 | Introduction To Psychology | 3 |
| AS.200.110 | Introduction to Cognitive Psychology | 3 |
| AS.200.132 | Introduction to Developmental Psychology | 3 |
| AS.200.133 | Introduction to Social Psychology | 3 |
| AS.200.209 | Personality | 3 |
| AS.200.212 | Psychopathology | 3 |
| AS.200.222 | Positive Psychology | 3 |
| AS.230.101 | Introduction to Sociology | 3 |
| AS.230.150 | Issues in International Development | 3 |
| AS.271.107 | Introduction to Sustainability | 3 |
| AS.360.247 | Introduction to Social Policy and Inequality: Baltimore and Beyond | 3 |
| EN.570.108 | Introduction to Environmental Engineering and Design | 3 |
Table 2
Approved Intermediate Public Health courses. Students must take 3 of these courses, other courses may apply with PHS advisor approval.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AS.180.289 | Economics Of Health | 3 |
| AS.190.405 | Food Politics | 3 |
| AS.196.302 | Science and Democracy | 3 |
| AS.230.335 | Medical Humanitarianism | 3 |
| AS.280.225 | Population, Health and Development | 3 |
| AS.280.314 | Truth, Evidence, and Influence: Case Studies in Public Health | 3 |
| AS.280.320 | Seminar on Public Health and Well-being in Baltimore | 3 |
| AS.280.330 | Mind-Body Practices and Public Health | 3 |
| AS.280.347 | Health Data Analysis Practicum | 3 |
| AS.280.365 | Public Policy, Politics and Public Health | 3 |
| AS.280.366 | Politics and Public Health | 3 |
| AS.280.390 | Power, Positionality, and Social Change: Theories and Methods of Community Partnerships | 3 |
| AS.280.380 | Global Health Principles and Practices | 3 |
| AS.280.389 | Medicine for the Greater Good: Community Engagement's Role in Health Systems | 3 |
| AS.280.399 | Service-Learning in Baltimore for Community Health, Justice and Well-Being | 3 |
| AS.280.4xx Gordis Teaching Fellowship (rotating topics) | 3 | |
Honors in Public Health Studies
An honors option is available to Public Health Studies students in their final year with a major GPA of 3.5. Public Health Honors students complete a year-long independent research project under the supervision of a JHU faculty member and the guidance of the Honors seminar instructor. Students must register for both AS.280.495 Honors In Public Health - Seminar in the fall and AS.280.499 Honors in Public Health in the spring. Interested students should discuss their plans with their PHS advisor no later than the spring of their junior year. Students may not count the honors courses towards any other requirement of the major; they are in addition to major requirements.