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Public Health Major

School of Health Sciences

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Baldwin Wallace University is discontinuing the public health major and is no longer accepting applications for this major. View all active majors and programs.

Prospective students: Students interested in attending BW should contact the BW Admission Office at (440) 826-2222, admission@bw.edu with any questions.

Current BW students: The University is committed to "teaching out" and supporting all students currently enrolled in the public health major. Students should contact their academic advisor for scheduling courses.

 

OVERVIEW

A high-demand and growing career field offering diverse application, public health focuses on protecting, promoting and improving health and wellness. It is an integrated field of study that is personally and professionally rewarding.

BW's public health major is one of the few undergraduate public health programs in Ohio. It was developed in consultation with physicians, leading scholars and public health agencies. It aligns with the standards of the American Public Health Association.

A comprehensive, rigorous major, public health includes coursework in biostatistics, epidemiology, environmental health, health policy, and social and behavioral sciences. It offers outstanding preparation for professional and graduate school, as well as immediate career application.

Full-time faculty with extensive public health experience bridge textbook studies with experiential learning. You'll gain the knowledge and skills to investigate the sources, intervening factors, and societal and moral impacts of health disparity across diverse populations.

Hands-on research, case studies and dynamic class projects offer meaningful learning opportunities. A capstone field experience provides real-world application with a public health agency.

Medical School Pipeline

An exclusive pre-med track for aspiring primary care physicians, BW's primary healthcare advancement program is a rigorous program of coursework in public health (major) and biology (minor) and hands-on learning that can lead to early acceptance to medical school.

Students in this track are eligible to apply for a primary care medicine scholarship. 

An academically selective program, this program blends the coursework of the public health major with a comprehensive foundation of medical science and healthcare. Its distinctive approach is linked to the first-year curriculum of primary-care-focused medical schools.

Early assurance partnerships include Ohio University's Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine and The Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Career Marketable Major
Ranked among the fastest growing fields nationally and regionally, public health offers outstanding career opportunities. The U.S. News College Compass lists public health as one of the top ten college majors that leads to jobs.

Close to Cleveland
BW's 20-minute accessibility to Cleveland and its expansive offering of government  agencies, medical centers, and public health and nonprofit organizations provide outstanding opportunities for internships, job shadowing and career placement.

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

  • Medicine
  • Public Health Analyst
  • Healthcare Manager
  • Public Health Analyst
  • Infectious Disease Manager
  • Emergency Preparedness
  • Occupational Health Worker
  • Environmental Health Analyst

CURRICULUM

Offered as a major, public health focuses on disease investigation and prevention, health promotion and program management. It is a career- and graduate school-preparative program that includes interdisciplinary coursework and enriching hands-on experiences working with diverse communities and healthcare organizations.

The public health major prepares students to:

  • Have a social-ecological perspective of health
  • Understand the social-ecological perspective and use when discussing health issues
  • Take public health information and research and synthesize it for consumption and usability for many different populations (scientific, political, neighborhood, etc.)
  • Write and speak effectively
  • Utilize research methodologies for public health purposes
  • Utilize scientific evidence when implementing any activity
  • Understand the need for scientific evidence for public health activities
  • Work effectively with diverse individuals and communities
  • Understand and describe how various cultural and socio-economic backgrounds can affect people's lives and health
  • Understand how diverse experiences can affect people's lives
  • Uphold public health code of ethics in the practice of population health
  • Understand and explain how different systems interact
Course Catalog

Course Descriptions

Course descriptions, requirements for the major and additional information can be found in the University Catalog.

STUDENT EXPERIENCES

Public health majors benefit from small class sizes, individual attention and faculty mentoring.

BW's robust community outreach programs and student organizations offer outstanding opportunities for developing your career potential.

Public Health Club

The Public Health Club promotes awareness about public health issues; generates and shares service and internship opportunities; creates professional fellowship and development opportunities; and advocates for preventative education, research and funding for the public health field.

Choose Ohio First STEM Scholars Program

The BW Choose Ohio First STEM Scholars Program is open to Ohio residents who are entering Baldwin Wallace in the fall as a first-year student or transfer student and are interested in public health. Students are eligible to apply to the program which also offers the Choose Ohio First scholarship, awarding substantial annual, renewable scholarships.

ALUMNI SUCCESS

At Baldwin Wallace, you'll experience personal and professional growth in a supportive community that challenges and inspires you to succeed.

Baldwin Wallace has long championed the success of its students. Evidence of this can be seen in the extraordinary achievements of its alumni spread throughout the United States and the world.

FACULTY

Emilia Lombardi

Chair, Department of Public Health and Prevention Science
Post-Doc, University of California, Los Angeles

Emilia Lombardi

Swagata Banik

Dean, Graduate Studies & Research
Post-doc, Cleveland State University

Swagata Banik

Christa Black

Assistant Professor
MPH, The University of Toledo

Christa Black

Laura Hopkins

Assistant Professor
Ph.D., The Ohio State University

Laura Hopkins

Full-Time Faculty

Emilia Lombardi
Chair, Department of Public Health and Prevention Science
Associate Professor
Ph.D., The University of Akron

Swagata Banik
Dean, Graduate Studies & Research
Professor
Ph.D., Shivaji University, India

Christa Black
Assistant Professor
MPH, The University of Toledo

Laura Hopkins
Assistant Professor
Ph.D., The Ohio State University

Adjunct Faculty

Vince Caraffi
Lecturer
M.P.H., Northeast Ohio Medical University

Christina Corsi
Lecturer
Ph.D., University of the Cumberlands

Michael E. Kovach
Professor of Biology
Ph.D., Louisiana State University Medical Center

Henry Ng, M.D.
The Cleveland Clinic
Lecturer
M.P.H., Case Western Reserve University

Barb Sposet
Lecturer
Ph.D., Kent State University

Lynn Susi
Lecturer
MBA, Norwich University