Pre-Public Health
Offered by Health Science Programs
The Pre-Public Health Program prepares students to pursue a Master’s Degree in Public Health (MPH) at the more than 100 accredited programs across the country, including the University of Nebraska Medical Center and Creighton University. Students interested in pursuing a master’s degree or graduate program in public health must have successfully completed a bachelor's degree. Therefore, students pursuing a pre-public health curriculum are expected to choose a major so that they can be working towards a bachelor’s degree concurrently with the pre-public health program. Given the interdisciplinary nature of public health, a wide variety of majors provide appropriate preparation. A Minor in Public Health is available at UNK and can complement any major. The minor is not required as part of the Pre-Public Health Program but will provide a strong foundation of public health-related coursework.
Requirements for Graduate Education in Public Health:
Students should consult each school of public health they plan to apply to determine if there is specific coursework required for admission. These requirements may vary widely by degree type and/or concentration. Concentration areas that are quantitative in nature typically require specific math and science courses in areas such as statistics, calculus, biology, chemistry, and physics. Students should consult with their public health advisor regarding graduate admission requirements based on concentration area of interest.
Recommended Courses:
While many public health graduate programs do not have specific prerequisites, the following courses may assist students in gaining a background in public health areas of study. This is not an all-inclusive list, as many other classes also exist that have relevant information for public health. Some of these classes may have prerequisites. Please consult your pre-public health advisor for recommendations based on your area(s) of interest.
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Take all of the following: | ||
| BIOL 110 | Introduction to Epidemiology | 3 |
| HSCI 140 | Introduction to Public Health | 3 |
| HSCI 320 | Global Health | 3 |
| MGT 450 | Population Health Management: Systems and Policies | 3 |
| Take one of the following: | 3 | |
| BioStatistics | ||
| Business Statistics | ||
| Behavioral Statistics | ||
| Elementary Statistics | ||
| Other Recommended Electives: | ||
| Biostatistics: | ||
| MATH 115 | Calculus I with Analytic Geometry | 5 |
| MATH 202 | Calculus II with Analytic Geometry | 5 |
| MATH 260 | Calculus III | 5 |
| MATH 305 | Differential Equations | 3 |
| Environmental and Occupational Health: | ||
| BIOL 102 | Environmental Biology | 3 |
| CHEM 148 | Introductory Chemistry for the Health Sciences | 4 |
| GEOG 305 | Environmental Conservation | 3 |
| Epidemiology | ||
| BIOL 211 | Human Microbiology | 4 |
| BIOL 440 | Infectious Diseases | 3 |
| GEOG 418 | Working with GIScience and Spatial Analysis | 3 |
| Health Promotion | ||
| NUTR 108 | Introduction to Nutrition | 3 |
| KSS 150 | Healthy Wealthy and Wise | 3 |
| KSS 329 | Introduction to Health Promotion | 3 |
| PSY 440 | Health Psychology | 3 |
| SOC 275 | Social Psychology | 3 |
| SOC 462 | Sociology of Health and Illness | 3 |
| SOWK 170 | Introduction to Social Welfare | 3 |
| SPCH 435 | Introduction to Health Communication | 3 |
| Maternal and Child Health | ||
| FAMS 150 | Lifespan Development and the Family | 3 |
| FAMS 351 | Marriage and Family Relationships | 3 |
| FAMS 481 | Cross-Cultural Family Patterns | 3 |
| Public Health Administration and Policy | ||
| ECON 410 | Health Care Economics | 3 |
| MGT 355 | Organizational Behavior | 3 |
| MGT 380 | Human Resource Management | 3 |
| MGT 409 | Leadership: Skills, Applications, Research | 3 |
| MKT 336 | Services Marketing | 3 |
| Additional Electives | ||
| HIST 110 | History of Science & Medicine | 3 |
| HIST 305 | History of Global Public Health | 3 |
| PHYS 203 | General Physics for Allied Health | 4 |
| SPAN 103 | Spanish for Special Purposes (Medical Professionals) | 1-3 |
3+2 PROGRAM WITH UNMC COLLEGE OF PUBLIC HEALTH
Students in the Pre-Public Health Program may consider applying for the 3+2 Master’s in Public Health (MPH).This program is a collaborative program between UNK and the UNMC College of Public Health that allows students committed to public health to receive a Bachelor’s Degree in Applied Health Sciences from UNK and an MPH from UNMC in 5 years.For more information, please contact your Pre-Public Health advisor.