Program Coordinators: Professor Yuliya Shneyderman, YShneyderman@bmcc.cuny.edu and Professor Hardaye Hansen, HHansen@bmcc.cuny.edu
Public Health is the science of protecting and improving the health of entire populations. Public Health professionals engage in research, disease and injury prevention, and detecting, preventing and responding to infectious diseases.
The Public Health degree focuses on preparing you to transfer to a senior college program in Public Health. You will student the history, philosophy, and core concepts of public health service. In addition, you will learn the basic concepts of scientific inquiry and evidence-based research applied to public health service. The Public Health degree is a specialized degree that will set you on the path to becoming a Public Health professional.
Explore Careers
BMCC is committed to students’ long-term success and will help you explore professional opportunities. Undecided? No problem. The college offers Career Coach for salary and employment information, job postings and a self-discovery assessment to help students find their academic and career paths. Visit Career Express to make an appointment with an advisor, search for jobs or sign-up for professional development activities with the Center for Career Development. Students can also visit the Office of Internships and Experiential Learning to gain real world experience in preparation for a four-year degree and beyond. These opportunities are available to help BMCC students build a foundation for future success.
Transfer Options
You can transfer to CUNY colleges such as York, Hunter, Lehman and Brooklyn College or to private schools such as Long Island University Brooklyn and Hofstra to major in Public Health. BMCC has articulation agreements with several four year colleges to allow you to seamlessly continue your education studies there.
These suggested careers may require bachelor's or higher degrees.
Make an appointment at the Academic Advisement and Transfer Center.
Required Common Core
| English Composition | 6 |
| Mathematical and Quantitative Reasoning1 | 3 |
| Life and Physical Sciences1 | 3 |
| TOTAL REQUIRED COMMON CORE | 12 |
Flexible Core2
| Creative Expression | 3 |
| Individual and Society | 3 |
| Scientific World1 | 6 |
| U.S. Experience in Its Diversity | 3 |
| World Cultures and Global Issues | 3 |
| TOTAL FLEXIBLE COMMON CORE | 18 |
| TOTAL COMMON CORE | 30 |
Curriculum Requirements
- This course in health educations offers a comprehensive approach that provides students with the knowledge, skills, and behavioral models to enhance their physical, emotional, social, intellectual and spiritual health as well as facilitate their health decision-making ability. Areas of specialization include: alcohol, tobacco and abused substances, mental and emotional health, human sexuality and family living, nutrition, physical fitness, cardiovascular health, environmental health and health care delivery. HED 110 fulfills all degree requirements for HE 100. Students who have completed HED 100 - Health Education will not receive credit for this course.
- This course will provide an overview of the social and behavioral factors which influence the transmission as well as the prevention of HIV/AIDS throughout the world. Students will become familiar with the determinants and distribution of AIDS, and the psychosocial, bio-behavioral, environmental and community factors related to the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS. Students will have an opportunity to explore their own beliefs, values and approaches to the issues regarding HIV/AIDS, in addition to the cultural, political, social, legal, ethical, spiritual, and public health issues and the perspectives of people living with HIV infection and AIDS that are needed to inform practice and policy. Prerequisite: HED 110
OR
- This course introduces students to physical, chemical and biological hazards found in the environment and public health risks associated with workplace and community exposure to them. The historical, economic, and cultural forces contributing to and inhibiting solutions to occupational and environmental safety and public health problems are analyzed. Topics include air and water quality, climate change, waste disposal, occupational health issues, exposure to toxic materials and others. Prerequisite: HED 110
- This course will examine the history of health and illness from a population perspective. The course will present students with past, present and future key public health topics and their application to public health strategies to prevent or minimize health problems among culturally diverse populations and across the lifespan. This course will present students with foundational knowledge in public health by examining policy, practice, and methods in the United States and abroad. Prerequisite: HED 110
- This course present students a cognitive and affective foundation to explore psychological, social, and cultural determinants of health behavior. Students will explore the several theories and principles that can be used to define how human behaviors and social factors influence health in general and their application for public health professionals in community settings. The course will cover social issues and factors that place people in various socioeconomic groups (gender, race, ethnicity, and place of birth) at different risk levels for premature mortality and poor health.
- This course is designed to instill in students a foundation knowledge in the social and behavioral determinants that influence health status. Students will develop writing skills for effectively communicating about psychological issues in public health. The course will provide students with an opportunity to examine the causes of behavior in the home, school, and community settings, examine how environmental variables may be manipulated in order to increase appropriate behavior, models of behavior change for students, and learn about the legal and ethical issues in behavior change. Prerequisite: HED 110 and HED 280
- This course presents basic principles and methods of public health epidemiology. Particular emphasis is on applying epidemiologic methods to public health problems such as measures of disease frequency, study designs and bias, effect modification, outbreak investigations, screening, causality and ethical issues. Students will develop skills to interpret and evaluate health information from published epidemiologic studies. Prerequisite: HED 110 and HED 280
- This course will provide students with the basic knowledge and skills of data management, statistical techniques, and measurement in public health research. It will concentrate on interpretation and comprehension of graphical and statistical techniques most often used in public health research and practice. Topics covered will include vital statistics, descriptive and inferential statistics, multi-variable analysis, and measurement methods. Students will acquire practical skills of data management and statistical analysis through the use of computer software. Prerequisite: HED 110, HED 280 and MAT 150
3
XXX XXX
General Electives1
Choose 6 credits from the following:
- This course will develop positive health related attitudes, values, and habits to promote physical, mental and social wellness. The student will attain a broad spectrum of exercise information and skills and apply that knowledge to those skills in a laboratory fitness program, utilizing appropriate equipment to assess the function of muscular systems during physical performance. Individuals will explore the body's adaptations to aerobic, anaerobic, and resistance training.
- This course examines the use of licit and illicit drugs across cultures within the context of personal health and wellness. The historical, pharmacodynamics, psychological, emotional and social aspects of licit and illicit drug use, as well as drug abuse, will serve as the foundation for this examination.
- An advanced seminar in health education, this course concentrates on an in-depth investigation of selected health problems. Emphasis is placed on social aspects of health.
- This course academically examines topics that health education professionals have identified as: 1) critical to the health and wellbeing of specific populations, 2) relevant to the current state of the nation's health and healthcare system, 3) representative of recent trends in health practices/theory, or 4) a significant health concern attributable to personal health behavior(s). This course provides for an in-depth analysis of the array of topics germane to the health field. Each semester one or more topics will be offered through this course.
Prerequisite: HED 100 or HED 110 - This course deals with the physiological, psychological and social aspects of human sexual development and functions.
- This health course is aimed to be a practical course for students and to affect their lives in a positive way. It provides an opportunity to gain information and insight into the physical, psychological, and social aspects of women's health concerns.
- Historical events and contemporary factors affecting the availability, control, and monitoring of American Health Care products and services are explored. Such factors include: the private and public financing of health care, public and private monitoring of health care; and the ethical issues of medical care in America. The purpose of the course is not to advocate any particular health care philosophy, product or service, but to provide the student with the skills and factual base for making informed decisions in the health care marketplace.
- This course examines what the National Academy of Sciences recommends for meeting onea??s nutritional needs. It examines the food, beverages, and supplements that comprise onea??s diet and assesses their impact on health following digestion, absorption, and metabolism. The course is designed to help students make health informed choices regarding nutritional needs and goals.
- Students in this course acquire knowledge essential for safe living, including the causes and preventions of accidents. The student learns the practical skills of first aid and cardio pulmonary resuscitation. Students are eligible for certification provided they meet Red Cross standards.
- This course is designed to provide students with a comprehensive overview of the psychological, physical, and social understanding of the stress response. The course will explore the divergent ranges of the human stress response, while emphasizing the use of positive stress in an academic setting. Opportunities will be provided for students to learn concrete scientific measures, gain practical insights, and adapt viable stress management techniques. The purpose of the course is not to advocate any one particular technique, but rather to enable students to make informed decisions about stress management approaches toward enhancing health.
- An introduction to the United States and International field of health communication with an emphasis on theoretical constructs, practical models and applications. This course of study examines the multifaceted nature of health communication and its role in personal health behavior and public health interventions.
- This course focuses on preventive heart care utilizing: nutritional plans, cardiovascular stress management, cardiovascular knowledge, and individualized cardiovascular fitness programs. In the classroom and fitness laboratory, students explore, devise and practice educational and fitness strategies to improve their overall cardiovascular health.
- The course experience provides students, utilizing Dubos' Multidimensional Health Model, an understanding of death and dying from a physiological, emotional, spiritual, and behavioral perspective with additional emphasis on legal and ethical issues. Topics to be explored include: therapeutic care plans as they relate to diseases and disorders of the terminally ill; medical preparation for death, inclusive of DNI (do not intubate), DNR (do not resuscitate) and health proxy laws; an examination of the emotional and physiological impact on the health of the caregiver as well as that of the terminal patient,; an examination of funeral rituals and grieving practices involved in the healing process of bereavement, as well as unique circumstances of death involving suicide and euthanasia. Overall, the course explores death within the multiple dimensions of health and wellness on the continuum of the life cycle. Prerequisite: HED 110 or HED 100 for which a "B" grade or above has been earned.
- This Study Abroad course will expose students to the rich history and culture of inhabitants of the Andes. Class sessions will be based in the city of Cusco, Peru, the former capital of the Inca Empire. Cusco is an ancient colonial city built on Inca monuments, and has been declared a World Heritage site by the UN. Field trips and hosting with local families will expose students to the culture, health practices, and beliefs of the Andean people. The course will be based at the Centro Tinku, a cultural center dedicated to exchanges between students and inhabitants of the Andes. Students will compare and contrast Peruvian and U.S. access to health care in colonial times and the present, complementary and alternative medicines, and health outcomes.
Prerequisite: HED 110 or NUR 112
30
Total Curriculum Requirements
60
Total Program Requirements
Notes
Please note, these requirements are effective the 2021-2022 catalog year. Please check your DegreeWorks account for your specific degree requirements as when you began at BMCC will determine your program requirements.
Footnotes
- These credits can be satisfied by taking STEM variants in the Common Core.
- No more than two courses in any discipline or interdisciplinary field can be used to satisfy Flexible Core requirements.
