Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society

Program Objective

The goal of a minor in Global Public Health and the Common Good is to introduce students from a wide range of majors, disciplines, and schools across Boston College to key concepts in Global Public Health. The major will prepare students for postgraduate studies in public health (MPH and Ph.D.) and enrich the education of students headed to medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, and nursing. 

Program graduates will gain knowledge of:

• The theory, history, and key issues in Global Public Health;
• Epidemiology: the study of the distribution and determinants of health and disease in populations—the foundational science of public health;
• The social, economic, and environmental determinants of health and disease;
• The contributions of public health to the stability and well-being of modern societies; and
• The moral and ethical foundations of Global Public Health.

Coursework in the major in Global Public Health and the Common Good will be grounded in epidemiology and biostatistics, the core disciplines of public health. Students will gain an intellectual and experiential understanding of the social determinants of health – the complex web of social, economic, environmental, political, and historical factors that influence health and drive the spread of disease. 

Major Requirements

The major will consist of 36 academic credits, equivalent to 12 full-semester courses. It will consist of: 

• Eight required core courses
• A 6-credit, 2-semester Interdisciplinary Senior Capstone Experience; and
• Two elective courses.

Eight Required Core Courses:

       1. Introduction to Public Health in a Global Society - PHCG/NURS121

An overview of the history of public health, global burden of disease, sub-disciplines of public health, maternal/child health, and nutrition, and the collaborative nature of the field through examples in research and practice, focusing on at-risk populations, reducing health disparities, and improving health equity at the population level.

       2. Introduction to Epidemiology - PHCG2120

This course introduces basic principles and methods of epidemiology and biostatistics. Measures of disease frequency, association, and causation, the design and analysis of studies, and the potential issues that may arise in these studies are addressed.

       3. Biostatistics, Data Analytics and Quantitative Methods in Public Health - PHCG3560

This course covers descriptive and inferential statistics used in biomedical and public health studies, with an emphasis on practice and implementation. Descriptive statistics, probability, basic hypothesis testing, ANOVA, and linear and logistic regression will be covered.

       4. Ethics of Global Public Health and the Common Good - PHCG/THEO3223

Life expectancy is 30 years longer in high-income countries than in very low-income countries. 92% of all pollution-related deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. Maternal mortality in childbirth is much higher among Black women in the United States than among white women. The course studies the ethical issues raised by these and other real-world issues in global public health, and it considers approaches to address them.

       5. Health Inequities: Origins and Remedies - PHCG3600

Disease is not distributed evenly or randomly within societies, but instead is concentrated among people of color, the poor and marginalized.   This course will examine the social, economic, political, and historical factors that drive disparities in health and explore strategies to overcome these structural injustices.

       6. Global Public Health Law - PHCG2130

This course will examine the critical role of law in creating and implementing social policy and achieving (or at least seeking) social justice. 

       7. Global Health: Theory to Practice - PHCG3300

In this course, students will learn how to apply the theories and practices learned in other global health courses by working through practical case studies involving real-life global health problems.

       8. Public Health Planning, Practice, and Evaluation - PHCG3810

This course explores the theoretical and practical elements of public health program planning, monitoring, and evaluation. Public health advocacy concepts are included in the class. 

Electives Senior Capstone Experience - PHCG4975 and PHCG4976

Each student enrolled in the major in Global Public Health and the Common Good will be expected to complete a two2-semester, 6-credit, interdisciplinary Capstone Experience in their senior year. This Capstone will be the culmination of each student’s undergraduate experience in global public health and will require the application of theoretical knowledge in a real-world setting. It will be conducted under the guidance of a faculty mentor and will involve working with a community-based organization identified by CSON’s Office of Community Partnership. Working individually or in pairs, students in the Capstone will be expected to work in and with a community. They will identify a community-level public health problem; undertake a rigorous analysis of the problem’s origins and health effects, including a detailed review the relevant public health literature; and devise solutions that are feasible, acceptable to the community, and cost-effective. They will be expected to produce a scholarly report that describes the project, their approach to it, and its outcome. This final product will be required to be of a quality suitable for publication in a peer-reviewed biomedical journal or for presentation at a regional or national meeting. 

Electives:

Students in the major will be permitted to choose two Electives from an extensive list of courses in many schools and departments that have already been approved as electives for the minor in Global Public Health and the Common Good (see list of electives under the Minor requirements).

The B.S. in Global Public Health and the Common Good (minimum 51 academic credits) is geared toward students who are interested in gaining additional education in the scientific foundations of public health. It includes all of the 12 courses included in the B.A. in Global Public Health plus at least 15 additional credits from science-related courses. The science courses approved for inclusion the BS degree include courses in both quantitative science (Computer Science, Mathematics, and Economics) and laboratory science (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Earth & Environmental Sciences and Neuroscience). Completion of a BS degree in Global Public Health will prepare students for all of the careers available to Global Public Health B.A. graduates as well as for careers in academia, biomedical research, industry, and data sciences.

Minor Requirements:

The Global Public Health and the Common Good minor consists of three Required core courses and a selection of three Elective courses.

Three Required Core Courses:

1. PHCG1210: Public Health in a Global Society 
2. PHCG2120: Introduction to Epidemiology 
3. Either of the following:
   • PHCG2130: Global Public Health Law (fall semester only) OR
   • PHCG3223: The Ethics of Global Public Health and the Common Good (spring semester only, cross-listed as THEO3223)

Electives

In addition to the 3 required courses, students are also expected to select 3 Elective courses from the list below. Please note: Additional electives may be considered subject to the approval of the program director and Associate Deans. Students must choose at least one elective from List B.  

Please contact publichealth@bc.edu for further information. Not all classes are offered each semester. 

The complete up to date elective list can be found here.

For Connell School of Nursing Students only:

CSON students only must take the following two courses, which will count as their electives:

• NURS4260 Population Health Nursing Theory (List A elective credit)
• NURS4261 Population Health Practice in the Community (List A elective credit)
• One elective from List B above