Major in Global Public Health and the Common Good

The new interdisciplinary 12-course major in Global Public Health and the Common Good will build on Boston College’s very successful minor in Global Public Health and the Common Good launched in fall 2019 and on the three-course sequence in Public Health that preceded the minor. The goal of this major is to enable students to gain deep understanding of the theory and practice of public health and prepare themselves for graduate study in medicine, nursing, public health, health policy, law, and international relations or for careers in business, social work and public health practice.

Course-work in the major will be grounded in epidemiology and biostatistics, the core disciplines of public health. Students will gain 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. They will learn how the health of populations affects economic growth and alters the destiny of nations. They will acquire knowledge of key elements of public health: disease prevention; health promotion; survey design; community assessment; data collection, management, and analysis; policy development; outbreak investigation and control; infection dynamics; project implementation; grant writing, public health communication; and leadership.

A distinctive feature of this major, which draws on Boston College’s Jesuit Catholic tradition and Pope Francis’ teaching in Laudato Si’ will be its strong emphasis on the ethical and moral foundations of public health and the intersection between public health, social justice and care for our Common Home.

Global Public Health and the Common Good
Major Course summary list

The new major in Global Public Health and the Common Good will consist of 36 academic credits, equivalent to 12 full-semester courses. It will consist of:

• Eight required core courses (listed below); 
• 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/NURS 1210
2. Introduction to Epidemiology – PHCG 2120 
3. Biostatistics, Data Analytics and Quantitative Methods in Public Health - PHCG 3560 
4. Ethics of Global Public Health and the Common Good - PHCG/THEO 3223
5. Health Inequities: Origins and Remedies. PHCG 3600 A new course that will explore the social, economic, historical and political determinants of health.
6. Global Public Health Law – PHCG 2130 
7. Global Health: Theory to Practice – PHCG 3300 
8. Public Health Planning, Practice, and Evaluation – PHCG 3810 A new course which will include didactic material and case studies on leadership, advocacy, project implementation and evaluation, and community partnerships. Classroom teaching will be complemented with community engagement.

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 2-semester, 6-credit, interdisciplinary Capstone Experience in their senior year. This Capstone, which is the equivalent of two courses, 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 or other scholarly output such as a video 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. Students must choose two , and they can be from either from List A or List B under the Electives Course List. Students who spend a semester studying abroad may be able to fulfill elective requirements during their overseas semester. Prior department approval is required.

Notice to our Premedical Students:

Students applying to medical programs in the United States calculate a science GPA that includes all BCPM (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Math) oriented courses.

The following courses listed below are currently eligible to be reported in your BCPM GPA.

PHCG2120 Introduction to Epidemiology

PHCG3120 Cancer Epidemiology

PHCG3560 Biostatistics, Data Analytics and Quantitative Methods in Public Health

PHCG4140 Children's Health and the Environment

Please contact us with any questions regarding the Major coursework. publichealth@bc.edu