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Program Overview
Rooted in science and social justice, public health is a prevention-oriented, multi-disciplinary field that promotes conditions to protect and improve the health of people and communities. Public Health workers are involved in a variety of roles including but not limited to outbreak investigation, humanitarian response, cancer and heart disease prevention, injury and violence prevention, environmental toxicology, advocacy, immunization, bioterrorism surveillance, food and drug quality, public health nutrition, zoonotic disease control, corporate wellness, and more.
The public health program consists of a 30-credit major or 15-credit minor that will provide students with the opportunity to learn more about the health issues facing communities.
The major/minor is appropriate for students who are:
- Interested in a broad career focus that may encompass governance, advocacy, social justice, diplomacy, environmental studies, international development, healthcare delivery, behavioral and social sciences, communication/media or health informatics
- Excited by the idea of prevention of disease at a broader scale than the individual patient
- Motivated by social justice and reduction of health disparities both locally and globally
Interested in a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree?
Rooted in science and social justice, a master’s in public health will lead you to one of many careers that are prevention-oriented, multi-disciplinary, and promote conditions to protect and improve the health of people and communities. Learn More
Accreditation
Fairfield University's four-year bachelor's program in public health is accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health, https://ceph.org/.
Program Requirements
The coursework for the Public Health major and minor reflects the interdisciplinary nature of the field by having students take courses in biological sciences, environmental science, nursing, the humanities, social sciences, and administration.
Major Requirements
Students complete 30-credits, including a field internship and capstone experience.
In addition to the major requirements, students are required to take an immersion field internship. These internship opportunities provide students with transformative and hands-on experience in the field.
Students will have the opportunity to intern at diverse organizations such as intergovernmental agencies, humanitarian organizations, state public health agencies, and local hospitals.
Minor Requirements
The Marion Peckham Egan School of Nursing and Health Studies offers a minor in public health. The 15-credit minor in Public Health features 5 required courses that can be selected across three content areas (Foundational; Context; Skills and Methods). There are two required Foundational Courses (PUBH 1101 & PUBH 2216). You can choose two courses from the Context Courses offerings (HLST 3310, BIOL 1076, NURS 1112, PUBH 2201, PUBH 2205) and one from the Skills and Methods offerings (HLST 3201, NURS 4330*, PUBH 2217)
This minor aims to provide students with knowledge to begin to understand root causes of health inequities and advocate for improved health conditions worldwide.
*NURS 4330 is offered for Nursing students only.
| Credits | ||
|---|---|---|
| PUBH 1101 | Public Health and Social Justice | 3 |
| PUBH 2216 | Introductory Principles of Epidemiology | 3 |
| Total | 6 | |
| Credits | ||
|---|---|---|
| HLST 3310 | Global Health: A Social Justice Perspective | 3 |
| BIOL 1076 | Environmental Science | 3 |
| NURS 1112 | Healthcare Delivery Systems | 3 |
| PUBH 2201 | Public Health, Disease, and Injury | 3 |
| PUBH 2205 | Fundamentals of Nutrition | 3 |
| Total | 6 | |
| Credits | ||
|---|---|---|
| HLST 3201 | Health Communication for Healthcare Professionals | 3 |
| NURS 4330 | Population Health (for Nursing majors only) | 3 |
| PUBH 2217 | Biostatistics for Health Research | 3 |
| Total | 3 | |
No more than two courses in the Public Health minor may double-count
toward another minor or major.
Admission
With a long history of preparing men and women for careers in the expanding fields of medicine and health studies and ranked as one of the nation’s best nursing schools, The Marion Peckham Egan School of Nursing and Health Studies is dedicated to delivering an excellent, comprehensive education to our students.
Applications for the Public Health program are evaluated by the Office of Admission.
More About Public Health
Program Vision, Mission, Goals, and Values
Program Vision, Mission, Goals, and Values
- Provide education, mentorship, and practice opportunities to promote students’ attainment of core competencies of public health practice.
- Contribute to public health knowledge through interdisciplinary research and practice.
- Impact public health practice through responsive and sustainable community engagement.
- Inclusive Excellence as a critical dimension of the academic mission. Fairfield strives to educate through engaging with the broadest possible range of dynamic ideas, perspectives, and identities in an ever-changing world. Embracing the challenges of competing viewpoints is integral to the rigor of the academic enterprise, pushing the horizons of what is known and possible in committing to excellence in teaching and learning.
- A Diverse Community, which is a distinguishing hallmark of Jesuit education. Fairfield recognizes the inherent value and dignity of each person, guided by our Jesuit heritage as informed by the contemporary context. Fairfield is committed to shaping a community of learners from diverse social, economic, racial, cultural, national, and religious backgrounds.
- Global Engagement as a defining outcome of a modern Fairfield education. Fairfield hopes to develop men and women to serve as global citizens, at home in the world, able to engage in diverse cultural circumstances with an open mind and the capacity to empathize with the perspectives of others. Fairfield actively promotes an awareness of and sensitivity toward the full range of differences within and well beyond our community of learners.
- Radical Hospitality as a way of relating with others, shaped by our Jesuit traditions. Fairfield recognizes the importance of learning about, and living in, an increasingly interconnected, intercultural world and reflects this by striving to become a microcosm of the global community, in which the other is unconditionally welcomed, respected, and valued.
Life After Fairfield
Life After Fairfield
Fairfield has a long history of success in preparing students with a solid foundation for the health professions. With the growing demand in the Public Health field, students can find a number of career opportunities in government agencies, and with contractors, think tanks, international agencies, humanitarian organizations and foundations as well as the corporate sector or in academia.
Learn about how Fairfield's Career Center can support your post-graduate goals, and how Fairfield's tight-knit alumni network can build career and mentoring opportunities that last a lifetime.
Diversity and Inclusive Excellence
Diversity and Inclusive Excellence
As a Jesuit, Catholic university, Fairfield is dedicated to diversity and inclusion; to radical hospitality in service of racial, social, and economic justice.
Egan Newsletter
Egan Newsletter
Learn more about what our faculty, students, and alumni are doing, as well as stay up-to-date on our rankings and accolades, programs, and more.
Egan Update
Egan Update
We invite you to view the Egan Update, a year in review of Marion Peckham Egan School of Nursing & Health Studies news.
Faculty & Staff
Faculty & Staff
Fairfield University’s Egan School boasts experienced faculty who inspire students to become leaders across social and healthcare environments. These students are actively engaged with faculty in practice, policy, scholarship, and service.