Public Health

Overview

Public health seeks to improve human health through the development and application of knowledge that prevents disease, protects the public from harm, and promotes health throughout local communities, the state, the nation, and the world. The field of public health confronts complex health issues, such as improving access to health care, controlling infectious disease, and reducing environmental hazards, violence, substance abuse, and injury.

Through the Public Health Minor at Occidental College, students develop and apply knowledge from multiple disciplines for the promotion and protection of the health of the human population, giving due consideration to principles of human rights and cultural perspectives that abound in our multicultural country and world. The minor, like the field itself, is interdisciplinary. Students will learn about the scientific aspects of disease as well as the political and policy issues involved in improving people’s health and well-being. The minor is jointly administered by the departments of Biology, Kinesiology, and Urban & Environmental Policy (UEP), with course offerings from multiple departments.

Requirements

Five courses are required to complete the Public Health minor.

Minor

Required Courses

Statistics Requirements

Students must complete one of the following courses:

Electives

Students must complete two additional courses from the list below. Each elective course must be from a different department. 

Transfer Credit Policies

The two required core courses for the Public Health minor, including PUBH 203 Introduction to Public Health and PUBH 238 Epidemiology, must be taken at Occidental College. Transfer credit will not be accepted for these two courses.

Transfer credit for the statistics and elective requirements will be considered to apply toward the Public Health minor. However, courses must be approved by the appropriate department or program. Students should reference the Transfer Credit section for details.

Advising Information

Public Health Transfer Student Advice

Transfer Course Limit for Transfer Students: 3 courses

Designated Transfer Adviser

Expected preparation for transfer students wanting to minor in Public Health:

• Transfer students can complete the minor without any prior coursework, since it requires only five courses, but depending on the intended major and how many Core requirements need to be completed, it will be easier to complete the minor if students start Occidental having already completed a statistics class and one elective.

General advice for transfer students wanting to minor in Public Health:

• The following two courses must be taken at Occidental: Introduction to Public Health (PUBH 203) and Epidemiology (PUBH 238). 

• Transfer credit for the Statistics requirement (1 course) is determined by the appropriate department (Math, Computer Science, Biology, etc.). Transfer credit for the electives requirement (2 courses) is determined by the chair of Public Health. 

What courses should a transfer student take during their first semester at Occidental?

• Rising Juniors should take Introduction to Public Health (PUBH 203). This is a requirement for Epidemiology (PUBH 238), which is only offered in the spring. Students entering as sophomores or mid way through their sophomore year should plan to take PUBH 203 early on so that they can take PUBH 238 during a future spring semester (either in their junior or senior year).

Courses

Faculty

Jessica Dirkes, chair; designated transfer adviser

Resident Assistant Professor; Public Health Program Coordinator

B.S., University of Missouri; M.P.H., Tulane University; Ph.D., University of Illinois at Chicago

Non-Tenure Track Faculty

Other faculty associated with the Public Health minor can be viewed here.