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Online Bachelor's Public Health Degree

Make a Meaningful Impact on Quality of Life with the Online Public Health Degree

Public health covers a broad range of fields — everything from developing and presenting wellness programs in local communities and creating public policies to fighting infectious disease outbreaks in West Africa. No matter where public health professionals work, they’re driven by the same mission: to protect the health of populations and improve quality of life.

Ready to make your mark in this rewarding field? Start by earning your online Bachelor of Science in Public Health at Southern New Hampshire University. This online bachelor's program provides a strong foundation in biological and social sciences and emphasizes evidence-based approaches to program assessment, planning and evaluation. You’ll also explore strategies for preventing disease, prolonging life and improving the health of entire populations.

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See Yourself Succeed in Public Health

The online public health degree provides a strong foundation of biological and social sciences with courses in anatomy, physiology and statistics. The core major courses will provide you with a comprehensive understanding of public health and insights into healthcare administration and delivery systems. Course topics include epidemiology, research and assessment, program planning, health communication and education, healthcare law and ethics in national and global contexts.

Upon completion of the online public health degree, you’ll be able to:

  • Utilize statistical constructs and epidemiological principles to recognize patterns and trends within the scope of public health
  • Apply fundamental public health strategies in assessment, planning and prevention to improve the health, safety and quality of life for people in their communities
  • Articulate the efficacy of health programs targeted at improving healthcare access, quality and delivery to ensure community and population health
  • Describe the fundamental social and behavioral frameworks in public health to identify health disparities and promote social justice
  • Develop a professional identity from which to make globally, socially and ethically responsible public health decisions that are aligned with legal and organizational policy requirements
  • Design technical and professional communication strategies that promote effective public health campaigns

As a private, nonprofit university, SNHU has one mission – to help you see yourself succeed. The benefits of enrolling in the public health bachelor’s program online at SNHU include:

  • Affordability. Take advantage of some of the most affordable tuition rates in the nation
  • Convenience. Attend class when it’s convenient for you – online education means 24/7 access
  • Efficiency and flexibility. Complete your bachelor’s program at your own pace, over six 8-week terms per year
  • Expert instruction. Learn from instructors with relevant, real-world experience
  • Networking. Tap into our nationwide network of alumni for internship and career opportunities
  • Student support. Count on the ongoing support of dedicated academic and career advisors specialized in your area of study
  • Simple application process. Just fill out an online undergraduate application, and we’ll retrieve U.S. transcripts from your previous institutions and automatically complete an official credit evaluation. Plus, there’s no application fee
  • Transfer-friendly enrollment. Transfer up to 90 credits toward a bachelor's degree

Career Outlook

The online public health degree is designed to prepare you for a variety of promising careers including medical and health services manager, health educator or community health worker.

The demand for educated, experienced public health professionals will continue to rise based on growing populations and the need for disease prevention, surveillance and education.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports strong growth in these fields. Employment of medical and health services managers is projected to grow 20 percent through 2026, much faster than the average for all occupations.* Jobs for health educators and community health workers are estimated to increase by 16 percent through 2026.*

Public health professionals work in various settings and industries, including:

  • Hospitals and medical facilities
  • Managed care organizations
  • Nonprofit organizations
  • State and local health departments
  • U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Curriculum

The curriculum for our online public health degree program is based on the curriculum standards of the Council on Education for Public Health and is designed to prepare you for entry into this rewarding field. Please note, the program is not accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health.

Required Core Courses
General Education Program

Degree Courses
IHP 340 Statistics for Healthcare Professionals

This course explores the basic statistical concepts of inference, variability, and statistical significance. Statistical methods used to describe data, quantify relationships and to test for differences between means will be studied. Parametric statistics will be the main focus but some common nonparametric tests will be introduced. The course will focus on the interpretation of published research findings.
HCM 340 Healthcare Delivery Systems

This course provides an overview of the nature, organization, and function of the continuum of health services found in the United States. Emphasis is placed on the interrelation of cultural, economic, political and social aspects of health care delivery at the federal, state and local level. Topics include health care costs, accessibility of services, governmental influence on health care delivery, private industry role in health care, services for the medically indigent and elderly, ethical issues regarding transplants, reproductive technology, end of life decisions and funding.
IHP 330 Principles of Epidemiology

Learn basic principles of epidemiology with emphasis on applications in healthcare management. Examine specific epidemiology tools used for purposes of planning, monitoring, and evaluating population health. Consider methods for managing the health of populations, understanding the factors that influence population health, and strategies that healthcare organizations and systems can use to control these factors.
IHP 410 Population Health and Cultural Competence

This course explores a population-based approach to understanding disease management, chronic care management, and health policy making. It explores how behavioral factors, social circumstances and environmental exposures affects a population and how to mitigate these factors using culturally relevant approaches to create a culture of wellness.
IHP 420 Ethical and Legal Considerations of Healthcare

Students in this course examine the role of health care policy and legal, regulatory, and quality control in ethical decision making in healthcare. Students explore concepts and principles of health care policy, legal control, ethical conduct, and regulatory environments and their application to the health care environment. The impact of health care policy and multicultural, socioeconomic, political, legal, and regulatory factors on health care systems is explored.
PHE 101 Fundamentals of Public Health

This course introduces students to the field of public health: its historical evolution, fundamental theories, concepts and practice in the US, and its core values and ethical principles. The structure of the public health system, the ten essential services, and the core knowledge areas (epidemiology, biostatistics, social and behavioral sciences, environmental health, and healthcare policy and administration) are outlined in order for students to comprehend the breadth of complex factors impacting health and the tools available to protect and promote health.
PHE 321 Biological Concepts for Public Health

This course explores the major determinants of human disease from an integrated ecological perspective that brings together population-based approaches to the study of infectious disease and genetically determined diseases. Students learn about how infectious diseases are transmitted, risk factors and biological processes for common diseases, and the impact of these and control strategies on public health.

PHE 327 Research and Assessment in Public Health

Students in this class will develop the introductory knowledge and skills to apply assessment instruments, data collection, research designs, and statistical analysis to assess need, assets, and capacity for health education programs. Existing data sets will be introduced that will increase access to information to develop and implement health promotion projects that are fiscally feasible while meeting specific health promotion needs of a targeted population.
PHE 330 Public Health Education and Communication

The purpose of this course is to develop communication skills relevant to public health and examine the impact of mass media, social media, and the internet on health outcomes. Communications is a crucial tool in dealing with global public health challenges. Strong communication skills are necessary in the developing effective public health education, sound advocacy and successful policy development and implementation. In addition, the course explores how communication is currently being used by public health organizations and agencies.

PHE 340 Social and Behavioral Health

The course provides an overview of the contribution of the social and behavioral sciences to health behavior. Social and behavioral science fundamentals (principles, theories, research, and techniques) that are employed to address current and past public health problems are examined. Key concepts such culture, race/ethnicity, gender, poverty/disparities, factors related to behavior change, community, organizational climate, family are examined from a social and behavioral sciences perspective.
PHE 423 Evaluation Methods in Public Health

This course will cover contextual issues surrounding evaluation, evaluation designs and methodological issues, steps involved in conducting an evaluation, communicating the results, and ensuring that evaluation findings are used by intended users.
PHE 425 Programming Planning in Public Health

The purpose of this course is to provide basic knowledge in public health sciences, and practical skills to effectively plan, implement, and manage programs that address public health problems in a variety of settings. The course explores key concepts, theories, and methods in planning and implementing successful health promotion programs and healthy public policy.
PHE 489 Public Health Capstone Communication

Taken in the student's final term, the capstone course is the culminating experience for the Bachelor of Science in Public Health. This course builds on the theories and concepts of all courses students have taken within the program of study. The capstone course provides students with the opportunity to integrate and synthesize the knowledge and skills acquired throughout their coursework in an original comprehensive project/paper, while assessing their level of mastery of the stated outcomes of their degree program in public health. In addition, students present their capstone project and reflection on the experience to their instructor and their peers in the course. Students will also post their capstone project and presentation into their e-Portfolio.

Free Elective Credits: 27

Total Credits: 120

Program Outcomes

Tuition & Fees

Tuition rates for SNHU's online degree programs are among the lowest in the nation. We offer financial aid packages to those who qualify, plus a 30 percent tuition discount for U.S. service members, both full and part time, and the spouses of those on active duty.

Online Undergraduate Programs Per Course* Per Credit Hour*
Degree/Certificates $960 $320
Degree/Certificates
(U.S. service members, both full and part time, and the spouses of those on active duty) 		$675 $225

*Tuition Rates are subject to change and are reviewed annually.

Additional Costs
No Application Fee, $150 Graduation Fee, Course Materials ($ varies by course)

University Accreditation

Southern New Hampshire University is a private, nonprofit institution accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges as well as several other accrediting bodies. More...

*Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, on the Internet, at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/medical-and-health-services-managers.htm and https://www.bls.gov/ooh/community-and-social-service/health-educators.htm (viewed online November 6, 2017). Cited projections may not reflect local and/or short-term economic or job conditions and do not guarantee actual job growth.