Public Health is an interdisciplinary concentration through which students examine a variety of health issues, including population health and disease, health policy, cross-cultural and international aspects of health, the organizational and social structures through which health services are delivered and received, and the public health system. Courses in the concentration allow students to explore the ways in which the social, political, behavioral and biological sciences contribute to the understanding of patterns of population distributions of health and disease. The concentration also provides students with courses in basic research methods and statistics necessary for problem solving and critical thinking in the emerging emphasis on evidence-based health care and public health.
Requirements for Class of 2023 and Beyond
| 1. Core Courses (non-substitutable; 5 required for all students) | ||
| PHP 0310 | Health Care in the United States | 1 |
| PHP 0320 | Introduction to Public Health | 1 |
| PHP 0850 | Fundamentals of Epidemiology | 1 |
| PHP 1501 | Essentials of Data Analysis | 1 |
| PHP 1910 | Public Health Senior Seminar (required of all non-honors seniors; FALL) | 1 |
Or | ||
PHP 1915 | Pub Health Honors Senior Sem | |
| 2. Environmental Health and Policy (select one of the following): | 1 | |
| Public Health and the Environment | ||
| World of Food: Personal to Global Perspectives on Nutrition, Agriculture and Policy | ||
| Current Topics in Environmental Health | ||
| Climate Risks and Health Solutions | ||
| 3. Health, Health Care Systems, and Policy (select one of the following): | 1 | |
| Public Health Policy | ||
| From Manufacturer to Patient: Why is the Cost of Prescription Drugs So Darn High? | ||
| Comparative Health Care Systems | ||
| COVID-19, Public Health, and Health Policy | ||
| 4. Social and Behavioral Science for Prevention (select one of the following): | 1 | |
| Intro. to Health Disparities & Making Connection btw Structure, Social Determinants&Health Equity | ||
| Global Public Health Interventions | ||
| World of Food: Personal to Global Perspectives on Nutrition, Agriculture and Policy | ||
| Parenting Behaviors and Child Health | ||
| Alcohol Use and Misuse | ||
| Obesity in the 21st Century: Causes, Consequences and Countermeasures | ||
| Tobacco, Disease and the Industry: cigs, e-cigs and more | ||
| Race, Racism and Health | ||
| Intersectionality and Health Inequities | ||
| Technology and Health Behavior Change | ||
| Social Determinants of Health | ||
| 5. Global Health Elective (select one of the following): | 1 | |
| Global Public Health Interventions | ||
| Public Health and the Environment | ||
| Global Burden of Disease | ||
| Human Security and Humanitarian Response: Increasing Effectiveness and Accountability | ||
| 6. Health Disparities Elective (select one of the following): | 1 | |
| Intro. to Health Disparities & Making Connection btw Structure, Social Determinants&Health Equity | ||
| Race, Racism and Health | ||
| Pathology to Power: Disability, Health and Community | ||
| Intersectionality and Health Inequities | ||
| Community-Engaged Research in Public Health | ||
| Designing Education for Better Prisoner and Community Health | ||
| Incarceration, Disparities, and Health | ||
| Social Determinants of Health | ||
| 7. Biology (select one of the following): | 1 | |
| Principles of Nutrition | ||
| The Foundation of Living Systems | ||
| Genetics | ||
| Introductory Microbiology | ||
| Principles of Immunology | ||
| Principles of Physiology | ||
| Diet and Chronic Disease | ||
| 8. Public Health Elective (select any one PHP course OR one of the following Humanities/Fine Arts/Humanistic Social Sciences for Public Health courses) | 1 | |
| African American Health Activism from Emancipation to AIDS | ||
| Policy, Culture and Discourse that Shape Health and Access to Healthcare | ||
| Race, Sexuality, and Mental Disability History (HMAN 1973A) | ||
| The Anti-Trafficking Savior Complex: Saints, Sinners, and Modern-Day Slavery | ||
| Health and Healing in American History (STS 1110, GNSS 1960B) | ||
| The Psychology and Philosophy of Happiness (PHIL 0650) | ||
| Women’s Writing in the Arab World | ||
| Literature and Medicine | ||
| Music and Meditation | ||
| Introduction to Contemplative Studies | ||
| Writing Science | ||
| Writing Diversity: A Workshop | ||
| Treaty Rights and Food Fights: Eating Local in Indian Country | ||
| Reproductive Health: Science, Politics, and the Media | ||
| Introduction to Gender and Sexuality Studies | ||
| Spanish for Health Care Workers | ||
| Health, Illness and Medicine in Spanish and Spanish American Literature and Film | ||
| Foods and Drugs in History | ||
| From the Columbian Exchange to Climate Change: Modern Global Environmental History | ||
| History of Medicine I: Medical Traditions in the Old World Before 1700 | ||
| History of Medicine II: The Development of Scientific Medicine in Europe and the World | ||
| Tropical Delights: Imagining Brazil in History and Culture | ||
| Humanitarianism and Conflict in Africa | ||
| From Medieval Bedlam to Prozac Nation: Intimate Histories of Psychiatry and Self | ||
| Medicine and Public Health in Africa | ||
| Gender, Race, and Medicine in the Americas | ||
| Planning the Family: Gender, Reproduction, and the Politics of Choice. | ||
| Health of Hispaniola | ||
| Poetry for Healing Territories | ||
| Modern Science and Human Values | ||
| Global Justice | ||
| Arts and Health: Theory | ||
| Arts and Health: Practice | ||
| Total Credits | 12 | |
Honors:
Honors Track, Classes of 2023 & Beyond
For Classes of 2023 & beyond, Honors track students enroll in PHP 1915, Public Health Honors Senior Seminar during Fall semester of their senior year as well as PHP 1980, Honors Thesis Prep during both semesters of their senior year to conduct research and write the honors thesis. Thus, for Classes of 2023 & beyond, fourteen courses are required for completion of the concentration requirements for an honors track student.
Please visit https://www.brown.edu/academics/public-health/undergraduate/curriculum for details or email the Director of Undergraduate Studies, Patricia Risica for more information.
Study Abroad/Study Away: The best semester to travel abroad/away is Spring of junior year. Courses taken away/abroad will likely NOT count for any of the concentration requirements, however, students can petition to have a course considered. Most do not meet the requirements or do not provide the ability for requirements to be assessed. Meet with concentration advisor and be prepared to provide syllabi for courses being considered for transfer (up to 2 per semester). Permission from concentration advisor is required.