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Public Health

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 0310Health Care in the United States1
PHP 0320Introduction to Public Health1
PHP 0850Fundamentals of Epidemiology1
PHP 1501Essentials of Data Analysis1
PHP 1910Public 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 Credits12

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.