Bachelor of Science in Public Health

Wayne State's Bachelor of Science in Public Health prepares students to address public health issues in a broad range of health careers. Being committed to improving the health and vitality of Detroit, graduates of this major and minor will have the ability to assess and prevent health disparities across the city and beyond, as well as diagnose and research public health problems, improve public health through human and environmental interventions, promote individual well-being and educate the public regarding healthful choices in life.

While anchored by a strong core public health curriculum, the public health major is one of the highly interdisciplinary majors on campus, allowing students to pull health-related electives from a variety of other disciplines related to their core interests. If a student is more interested in social science or natural science, for example, they can choose to complete public health electives in those fields. The interdisciplinary nature of public health electives gives students the freedom to focus on the health-related topics that they like best.

If you are looking for diversity in courses and career opportunities, desire promoting disease prevention, and are excited to study broad topics that can affect the health and well-being of individuals, communities, populations, and the world, then an undergraduate degree in public health is an excellent option. A public health degree opens the door to a wide range of career opportunities, including work in public administration, community health departments, government, and nonprofit organizations.

Here is just a sampling of career opportunities open to public health majors: health educators, fitness and wellness coordinators, community health workers, biostatisticians, epidemiologists, health services managers, health department administrators, research analysts.

Learning objectives

• How to protect and improve community and population health through the promotion of healthy lifestyles
• Research for disease and injury prevention
• Research on health disparities and health care equity
• Legal, ethical, economic and regulatory dimensions of health care and public health policy
• Public health practice
• Community and organizational dynamics
• Cultural contexts in which public health professionals work
• Ethical decision-making as related to community health
• Epidemiology
• Biostatistics
• Research methods

Public health is a field that all students can identify with. A public health curriculum can teach us about the safety and well-being of individuals, families and entire populations – both now and for generations to come. Studying this critical topic at WSU will allow students to engage in health disparity and health equity issues and create stronger communities here in Detroit before they even graduate. – Dr. Heather Dillaway

Career insights

This tool provides a broad overview of how major selection can lead to careers and is provided without any implied promise of employment. Some careers will require further education, skills, or competencies. Actual salaries may vary significantly between similar employers and could change by graduation, as could employment opportunities and job titles.