Bachelor in Public Health Education

The Bachelor of Science in Public Health Education program is offered through the Department of Health Promotion and Physical Education and is based on the Seven Areas of Responsibility for an entry-level health educator delineated by the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, which represents a comprehensive set of competencies defining the knowledge and skills required of a health education specialist in a variety of job settings (NCHEC, 2006).

erica lundak ksu

B.S. in Public Health Education Program Benefits

The Bachelor of Science in Public Health Education helps to:

  • Prepare students with the knowledge and skills to assess community needs and design, implement, and evaluate public health education programs.
  • Focus on improving quality of life and overall well-being of individuals, worksites, and communities through behavioral, environmental, and policy-based initiatives.
  • Prepare students for entry to mid-level positions in public health departments, community-based health organizations, outreach education programs, health care settings, private health organizations, and corporate wellness settings as well as advanced studies in Public Health.
  • Prepare students to work collaboratively in interdisciplinary teams, patient care coordination, quality improvement for strategic planning and systems redesign, community engagement, community needs assessment, and health coaching.
  • Prepare students for the Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) exam.

The Bachelor of Science in Public Health Education (PHE) degree includes 30 hours of public health education core courses, along with 18 credit hours of approved electives, and a 12 credit hour seminar and internship experience.

Upon declaration of the Public Health Education Major Interest on Owl Express, please schedule a formal advising appointment with the Wellstar College Advising Center.

Concentrations

  1. Community Health - The Community Health Education concentration enables students to blend public health education, communication, human services, nursing and sociology courses in their professional preparation. Health education specialists who work in community health settings, design, implement and evaluate programs at the individual, group, institutional, community and system-level to improve community health indicators. Health education specialists also act as a resource on health information and advise on health policy.
  2. Worksite Health Promotion - The Worksite Health Promotion concentration enables students to blend public health education, communication, business and leadership courses in their professional preparation. Health education specialist who work in the business and industry setting, plan and coordinate programs in areas such as nutrition, fitness, weight control, smoking cessation, hypertension, and stress management. In addition to assisting employees to maintain or improve their health, they also advise companies on health policies.
  3. Health Coaching and Patient Education - The Health Coaching and Patient Education concentration enables students to blend public health education, communication, human services and sociology courses in their professional preparation. Health education specialists who work in health care and medical insurance settings, plan and coordinate programs in areas such as nutrition, fitness, weight control, smoking cessation, hypertension, and stress management to improve patient health literacy. In addition to program planning, health education specialists also counsel clients to implement theoretically based behavior modification interventions.
Internship Policies

 

  • Admission to the Public Health Education program is separate from admission to Kennesaw State University. Students must meet the program requirements outlined below to pursue this degree. Students should declare the Public Health Education (PHE) Major-Interest through Owl Express > Student Records > Declare or Change Major/Minor. For more information, view the Office of the Registrar Registration Policies.

    As a gated program, formal admission into the Bachelor of Science in Public Health Education program is based on the following criteria:

    1. Completion of 30 overall course credits including a “C” or better in the following courses: WELL 2000, PHE 2000, and PHE 2100.
    2. An Institutional GPA of 2.5 or higher (please note that maintaining a 2.5 GPA is required for continued program admission and entry into PHE 4750).
    3. Completion of the online Public Health Education application form, which includes dept. referral, PHE involvement statement, and future career goal essay.

    The required Bachelor of Science in Public Health Education program application materials should be completed in consultation with the student’s assigned academic advisor to review and verify academic records and to plan courses of study.

    DEADLINES: 

    • Fall Semester (October 1)
    • Spring Semester (March 1)
    • Summer Semester (August 1)
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  • Program of Study

    General Education Core Curriculum (Areas A-E) (42 Credit Hours)
    (see KSU Undergraduate Catalog)

    Listing of requirements & Health and Nursing Majors: Students must take a two-semester laboratory sequence in either physics, chemistry, or biology. Students can choose from CHEM 1151/L & 1152/L, CHEM 1211/L & 1212/L, PHYS 1111/L & PHYS 1112/L, or BIOL 1107/L & 1108/L. See the individual degree program requirement section for majors with these requirements. Nursing majors are recommended to take CHEM 1151/L & CHEM 1152/L.

    Lower Division Major Requirements (Area F) (18 Credit Hours)

    • PHE 2000: Writing and Analysis for Public Health Education
    • PHE 2100: Introduction to Public Health Education
    • PHE 2400: Behavior Theory and Applications
    • WELL 2000: Foundations of Health and Wellness
    • HPE 2250: Functional Anatomy and Physiology
    • HS 2300: Cultural Competence in the Human Services
      One additional hour from General Education Area D2 Program Requirements (42 Credit Hours)

    Public Health Education Core (30 Credit Hours)

    • PHE 3150: Applied Analytic Techniques in Public Health Education
    • PHE 3400: Disease Prevention and Management
    • PHE 3850: Fundamentals of Program Planning
    • PHE 4200:Introduction to Community and Worksite Health
    • PHE 4300: Environmental Health Issues
    • PHE 4350: Methods of Public Health Education Research
    • PHE 4500: Epidemiology
    • PHE 4600: Program Implementation and Evaluation
    • PHE 4650: Health Coaching and Patient Education
    • PHE 4710: Introduction to Public Health Education Internship
    • PHE 3330: Health Systems & Health Policy
      OR
    • NURS 3330: Health Systems and Health Policy

    Public Health Education Capstone (12 Credit Hours)

    • PHE 4750: Public Health Education Seminar and Internship

    Upper-Division Related Electives (9 Credit Hours)

    Any 3000 - 4000 level courses with the following prefix: PHE, HPE, IHS, IPE, HS, NURS, SOCI, PSYC, COM, ORGC, TCOM

    Free Electives (9 Credit Hours)

    Any course offered by the university regardless of prefix.

    Program Total (120 Credit Hours)

    More information

Contact

Dr. LaNita Wright

PHE Program Coordinator

Convocation Center 3008
(470) 578-2196
lwrigh92@kennesaw.edu

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For additional information, please contact our program coordinator.

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