In November of 2011, the University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies was approved by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) to establish a new Bachelor of Science in Public Health (BSPH) degree. In 2018, the Council on Education for Public Health accredited the BSPH program for a five-year term, extending to July 1, 2023. The CEPH accreditation is retroactive to prior BSPH degree recipients. The degree is granted to students who are admitted to the BSPH Program and successfully complete general education requirements and 30-credits in designated core and elective undergraduate courses. The first cohort of BSPH students at the SONHS began in Fall 2012.
The primary mission of the faculty of the BSPH degree program is to develop competencies in public health among undergraduate students, equip undergraduate students for entry-level public health positions, and prepare undergraduate students to pursue graduate studies in public health and related fields. Students will be exposed to major public health issues locally, nationally and globally. The curriculum is designed to introduce students to the core areas of public health—including epidemiology, environmental health, social and behavioral health, global health and health policy—and to prepare students to work with communities in ways that are evidence-based and culturally competent.
Upon completion of the BSPH degree, all graduates will be able to:
Foundational Competencies
- Communicate public health information, in both oral and written forms and through a variety of media, to diverse audiences
- Locate, use, evaluate and synthesize public health information
Concentration Competencies
- Apply knowledge from multiple disciplines to define and describe public health problems locally and globally.
- Use principles of epidemiology to describe health and alterations in health
- Interpret quantitative and qualitative research findings in the medical, nursing, public health, and social science literature.
- Examine the principal determinants of health problems facing the world’s populations within social, economic, and political contexts.
- Identify biological, behavioral, and social principles of health promotion and disease prevention across the lifespan.
- Discuss the impact of the physical and social environment on health.
- Explore the interactions between biological, psychological, environmental, and cultural factors influencing public health and disease prevention strategies.
- Examine health care policy, finance, and regulatory environments with attention to health care disparities
- Demonstrate awareness of local health problems, determinants, and interventions in South Florida, with attention to vulnerable populations.
