Public Health
What is public health?
Public health is an interdisciplinary field concerned with recognizing, evaluating, understanding and responding to factors that may affect the health of individuals, communities and populations. Agnes Scott’s public health program, which offers a minor and a major with two tracks (an anthropology track and a laboratory science track) includes courses from the natural sciences, social sciences, humanities and mathematics. Srebrenka Robic, Assistant Professor of Biology, is the Director of the Public Health Program.
To learn more about the public health minor, which provides students with a broad education in the public health field, click on the "Program Requirements & Course Descriptions" link to the left. The two tracks of the major are outlined below.
All public health majors take a common core of 28 credit hours plus selected track requirements (12 credit hours) and track electives (12 credit hours). This core provide students a foundation in scientific inquiry and analysis while cultivating an understanding of the behavioral, economic, political, social and humanistic dimensions of public health. The core is comprised of the following courses:
- Public Health 101: Survey of Public Health
- Public Health 211: Principles of Epidemiology
- Public Health 311: Global Health
- Public Health 331: Topics in Public Health
- Biology 191: Cell and Animal Biology
- Anthropology 371: Women, Health, and Society
- Math 115/Psychology 206: Elementary Statistics/Research Statistics
The anthropology track includes the following required and elective courses:
Required:
- Anthropology 101 Cultural Anthropology (or Sociology 101)
- Anthropology 390 Foundations of Social Research
- Anthropology 391 Special Areas in Social Research Inquiry
Elective-- at least 12 hours, including one course at the 300 level or above selected from among the following:
- Public Health 201: Health Communication
- Public Health 225: Topics in Women’s Health: Beyond Biology
- Public Health 331: Topics in Public Health (if topic is different)
- Philosophy 106: Medical Ethics
- Anthropology 214: Anthropology of Religion
- Anthropology 219: TransAtlantic Voodoo
- Anthropology 354: Human Culture in Anthropological Perspective
- Sociology 230: Race, Class, Gender
- History 336: Topics in the History of Race, Ethnicity, and Immigration in the US
- Public Health 450: Internship in Public Health
- Rollins School of Public Health courses
The laboratory science track includes the following required and elective courses:
Required:
- Chemistry 201 Lab Organic Chemistry I
- Biology 315 or 316 Genetics or Molecular Biology
- Biology 317 or 301 Immunology or Microbiology
Elective--at least 12 hours, including one biology or chemistry or public health courses, with one course at the 300 level or above selected from among the following:
- Public Health 201: Health Communication
- Public Health 225: Topics in Women’s Health: Beyond Biology
- Public Health 321: Laboratory Techniques in Public Health
- Public Health 331: Topics in Public Health (if topic is different)
- Biology 250: Foundations of Neuroscience I
- Biology 260: Bioinformatics
- Biology 270: Invertebrate Biology
- Biology 301: Microbiology
- Biology 315: Genetics
- Biology 316: Molecular Biology
- Biology 317: Immunology
- Chemistry 210: BioInorganic Chemistry
- Chemistry 300 Lab: Biochemistry
- Chemistry 484: Organic Chemistry of Major Drugs
- Philosophy 106: Medical Ethics
- Anthropology 219: TransAtlantic Voodoo
- Anthropology 354: Human Culture in Anthropological Perspective
- Sociology 230: Race, Class, Gender
- History 336: Topics in the History of Race, Ethnicity, and Immigration in the US
- Public Health: 450 Internship in Public Health
- Rollins School of Public Health courses
Why Agnes Scott? Why Atlanta?
Many in the public health and medical communities refer to Atlanta as the public health capital of the world. We encourage you to utilize the globally-recognized experiential learning opportunities connected to our courses—internships at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CARE, the American Cancer Society, the Carter Center—and through community service not connected to courses.
How will this program help me when I graduate?
We encourage humanities, social sciences, natural sciences and mathematics majors to use the public health major as a way to explore their interest in a career in public health. Public health careers can be found in local, state and federal government; nonprofit organizations with a local, regional or global focus; corporations; hospitals and health departments; or universities.
For more information, contact Professor Harry Wistrand, Professor Martha Rees or Assistant Professor Srebrenka Robic.