Bachelor of Science in Public Health
Turn your passion for health into a promising career as a public health education specialist, healthcare administrator, researcher or any other number of crucial public health positions with a bachelor’s degree in public health from Biola University. A public health major will prepare you to serve many vital roles in the growing health and wellness industries, while also improving your earning and kingdom impact potential in one of the most crucial areas of society today. Those who finish the B.S. in Public Health program at Biola become professionals equipped to:
- Evaluate and reduce occupational and environmental health risks
- Craft government policies and guide public health programs
- Contribute to hospital policies and procedures
- Track and prevent the spread of diseases (disease prevention)
- Create educational programs to encourage optimal nutrition, exercise and wellness
- Much more
Wherever they serve, students who leave Biola with a bachelor's degree in public health are health professionals ready to promote and care for the well-being of individuals and communities.
In Biola’s B.S. in Public Health major, you will gain the broad academic training, research experience and practical skills needed to thrive in this highly in-demand field. Whether you plan to pursue graduate school or move directly into a health and wellness career as a public health professional, a Bachelor of Science in Public Health from Biola offers you the flexibility you need to pursue a wide range of opportunities.
Biola’s Public Health degree program offers several key advantages:
- With its solid foundation in kinesiology, health science and data-driven research, the public health major gives you a comprehensive education that prepares you for some of the most in-demand careers in the health and wellness fields.
- Small class sizes offer you direct access to professors with real-world experience and expertise across many different fields, including public health, biology, chemistry and kinesiology.
- The public health major is taught from a Christian perspective, equipping you to be a skilled professional who cares for the holistic well-being of individuals and communities.
- Biola’s Lim Center is a premier facility for science and health students, filled with research labs, cutting-edge equipment and specialized spaces for those seeking degrees in anatomy and physiology, environmental and analytical chemistry, molecular biology and health care.
- The Biola Office of Health Professions Advising (BOHPA), a distinctive of Biola, provides experienced advice for navigating your healthcare journey, resources for taking qualifying exams like the GRE and MCAT, mock interviews, clinical shadowing experiences with health professionals, and strategic advice for applying to postgraduate programs.
- A required practicum and capstone project will allow you to gain valuable hands-on work experience, dive into research and create a tangible report to present to prospective employers while earning your undergraduate degree.
Concentrations
- Global Health
Global health is defined as the study, research and practice on improving health and achieving health care equity for communities worldwide. This concentration will focus on the prevention and intervention of health issues at the population level, and involve the integration of disciplines within and beyond the health sciences –– community health, epidemiology, health promotion, biology, statistics and intercultural studies to name a few.
Some career outcomes include: Certified Health Educator, Health Director, Health Administrator, Public Health Specialist, Community Health Worker, Global Health Worker, Public Health Program Manager, Public Health Policy Analyst, Nonprofit Coordinator, International Health Program Manager and Community Health Outreach Associate.
- Master of Public Health (Accelerated Master’s Program)
- Pre-Health Professions
The pre-health profession concentration will prepare public health students for the following graduate and professional programs:
- Pre-Medicine
- Pre-Veterinary Medicine
- Pre-Dental
- Pre-Optometry
- Pre-Pharmacy
- Pre-Physician Assistant
- Pre-Podiatry
Each of the listed heath profession tracks will have slightly different prerequisite courses, which students in the pre-health profession concentration will take, and faculty advisors will direct students in meeting the requirements.