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Public Health Education
As a Public Health Education major, you’ll become a passionate advocate for healthier individuals and stronger communities. Through this program, you’ll explore key wellness issues affecting diverse populations and gain the skills to educate, inspire, and lead positive change.
With this degree, you’ll be ready to jump into a career in health promotion, community outreach, or wellness advocacy—or take the next step with graduate studies in public health, health education, or other health professions. Whether you’re working with individuals or shaping policies, you’ll have the knowledge and tools to make a lasting difference.
Experiential Learning
- Intern for organizations such as the YMCA, Hult Center for Healthy Living, OSF Healthcare, and the Children’s Home Association of Illinois.
- Class projects in community, school, university and worksite wellness settings.
- Professional development and networking through national honor societies Eta Sigma Gamma and Kappa Omicron Nu.
Program Details
Family and Consumer Sciences Core – 9 hrs.
- FCS 100: Family Dynamics – 3 hrs
- FCS 101: Strategies for Life – 1 hr
- FCS 200: Research Methods – 3 hrs
- FCS 442: Problems in FCS – 2 hrs
Required Professional Work Experience – 0-2 hours (160 contact hours required)
- EHS 301: Cooperative Education or Internship in EHS – 0-2 hrs
Additional Required FCS Courses – 31 hrs.
- FCS 120: Foundations in Public Health Education – 1 hrs
- FCS 202: Food and Nutrition – 3 hrs
- FCS 203: School Health Promotion – 2 hrs
- FCS 220: Consumer Issues in Healthcare – 3 hrs
- FCS 221: Introduction to Community and Public Health – 3 hrs
- FCS 310: Community Program Planning – 2 hrs
- FCS 311: Evaluation and Research Methods – 1 hrs
- FCS 320: Public Health Intervention Strategies – 2 hrs
- FCS 321: Sustainable Health – 3 hrs
- FCS 341: Human Development through the Lifespan – 3 hrs
- FCS 420: Public Health Policy – 2 hrs
- FCS 422: Health Promotion at Work – 2 hrs
- 2 FCS Electives (minimum of 4 hrs) – 4-6 hrs
- NPL 300: Advanced Leadership – 3 hrs
Required Supporting Courses – 38 hrs.
- BIO 111: Introduction to Cell Biology – 3 hrs
- BIO 230: Human Anatomy and Physiology I – 3 hrs
- BIO 232: Human Anatomy and Physiology II – 3 hrs
- BIO 300: Population, Resources, and Environment or ENS 110 Environmental Science – 3 hrs
- CHM 100: Fundamentals of General Chemistry – 3 hrs
- CHM 101: Fundamentals of General Chemistry Lab – 1 hr
- CHM 162: Fundamentals of Organic and Biochemistry – 4 hrs
- CHM 302 or NUR 391: Medical Terminology – 1 hr
- MTH 111: Elementary Statistics – 3 hrs
- NUR 363: Introduction to Personal and Community Health – 3 hrs
- PSY 101: Principles of Psychology – 3 hrs
- SOC 100: The Sociological Perspective – 3 hrs
- 6 hrs of electives (choose from PSY 201, 309, 313, SOC 313, 333, 341, 343) – 6 hrs
Career Opportunities
Community health education organizations, government programs, social service agencies, healthcare providers, local and state health departments, and corporations and universities are hiring public health education grads for positions such as:
- Health Education Specialist
- Prevention Specialist
- Community Outreach Coordinator
- Youth Service Specialist
- Wellness Coordinator