Exciting new changes coming to the undergraduate Health Science Program: A letter from the program coordinator

Dear Health Science Students,

I wanted to let you know about some exciting changes that will be coming to our department and program over the next few years.

As some of you may know, our department offers a Master of Public Health, which has been accredited by the Council on Education for PublicHealth (CEPH) since 1974. Over the past several years, opportunities for students throughout the country to pursue undergraduate degrees in public health have expanded and as a result, CEPH now offers accreditation forBachelor's programs in Public Health.

As our faculty has learned more about accreditation for Bachelor’s programs and about the criteria these programs will be held accountable to, we have decided that we should seek accreditation for our undergraduate degree! This is a reflection of our confidence in our undergraduate degree and our commitment to always providing our graduates with the best education available.

There are three changes that you will be seeing take effect over the next few years. None of these changes will delay your graduation or prevent you from getting the quality education you have come to expect from our department.

1.     Beginning in Fall 2017, our degree title will be changing to Public Health. The undergraduate degrees available in our program will be: B.S. in Public Health, B.S. in Public Health with a concentration in Health Services Administration, and a Minor in Public Health.

Students who are currently in any of the Health Science degrees and graduating in Fall 2017 or later will have the choice of keeping the degree name “Health Science” or switching to a degree name of “Public Health.” (Please see this link to open the FAQ in another window for more details.)

2.     We will be making some modifications to the existing curriculum to be sure that our degree meets the accreditation standards set out by CEPH. These changes will take effect beginning in Fall 2018. Our faculty have been hard at work reviewing our current curriculum and exploring options and we welcome your input. See this link to FAQ for a list of ways that you can become involved in contributing ideas to the new curriculum.

3.     Once our curriculum is in effect, we will be seeking accreditation from CEPH, which means that our degree will be an accredited B.S. in Public Health. Accreditation of a program assures its quality and communicates to potential employers or graduate schools that you have met the nationally recognized standards for public health education. We anticipate receiving accreditation in Fall 2018 or Spring 2019.

Please do not hesitate to get in touch with me or any of the health science faculty or peer advisors with any questions about these upcoming changes and how they may affect you.

There are many opportunities to get involved in this process and express your voice. Please see the FAQ link (here) for how to get involved. I will also be visiting classrooms to answer any questions you may have about these changes in person.

Best regards,

Miranda Worthen

Health Science Program Coordinator

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