Public Health, BSPH

The Tulane Bachelor of Science in Public Health (BSPH) degree is an academic degree which addresses the health of populations and communities through instruction, service, and community based research. The degree is firmly grounded in a background of humanities, social science and the liberal arts. The degree fulfills Tulane University's campus-wide undergraduate core proficiency through this background while stressing an additional commitment to quantitative and scientific skills.

Newcomb-Tulane Core Proficiencies

Newcomb-Tulane College General Education Curriculum

The Newcomb-Tulane College Core Curriculum allows students to explore a wide-range of disciplines and embodies the mission and values of the College by allowing students to have flexibility in their core curriculum courses while exploring a full-range of courses.

The core curriculum—which is composed of a minimum of 30 credits—is divided into three parts: proficiency requirements, distribution of knowledge requirements, and additional requirements. To ensure that students experience the breadth of knowledge at the collegiate level, AP, IB, and Cambridge A-Level courses can be used to satisfy proficiency requirements only in Formal Reasoning and Foreign Language.

Courses will be designated as satisfying the distribution requirements according to the content and methodology rather than the departmental affiliation of the course.

The new core curriculum general education requirements went into effect with the entering class of 2018.

Courses proposed to satisfy core requirements will be ratified by the Newcomb-Tulane Curriculum Committee.

Proficiency Requirements

Writing Skills (2 courses and 6 credits)

Tier 1: Freshman writing (ENGL 1010 Writing or ENGL 1011 Writing for Academic Purposes) unless the student is exempt because of their score on the A.P/I.B./Cambridge-A level exams.
Students receiving exemption from ENGL 1010 Writing/ENGL 1011 Writing for Academic Purposes are required to take an approved writing class during their freshman year. Approved courses will have at least 1/3rd of the grade based upon writing (excluding in class exams), but no revision is required.
Tier 2: One additional writing course at the 2000 level or above taken from an approved list. Approved courses will have at least 1/3rd of the grade based upon writing (excluding in class exams), to include revision and re-evaluation by the instructor.
Students are encouraged to take the Tier-1 writing course prior to taking the Tier-2 writing course; however, students are not prohibited from taking the Tier-1 and Tier-2 courses simultaneously.

Note: creative writing courses cannot be used to satisfy the writing proficiency requirement.

Formal Reasoning (1 course and 3 credits)

One course in mathematics or symbolic logic from an approved list.

Foreign Language (0-3 courses)

The foreign language proficiency requirement is achieved in any of the following ways:

A passing grade in a course at the 2030 level (3rd semester of Tulane 4-credit hour Foreign Language or ASLS coursework) or higher in accordance with assigned placement level.
A passing grade on a Tulane-administered proficiency exam for students with assigned placements above the 2030 level. Students who do not successfully pass the proficiency exam will be automatically placed and must successfully complete a course at the 2030 level.
A passing grade in a course at the level of placement above 2030.
Advanced Placement score of 4 or 5 in a foreign language test as noted in the AP/IB chart
Higher-Level IB score of 5 or higher in a foreign language test as noted in the AP/IB chart
Cambridge A-Level score decided by the appropriate language department.
SAT II achievement test of 640 or higher in a foreign language.

Note: This requirement is waived for students in B.S.E. programs.

Distribution Requirements

(A course can satisfy only one of the distribution areas.)

Mathematics and the Natural Sciences (2 courses including 1 lab science course and 7 credits)

(Those completing the B.F.A. degree need only complete 1 course with lab)

Social and Behavioral Sciences (2 courses and 6 credits)

Textual and Historical Perspectives (2 courses and 6 credits)

Aesthetics and the Creative Arts (3 credits), which can be fulfilled in 1-3 courses.

Additional Core Requirements

The First Year Seminar (1 course, 1-3 credits)

This requirement can be satisfied by a Tulane Interdisciplinary Seminar (TIDES) course or Colloquium course (COLQ 1010 Freshmen Colloquium Seminar (1-3 c.h.) or COLQ 1020 Freshman Colloquium (1-3 c.h.))

Public Service (2 courses)

Students develop their commitment to civic engagement through the completion of service learning courses experiences. All students will complete their public service through service-learning courses, an approved public service internship, or an approved public service research experience. These courses can also be used to satisfy other areas of general education.

To meet this requirement for graduation, all students must complete two semesters of service. One of these semesters must be at the 2000 level or above. The first experience should be completed by the 2^nd semester of the sophomore year.
Service Learning courses require a minimum of 20 hours of service per semester. Those service-learning courses designated as requiring a minimum of 40 hours of service carry one additional credit hour. No course may carry more than 4 credits.

Race and Inclusion (1 course, 3 credits)

One course and 3 credits. Courses that fulfill this requirement will focus on the intersections of race with power, privilege, equity, justice, and/or inclusion and will focus at least 60% their content on these issues in the United States. These courses may also be used to satisfy proficiency or distribution core curriculum requirements.

Global Perspectives (1 course, 3 credits)

One course and 3 credits. Courses that fulfill this requirement will focus at least 60% content with stated objectives to develop historical, cultural, and societal knowledge of an area beyond the United States. These courses may also be used to satisfy proficiency or distribution core curriculum requirements.

For more information please visit the Core Curriculum website.

Program Competencies

Describe the history, philosophy, core values, concepts, functions, and population-based approaches of public health.
Explain the behavioral, environmental, biological, and socio-economic determinants that impact human health and contribute to health disparities.
Apply data collection and analysis to develop evidence-based population approaches to public health problems.
Discuss and apply cultural competencies and concepts of public health planning, implementation, assessment, and evaluation.
Describe the fundamental characteristics and organizational structures of the U.S. health system as well as the systems in other countries.
Describe the legal, ethical, economic, and regulatory aspects of public health practice and health policy.
Demonstrate public health communication skills using oral, written, mass media, and electronic technology formats.

Course List
Course ID	Title	Credits
Public Health Basic Core
SPHU 1010	Intro To Public Health	3
SPHU 1020	Cell, Individual & Community	3
SPHU 2150	Foundations of Environmental Health	3
SPHU 2160	Biostatistics in Public Health	3
SPHU 3010	Foundations of Health Care Systems	3
SPHU 3110	Social and Behavioral Perspectives in Public Health	3
SPHU 3170	Foundations of Epidemiology	3
SPHU 4010	Formulation of Public Health Policy	3
Capstone (Select 1) ¹
SPHU 4560	Capstone Internship	3
or SPHU 4540	Capstone Senior Seminar
or SPHU 4550	Capstone Independent Study
or SPHU 4560	Capstone Internship
or SPHU 4580	Capstone International Program
or SPHU 4990	Honors Thesis
or SPHU 5000	Honors Thesis
BSPH Electives
Select a minimum of six courses		18
Total Credit Hours		45

¹: Students are eligible to complete their capstone after five semesters as an undergraduate, and with a majority of their other program requirements completed. See capstone options at https://sph.tulane.edu/bsph/capstone.

BSPH Electives

BSPH Electives provide the opportunity to focus on specialized public health knowledge or to gain a breadth of knowledge across public health fields. Because of the multi-disciplinary nature of public health, students are encouraged to consult with their program advisors to explore electives that will further their career goals or expand their public health interests and integrate other relevant disciplines into their study of public health.

A minimum of 3 courses for a minimum of 9 credit hours must be completed in courses offered by Public Health faculty (SPHU classes).

Public Health Electives

Course List
Course ID	Title	Credits
SPHU 2016	Infectious Disease Outbreaks	3
SPHU 2050	Arthropods and Public Health	3
SPHU 2300	Introduction to Nutrition	3
SPHU 2333	Introduction to Global Maternal and Child Health	3
SPHU 2400	Global Health in Action	3
SPHU 2410	Health & Women's Rights	3
SPHU 2420	Health Challenges and Climate Change	3
SPHU 3015	Public Health Program Implementation and Management	3
SPHU 3120	Issues & Strategies in Public Health	3
SPHU 3200	Nutrition & Chronic Disease	3
SPHU 3330	Disasters & Environmental Health	3
SPHU 3500	Public Health Approach to Sexual Violence	3
SPHU 3560	Biological Basis of Disease	3
SPHU 3600	Women's Reproduction & Obstetric Health	3
SPHU 4160	Introduction to Statistical Packages	3
SPHU 4180	Introduction to Qualitative Methods	3
SPHU 4200	Evidence Based Public Health	3
SPHU 4210	Health & Environmental Risk	3
SPHU 4220	Latino Health in the US	3
SPHU 4240	Epidemiology of Sexually Transmitted Infections	3
SPHU 4260	Organizational Leadership and Management in Public Health	3
SPHU 4300	Public Health Communication	3
SPHU 4330	Resilience in International Disasters	3
SPHU 4340	Public Health Genomics	3
SPHU 4350	Zoonotic Infections	3
SPHU 4410	Data and Information Management in Public Health	3
SPHU 4570	Internship (non-capstone)	3
SPHU 4910	Independent Study	1-3
SPHU 4920	Independent Study	1-3
Combined degrees: BSPH + MPH/MSPH/MPHTM degrees - Foundational Courses - SPHL 6050, SPHL 6060, SPHL 6070, SPHL 6080
Combined BSPH + MHA degree - HPAM 6050, HPAM 6200, HPAM 6300, HPAM 6710

Additional Electives

Certain courses above the 2000-level from other schools and departments with public health content or relevance may be approved by the program director as electives for public health majors. See the SPHU website https://sph.tulane/bsph/degree for a list of approved electives outside of Public Health courses.

Study Abroad electives: SPHU 5390 or SPHU 5390 Study Abroad credits approved by the program.

University Catalog 2024-2025