Concordia University Wisconsin has launched a new degree offering, a Bachelor of Science in Public Health.
The global coronavirus pandemic has put public health in the spotlight like never before. As a result, there are a growing number of learners across the nation who are considering a career in the field.
Now, individuals interested in studying the field have opportunity to do so at Concordia University Wisconsin. Concordia’s new Bachelor of Science in Public Health degree is a 120-credit program that prepares learners to serve Christ by caring for the health of the community.
Concordia is now accepting applications for its new BS in Public Health degree!
Public Health, which focuses on health promotion and disease prevention, is a diverse discipline with vast opportunities in either the public or private sector and at the local, state, or national levels. Students graduate prepared to enter careers ranging from research and law to medicine, government, and health communications.
“One of the advantages of the public health field is that it prepares you for a wide range of work environments,” says Program Director Sandy Slater, PhD, MS. “The applications for the degree are pretty limitless.”
Program features
One of the highlights of Concordia’s new program is its concentrations. Learners can choose to focus on one of two areas:
- The Community Health concentration is designed for individuals who want to have some influence on changing policies, either in the public or private realms. The concentration integrates many disciplines and allows learners to personalize their study with electives from programs such as environmental studies, communication, social work, sociology, psychology, political science, or health and human performance.
- The Pre-clinical concentration, meanwhile, provides undergraduates with a strong foundation in the basic sciences and is most relevant for students who may want to pursue a graduate degree in areas such as pharmacy, physical therapy, or physician’s assistant studies.
For those interested in the pharmaceutical route, Concordia offers a three-plus-four program option. The three-plus-four program allows learners to graduate in seven years (instead of the usual eight) with a bachelor’s degree in public health and a Doctor of Pharmacy degree.
Concordia offers a wide array of programs that can be paired with the public health degree to create undergraduate double major opportunities, as well as dual undergraduate/graduate degrees on a shortened timetable. Opportune graduate pairings for the BS in Public Health could include Concordia’s Master of Occupational Therapy, MBA in healthcare administration, or Master of Social Work programs.
About the instructors
Students who enroll in the new bachelor’s program will be exposed to professors from a wide variety of disciplines, but two of the core instructors bring an impressive background in the field.
Slater has been teaching public health-related courses at the collegiate level since 2009 and has over 20 years of experience in conducting public health research. She has been actively engaged in interdisciplinary epidemiologic research that examines how inequities in the social conditions in which people live (social determinants of health) contribute to disparities in health behaviors, and how large-scale policy and environmental interventions are effective at reducing these disparities.
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Audrey Kostrzewa, PharmD, MPH, BCPS, is assistant director of the BSPH program and also oversees Concordia’s PharmD/MPH dual degree program. She is a Board Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist who specializes in drug information, with interests in medication safety and public health. She practices two days a week at Froedtert and The Medical College of Wisconsin as a medication utilization pharmacist. Her research interests lie in effective teaching methods and the impact of safety interventions on public health.
— This story is written by Kali Thiel, director of university communications for Concordia University Wisconsin and Ann Arbor. She may be reached at kali.thiel@cuw.edu or 262-243-2149.
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