Program: Bachelor of Science in Public Health, Concentration in Environmental Health, BSPH - Bowling Green State University (2024)

The Bachelor of Science in Public Health with an Environmental Health Concentration will prepare students for a career in the area of environmental health, safety, sanitation, and hygiene. The environmental health and protection professional is primarily concerned with the investigation and prevention of health-related problems within a community, such as air and water pollution, solid and hazardous waste disposal, food-borne illnesses in public eating establishments, water and waste water treatment, and insect and rodent vectors of disease. Environmental health professionals also play a key role in efforts to prepare and respond to public health emergencies, especially natural disasters for which protection and safety of water and food supplies can be critical. Environmental health graduates in the program will be qualified to take the Registered Environmental Health Specialist/Sanitarian examination leading to licensure. Employment of environmental health professionals is projected to grow steadily in Northwest Ohio, the state of Ohio, and nationally over the next 20 years.

The degree curriculum requires a minimum of 122 semester hours. The curriculum follows Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) baccalaureate accreditation criteria for public health programs. The curriculum serves as an outstanding platform to expose students to the concepts necessary for success in the workplace, further education and life-long learning. A required practicum provides students with the opportunity to receive training linked to practice. An important component of public health training is the integration of learning with practical experience. The program will provide students with exposure to local-level public health professionals and/or agencies that engage in public health practice.

Of the 122 credit hours required to complete, 95 are dictated by the major; 33 credits are taken in the Department of Public and Allied Health, and 62 are cognate courses taken outside the Department but required by the major. Students accepted into the Bachelor of Science in Public Health program will be required to fulfill all BGSU General Education and related undergraduate graduation requirements.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the baccalaureate, students in Public Health are expected to:

• Define the role of federal and state regulatory programs, guidelines, and authorities that control environmental health issues;
• Describe risk factors and modes of transmission for infectious and chronic diseases and how these diseases affect public health;
• Discuss the role of gender, race, ethnicity, and other evolving demographics in public health and disparities in public health;
• Explain the basic general mechanisms of toxicity in eliciting response to various environmental exposures;
• Read and critically analyze scientific and professional articles from the field of public health;
• Demonstrate effective written and oral communication skills in an array of media;
• Describe the role of research, evaluation, and use of data in public health;
• Use analysis methods appropriate for various research objectives;
• Engage in teamwork to apply collaborative, interdisciplinary approaches for improving population health;
• Demonstrate practical skills for anticipating, recognizing and responding to public health emergencies;
• Analyze ethical concerns, conflicts of interest, and alternative viewpoints that arise in the field of public health;
• Describe approaches for assessing, preventing, and controlling environmental hazards that pose risks to human health and safety.