Public Health
Bachelor of Science
Quick Facts
Top 3%
Online Bachelor's
Program in the Nation
- U.S. News & World Report, 2025
TOP 25
Public Flagship
University
- U.S. News & World Report, 2024
The Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health is the only public health program accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) in the state of Arizona. The online Bachelor of Science with a major in Public Health provides you with comprehensive coursework and experiential education in public health. The curriculum offers general knowledge regarding public health principles and practice. Fieldwork provides students with an experience that incorporates classroom learning into public health practice and prepares them for future employment.
You have the opportunity to customize your degree experience to match your interests, aspirations and future goals by selecting your area of emphasis. You may choose from five emphases: Global Health, Health Systems Theory,Environmental and Occupational Health, One Health and Practice and Public Health Practice. This emphasis will account for 12 credits toward your degree.
The College of Public Health requires all students to achieve Advanced Standing before completing graduation requirements. Progressing to Advanced Standing in Public Health is currently a non-competitive process that requires a minimum 2.0 GPA and submission of an application declaring a degree emphasis area.
Prerequisites can be found using the Public Health Curriculum Guide.
*Residents of some U.S. Territories may not be eligible. Please see our Eligibility & State Authorization page for more information.
Outcomes
Skills
Earning your Bachelor of Science in Public Health will build core skills, including:
- Collaboration
- Community engagement
- Critical thinking
- Data analysis
- Leadership
- Policy advocacy
- Program design and evaluation
- Research
- Verbal and written communication
Potential Career Paths
Graduates of the BS in Public Health program will be prepared to pursue the following careers:
Areas of Emphasis
If you're interested in environmental health, protection of natural resources, and safety for workers and communities, consider a Public Health major with an Environmental and Occupational Health emphasis. Public health professionals specializing in environmental and occupational health help protect communities and workers from health risks such as contaminates or hazardous living or working conditions. The University of Arizona's Bachelor of Science in Public Health is accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health. Students choosing the Environmental and Occupational Health emphasis focus on environmental justice, public health preparedness, industrial impact, sanitation, and safety fundamentals. Undergraduates complement their coursework with an internship that provides them with professional public health experience. Environmental and Occupational Health emphasis students wishing to also earn their Master of Public Health can do so in an accelerated program.
Global health professionals work in settings all over the world to help prevent the spread of disease, deploy clean water initiatives, and support communities in times of natural disasters. Under the Global Health emphasis, students explore sanitation, global food supplies, epidemiology and more. Through a robust study abroad program, Public Health majors also have the opportunity to gain field research and service-learning experience in limited-resource settings.
Global Health emphasis course options include:
This is a course that introduces students to human variation and corresponding global trends in disease prevalence, and how these trends may be driven by evolutionary, historical, genetic, cultural, and environmental factors.
The high-level course entails synthesizing peer-reviewed nutritional epidemiological papers by country with lectures on cultural aspects of food preparation and diet.
This course will take a multidisciplinary approach to examining the impact of infectious diseases on human populations, with an emphasis on relevant epidemiologic concepts.
Corporations, organizations, governments and communities need public health leaders to focus on planning, management and administration. Students in the Health Systems Theory and Practice emphasis take courses on health economics and policy, public health law and ethics, healthcare marketing, and strategic planning. Undergraduates complement their coursework with an internship that provides them with professional public health experience in their area of interest.
Health Systems Theory and Practice emphasis course options include:
Health policy is examined from an economic perspective. Basic economic theories and their relationships to the structure and function of the U.S. health care system are explored.
This course will explore the identification and treatment of mental illness in the U.S. and discuss a public health approach to addressing mental health issues.
This course introduces undergraduate public health students to current and foundational issues in law and ethics that affect the policies and practices of public health.
If you’re interested in how climate change and shifts in human interaction with the natural world affect the health of humans everywhere, this fascinating new realm of public health practice may be the path for you. The more we learn, the more we understand that human health is deeply intertwined with the health of animals and the environment. Students who pursue the new field of study called One Health will look at human health in the context of these deep connections between people and the natural world, especially how disease transmits between animals and humans.
Course information:
Public health professionals design and implement programs to ensure all communities have access to crucial health services and safe living conditions. Public Health Practice emphasis students study health program evaluation, health policy, law, and ethics. Undergraduates complement their coursework with an internship that provides them with professional public health experience working with underserved populations.
Public Health Practice emphasis course options include:
The course provides students interested in pursuing an undergraduate public health degree with the fundamentals of planning and evaluation.
Health policy is examined from an economic perspective. Basic economic theories and their relationships to the structure and function of the U.S. health care system are explored.
This course introduces undergraduate public health students to current and foundational issues in law and ethics that affect the policies and practices of public health.
The Public Health Internship Experience
Dive deeper into the field of public health to prepare for the next stage of your career! Our internships give you real-world experience, broaden your professional network, and enhance your skills outside of your coursework.
