Public Health Honors Program

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The purpose of the Public Health Honor’s program is to engage undergraduate Public Health majors in independent research activities. Honors students accepted into the program will apply fundamentals of public health research through the completion of an Honors Thesis project and seminar. This experience is designed for students interested in pursuing graduate education in public health.

Eligibility Criteria

To apply to the Public Health Honor’s Program, students must:

Have a 3.25 GPA in the major and a 3.0 GPA overall
Have completed at least 15 credit hours towards their major requirements (at least nine of these must be core, upper division credit hours)
Have at least two semesters left before graduation

Application Procedure

Students who are eligible based on GPA and credit hours will be invited to apply to the program by the Honor’s Program Coordinator. The Coordinator will send a letter to eligible students each Spring and Fall semester. Students interested, will apply by submitting a two page statement of interest to the Honor’s Program Coordinator.

Program Requirements

Required Courses: 26 Credits

HLTH 165 - Health: A Lifestyle Approach 3 Credit(s)
HLTH 310 - Health Disparities 3 Credit(s)
HLTH 380 - Theory in Community Health 3 Credit(s)
HLTH 385 - Epidemiology and Biostatistics 3 Credit(s)
HLTH 430 - Human Disease: Patterns, Prevention and Intervention 3 Credit(s)
@HLTH 470 - Program Planning 3 Credit(s)
HLTH 480 - Program Evaluation 3 Credit(s)
@HLTH 485 - Pre-Internship Seminar 2 Credit(s)

Honors Courses: 15 Credits

HLTH 491 - Honors Internship 6 Credits
HLTH 492 - Honors Thesis I 3 Credits
HLTH 493 - Honors Thesis II 3 Credits
HLTH 494 - Honors Seminar 3 Credits

Cognate Requirements: 7 Credits

STAT 100 - Statistics 3 Credit(s)
BIOL 107 - Human Biology 1-3 Credit(s)
or
BIOL 210 - Intro to Anatomy & Physiology 4 Credit(s)
BIOL 210 - Intro to Anatomy and Physiology Lab 1 Credit
or
HLTH 210 - Virtual A & P Cadaver Lab 1 Credit no LB credit

Elective Courses: 6 Credits

Each Public Health major in the Honors Program is also required to take six credits of HLTH electives. Students may choose from the list below:

@WILD 200 - Therapeutic Recreation 3 Credit(s)
HLTH 250 - Drug Studies 3 Credit(s)
HLTH 300 - Environmental Health 3 Credit(s)
HLTH 325 - Alcohol Studies 3 Credit(s)
HLTH 331 - Death and Dying 3 Credit(s)
HLTH 333 - Human Nutrition 3 Credit(s)
HLTH 341 - Sexual Health 3 Credit(s)
HLTH 342 - Women’s Health 3 Credit(s)
HLTH 343 - Maternal and Child Health 3 Credit(s)
HLTH 344 - Issues in Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Health 3 Credit(s)
HLTH 345 - Child Abuse and Neglect 3 Credit(s)
HLTH 346 - Preventing Violence Against Women 3 Credit(s)
HLTH 371 - Nutrition for Special Populations 3 Credit(s)
HLTH 373 - Current Topics in Community Health Nutrition 3 Credit(s)
HLTH 375 - Health and the American Diet 3 Credit(s)
HLTH 295 - Special Topics 1-12 Credit(s)
or
HLTH 395 - Special Topics 1-12 Credit(s)
or
HLTH 495 - Special Topics 1-12 Credit(s)
HLTH 298 - Tutorial 1-3 Credit(s)
or
HLTH 398 - Tutorial 1-3 Credit(s)
or
HLTH 498 - Tutorial 1-3 Credit(s)

Recommended Courses

STAT 200 - Correlation and Regression 3 Credit(s) and
STAT 300 - Statistical Methods 3 Credit(s)

Honors Internship

During their last semester at SUNY Potsdam, Public Health majors in the Honors Program will complete a half-time, six-credit internship.

Honors Seminar

During the Internship semester, Public Health majors in the Honors Program will also take a three credit seminar. The seminar will consist of each honors student attending a local, regional or national public health conference and then presenting their experiences and what they learned to the department.

Honors Thesis I and II

During the semester prior to the internship, Public Health majors in the Honors Program will take the first Honors Thesis class in which they will plan and propose a study. During the internship semester, students will take the second Honors Thesis class in which they will collect and analyze their data and then write a report about, present and defend their research.