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

PHTH 165 - Health A Lifestyle Approach 3 Credit(s)
PHTH 310 - Health Disparities 3 Credit(s)
PHTH 380 - Behavior Modification A Public Health Approach 3 Credit(s)
PHTH 385 - Epidemiology and Biostatistics 3 Credit(s)
PHTH 430 - Human Disease Patterns Prevention and Intervention 3 Credit(s)
PHTH 470 - Program Planning 3 Credit(s)
PHTH 480 - Program Evaluation 3 Credit(s)
PHTH 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 and 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)
PHTH 250 - Drug Studies 3 Credit(s)
PHTH 300 - Environmental Health 3 Credit(s)
PHTH 325 - Alcohol Studies 3 Credit(s)
PHTH 331 - Death and Dying 3 Credit(s)
PHTH 333 - Human Nutrition 3 Credit(s)
PHTH 341 - Sexual Health 3 Credit(s)
PHTH 342 - Womens Health 3 Credit(s)
PHTH 343 - Maternal and Child Health 3 Credit(s)
PHTH 344 - Issues in Lesbian Gay and Bisexual Health 3 Credit(s)
PHTH 345 - Child Abuse and Neglect 3 Credit(s)
PHTH 346 - Preventing Violence Against Women 3 Credit(s)
PHTH 371 - Nutrition for Special Populations 3 Credit(s)
PHTH 373 - Current Topics in Community Health Nutrition 3 Credit(s)
PHTH 375 - Health and the American Diet 3 Credit(s)
PHTH 295 - Special Topics 1-12 Credit(s)
or
PHTH 395 - Special Topics 1-12 Credit(s)
or
PHTH 495 - Special Topics 1-12 Credit(s)
PHTH 298 - Tutorial 1-3 Credit(s)
or
PHTH 398 - Tutorial 1-3 Credit(s)
or
PHTH 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.