Recorded presentation

Terrie Wetle, PHD, Program in Public Health, Brown University, 97 Waterman Street, G, A-2, Providence, RI 02912, 401-863-9858, Terrie_Wetle@Brown.edu

Brown University has offered an undergraduate concentration (i.e., major) in Public Health since 1978, when this interdisciplinary concentration was named “Health and Society” and attracted 9 concentrators, a number that quickly grew to about 20. In the early 1990’s the name of the concentration was changed to “Community Health”, and was regularly drawing 20 to 25 students. Students declare a concentration at the end of their sophomore year, so there are now about 60 concentrators among the juniors and seniors. There are five required courses in Introduction to Public Health, Survey Research in Health Care, Health Care in the US, Dilemmas in Health Care or Cost of Care, and a senior seminar focused on health inequities. In addition, students take seven electives focusing on health care organization, international health, sociobehavioral science and prevention, biology/physiology, and statistics. All students conduct a senior project and/or honors thesis. The concentration is housed in the Department of Community Health. Brown university is unusual in that a majority of its medical students are recruited as university freshmen into the 8 year Program in Liberal Medical Education (PLME). Approximately ¼ to 1/3 of community health concentrators are from the PLME program each year and therefore are destined for medical school. A majority of concentrators go on to graduate school, into MPH programs, health law, Ph.D. programs in epidemiology and health services research, and other relevant areas. A new 5 year BS/MPH program is under development.

Learning Objectives:

• Define undergraduate concentration (major) in public health.
• Describe requirements for undergraduate major
• Identify career paths for graduates of undergraduate public health major

Keywords: Education, Public Health Careers

Related Web page: bms.brown.edu/commhealth/dept/

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

Recorded presentation