Requirements
Core requirements
In addition to meeting the general University degree requirements all majors in health studies must take the following core coursework plus choose a concentration area:
Core coursework
| PHE 250 | Our Community: Our Health | 4 |
| PHE 350 | Health and Health Systems | 4 |
| PHE 363 | Communicable Diseases and Chronic Health Problems | 4 |
| PHE 404 | Cooperative Education/Internship | 4-8 |
| PHE 450 | Epidemiology | 4 |
| PHE 452U | Gender, Race, Class and Health | 4 |
| Stat 243 | Introduction to Probability and Statistics I | 4 |
Healthy Aging Concentration
In the Healthy Aging concentration, students will learn about the societal, community, and individual-level strategies needed to support our aging population. Students will build foundations in gerontology while also acquiring skills in administration and finance, prevention of chronic disease, and health promotion programming, which will position students to enter careers as assisted living or nursing home facilities administrators, long-term care coordinators, health promotion program implementers, or senior health promotion specialists.
In addition to the previously listed common core requirements, students pursuing a concentration in aging services must complete the following:
Required coursework (28 credits)
| PHE 325U | Nutrition for Health | 4 |
| PHE 354U | Social Gerontology | 4 |
| PHE 416 | Families and Aging | 4 |
| PHE 423 | Business and Aging | 4 |
| PHE 456 | Health Aspects of Aging | 4 |
| PHE 478 | Program Planning and Evaluation: Needs Assessment and Interventions | 4 |
| PHE 479 | Program Planning and Evaluation in Health Education: Implementation and Evaluation | 4 |
Choose one of the following:
| PHE 328U | Health and Housing Across the Life Course | 4 |
| PHE 369 | Public Health Law, Policy, and Ethics | 4 |
| Psy 462 | Psychology of Adult Development and Aging | 4 |
| Soc 469 | Sociology of Aging | 4 |
Choose one of the following:
| BA 306U | Essentials of Finance for Non-Business Majors | 4 |
| BA 316U | Essentials of Marketing for Non-Business Majors | 4 |
| BA 326U | Essentials of Management for Non-Business Majors | 4 |
16 credits from the following courses
| BA 101 | Introduction to Business and World Affairs | 4 |
| BA 306U | Essentials of Finance for Non-Business Majors | 4 |
| BA 316U | Essentials of Marketing for Non-Business Majors | 4 |
| BA 326U | Essentials of Management for Non-Business Majors | 4 |
| BA 336U | Essentials of Information Technology for Non-Business Majors | 4 |
| BA 346U | Essentials of Entrepreneurship for Non-Business Majors | 4 |
| Comm 318U | Family Communication | 4 |
| Ec 316U | Introduction to Health Care Economics | 4 |
| PHE 328U | Health and Housing Across the Life Course | 4 |
| PHE 369 | Public Health Law, Policy, and Ethics | 4 |
| PHE 445 | Men's Health | 4 |
| PHE 446U | Health Equity and Social Justice | 4 |
| PHE 451 | Women and Holistic Health | 4 |
| Phl 313U | Life and Death Issues | 4 |
| Psy 311U | Human Development | 4 |
| Psy 462 | Psychology of Adult Development and Aging | 4 |
| Soc 459 | Sociology of Health and Medicine | 4 |
| Soc 469 | Sociology of Aging | 4 |
| SW 301U | Introduction to Social Work | 4 |
| PHE 320U | Health Ethics: Contemporary Issues | 4 |
Other electives may be taken with advisor approval.
Community Health Promotion Concentration
Students pursuing the Community Health Promotion concentration will learn the societal, community, and individual-level factors that create risk -- or promote good health -- in populations. In particular, students will build skills to identify and address health disparities across populations, define health problems, and learn to design and implement strategies to promote health in the larger community.
In addition to the previously listed common core requirements, students pursuing a concentration in community health promotion must complete:
Required coursework (24 credits)
| PHE 369 | Public Health Law, Policy, and Ethics | 4 |
| PHE 443U | Environmental Health | 4 |
| PHE 444U | Global Health | 4 |
| PHE 472 | Marketing Public Health | 4 |
| PHE 478 | Program Planning and Evaluation: Needs Assessment and Interventions | 4 |
| PHE 479 | Program Planning and Evaluation in Health Education: Implementation and Evaluation | 4 |
Twenty (20) credits from the following courses:
Other electives may be taken with advisor approval.
Health Services Administration Concentration
The health services administration concentration is designed for individuals who wish to develop or enhance a career in health systems administration, including such activities as health program management, health policy analysis, patient support, health finance, quality improvement, and other administrative functions.
Students who complete the course work required for the concentration will possess a basic understanding of health systems with particular knowledge and skills in administration and finance, health policy, and health systems.
The program of study includes common core requirements, required courses, and elective course options. Students pursuing a concentration in health services administration must complete the following:
Required Courses (44 credits)
| BA 101 | Introduction to Business and World Affairs | 4 |
| BA 306U | Essentials of Finance for Non-Business Majors | 4 |
| Ec 316U | Introduction to Health Care Economics | 4 |
| PA 425 | Grantwriting for Nonprofit Organizations | 4 |
| PHE 320U | Health Ethics: Contemporary Issues | 4 |
| PHE 321U | Introduction to Health Policy | 4 |
| PHE 322U | Health Services Administration | 4 |
| PHE 426 | Advanced Topics in Health Services Administration | 4 |
| PHE 427 | Introduction to Health Informatics | 4 |
| PHE 478 | Program Planning and Evaluation: Needs Assessment and Interventions | 4 |
| PHE 479 | Program Planning and Evaluation in Health Education: Implementation and Evaluation | 4 |
Elective Courses (8)
Two electives from the following:
Other electives may be taken with advisor approval.
Indigenous Health Concentration
To acknowledge the rich cultural histories and resilience of Indigenous peoples in the places that are home to the present-day universities of Oregon Health Sciences University and Portland State University, the Indigenous health concentration will emerge from—and be supported by—an Indigenous and decolonizing and healing-justice praxis that draws on the strengths of Indigenous peoples and other communities of color that have been historically underserved and oppressed by white supremacy and colonialism. This new concentration is designed to support and strengthen Indigenous sovereignty and self-determination of Native peoples, and build a network of non-Native allyship for a healing-centered justice movement to emerge and sustain health equity for all.
In addition to the previously listed common core requirements, students pursuing a concentration in Indigenous Health must complete:
Required Coursework (36 credits)
| NAS 201 | Introduction to Native American Studies | 4 |
| NAS 392 | Indigenous Ways of Knowing | 4 |
| NAS 399 | Cultural Ecology & Indigenous Science | 4 |
| NAS 426 | Tribal Critical Race Theory | 4 |
| NAS 442 | Decolonizing Methodologies: Insurgent Research and Indigenous Education | 4 |
| PHE 215 | Why Public Health Needs Indigenous Values: Intro to Decolonizing Public Health | 4 |
| PHE 415 | Native American Health: Decolonizing Health Equity | 4 |
| PHE 478 | Program Planning and Evaluation: Needs Assessment and Interventions | 4 |
| PHE 479 | Program Planning and Evaluation in Health Education: Implementation and Evaluation | 4 |
NAS 404 may be substituted for
PHE 404 Internship in the core requirements.
16 credits from the following courses:
| NAS 342 | Indigenous Gardens and Food Justice | 4 |
| NAS 407 | Traditional Ecological Healing Practices | 4 |
| NAS 411 | Nationhood: Tribal Sovereignty, Governance & Policy | 4 |
| PHE 315 | Justice in Public Health: The Epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women & Peoples | 4 |
| SW 340 | Advocacy for Policy Change | 4 |
| SW 341 | Social Justice Practice | 4 |
| SW 339 | Introduction to Oppression and Privilege | 4 |
| WS 381 | Queer of Color Theorizing and Perspectives | 4 |
| WS 451 | Interrupting Oppression | 4 |
Other electives may be taken with advisor approval.
Pre-Clinical Health Science Concentration
The Pre-Clinical Health Science concentration prepares students for continued clinical study in one of the many licensed health professions. Students will gain a foundation in public health while also completing prerequisites for their chosen clinical path, including medicine, nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, pharmacy, dentistry, dental hygienics, ophthalmology, and others.
In addition to the previously listed common core requirements, students pursuing a concentration in health sciences must select one of the following options: pre-medicine, pre-dentistry, pre-physical therapy, pre-occupational therapy, pre-chiropractic medicine, pre-osteopathy, pre-podiatry, pre-nursing, pre-naturopathic medicine, pre-optometry, pre-pharmacy, and pre-physician assistant and pre-physician assistant or adviser approved option. In choosing courses to complete, students should verify the specific prerequisites required by the professional school(s) to which an application for admission is being submitted. Advising sheets summarizing prerequisites for professional schools in Oregon and selected schools in the Pacific Northwest can be found online at http://www.pdx.edu/clas/prepro.html . Students must complete all prerequisites required by the professional school to which an application is being submitted to receive a Health Science degree. Please consult regularly with your pre-health adviser.
In addition to the previously listed core courses, students must also complete 16 credits from the following upper-division courses:
16 credits from the following upper-division courses:
Other electives may be taken with advisor approval.
School Health Educator Concentration
The School Health Educator concentration is a pre-licensure program, preparing students according to state guidelines for “best practices” in school health education. School health educators teach in middle school and high school settings covering a variety of topics from safety to preventive health behaviors and decision-making. Upon completion of the bachelor degree (BA/BS), students will be eligible to apply to the fifth-year Graduate Teacher Education Program or the Secondary Dual Education Program in the Graduate School of Education at PSU.
In addition to the previously listed common core requirements, students pursuing a concentration in school health education must complete the following:
Required coursework (36 credits)
It is required that students who intend to apply to the GTEP program complete an anatomy/physiology sequence.
8 Credits of electives from the following list:
| CFS 390U | Sex and the Family | 4 |
| CI 432 | Computer Applications for the Classroom | 3 |
| Psy 346 | Learning | 4 |
| Soc 337U | Prejudice, Privilege, and Power | 4 |
| SpEd 418 | Survey of Exceptional Learners | 3 |
| | PHE Elective Classes as approved by advisor | |
| | Women's Studies courses on Violence and Sexuality | |